In Covent Garden there’s a place that puts a smile on my face. It’s not the street performers or the square of beautifully outrageous designer stores but a door on Southampton Street with one word over the door. 

Frog.

Adam Handling. 

The Flagship. 

Adam Handling opened his flagship in September of 2017. I had planned to be there for the opening, but alas energy suppliers put a stop to that for me. 

I finally got my life together and had dinner just before Christmas, however too many glasses of fizz meant that I was in no state to type anything you’d be interested in hearing about. For that I wish my most sincere apologies however upon reflection I feel this type up will give you the information you need and the credit it duly deserves.

Now on with the show...

Where The Frog E1 was industrial and relaxed, the concrete floors and mis matched chairs a fit for the hipster Shoreditch location Frog is sleeker, more precise. A footstep towards an infamous star.

The restaurant is light and airy yet it doesn’t feel empty. The open kitchen gives you a glimpse of the action with seats on the pass to watch the chefs at work. I had the privilege of sitting at the pass on my initial trip in December, however this only allowed my best friend to call me a stalker and make fun of me the majority of the evening. 

I will clarify, again, I am NOT a stalker but simply an enthusiast. Also I wasn’t staring, only observing the workings of the kitchen. So there!

The snacks that can be found at Frog and The Frog E1 never fail to amaze. 

The meal began with Beef Tartare; Smoked Cod Roe and Caviar and Smoked Mussels.

The Beef was delicate, the cured yolk grated on top added richness without the sticky heaviness the egg can tend to lend in such circumstances. 

The Cod Roe packed a punch of flavour with the subtle pop of the caviar offset by the crispy tube surround. My first impression of the flavour can be summed up like this, (and no judgement please as it’s meant with love) eating really good taramasalata with Frazzles. 

If you can’t try Adams dish try that to give you the jist!

The mussels were perfectly soft and filled with a mix of shallots and red wine vinegar, the experience similar to that of an oyster, but a better alternative for the squeamish amongst us. The subtle shellfish is suddenly hot by the sharp perfume of the shallots and vinegar leaving only the merest hint behind on your palette. Clean, crisp and utterly moreish.

Can you guess what was next? If you're clever and you pay attention to me, I bet you know what it is.

Chicken Butter.

Crispy chicken skin, blended into creamy butter and topped with even more chicken skin. Sounds amazing right? Well it is, but wait there’s more. You may have tried it in Shoreditch but Chicken Butter in Covent Garden is hiding a dirty little secret. Scoop some of that glorious butter onto a knife and do you know what your’ll find?
Gravy. That’s right. Chicken Butter with Gravy.

The Sistene Chapel is a work of art outside, inside you’ll find the frescoed ceiling complete with ‘The Creation of Adam’ and be blown away. This is the food equivalent of that. Pun thoroughly intended. 

Cheese Doughnuts made a surprise yet welcome visit. soft pillows full of a rich cheese custard and buried under a snow drift of parmesan. Need I say more?

Next came the main courses. Beginning with Mother; Kingfish, jalapeño and avocado, and Makerel with Confit Potatoes.

“Mother.” A dish I have always praised, the OG can be found here in my 1st AH tasting adventures. Salt baked celeriac, slow cooked egg yolk, date, yoghurt and apple. It’s rich but it’s sharp, it’s earthy but its clean. It’s so many things and each mouthful is different dependant on how much of each individual element is on your fork. 

Kingfish, Jalapeño and Avocado is a beautiful ceviche of thinly sliced kingfish with creamy almost sweet avocado puree and the quiet heat of a jalapeño relish just lifting all the flavours on your tongue. Almost keeping you alert.

Cured, lightly charred mackerel arrives next, nestled amongst soft almost melting confit potatoes that have been slightly torched to add a subtle smokiness  and topped with fronds of dill and matchsticks of apple

After this subtle and gentle start came the heavy hitters. In terms of flavour that is. Butternut Agnolotti with Frozen Foie Gras, Posh Baked Potato, Hake with Sea Vegetables and Brown Shrimp and Beef, Beer and Onions.

Butternut squash in delicate pasta, mushrooms and more squash, sitting in a pool of the best chicken velouté in the world. I said to twitter that if I could bathe in it I would but am unsure if smelling of velouté would enhance my appeal. Would you want to snog me if I smelled like posh chicken soup? I hope so as long as it’s this one.

Adam’s take on a posh baked potato was potato stuffed with cream cheese, rolled in burnt leek powder and topped with caviar. The overall feeling was to replicate Jacket Potatoes cooked on the barbecue, the smoky powder giving the charred taste from the coals, over stuffing your potato with cream cheese (a given if you’re me) and then topped with caviar. I’ll admit I would have never thought to eat a jacket potato with caviar but it was damned yummy anyway.

Hake is next and by this point I’m starting to regret wearing spanx to hold my tights up. Yes I’m an idiot. Anyway...
The fish is beautifully moist, topped with brown shrimps and the sea veg providing some bite all sat on crab bisque split with herb oil. The bisque is like being punched in the mouth by a crab, heady and rich with a deep savoury crab flavour.

One final main course of Beef with Beer and onions. By now I was deliriously full and missed the cut of beef I was eating but it was perfectly pink and melt in the mouth, served with slow cooked beef in a crisp pastry tube and charred onions and burnt onion puree.

Next came desserts. Mandarin, madeline and clove, Caramelised Apple, Vanilla and Salted Peanut and Chocolate and Lemon. 

The Mandarin dessert was first. Madelines served with clove pannacotta, mandarin gel, fresh mandarin, mandarin sorbet and crispy meringue. The fresh mardarin and gel was bright and sharp, the sorbet clean and sweet. The pannacotta was creamy with only a hint of the infamously overpowering spice. It was probably the easiest dessert out of all 3 to eat after the marathon meal previously.

The caramelised apple was a richer affair, the apple cooked in salted caramel until it was saturated with the deep caramel flavour. It was topped with crisp puff pasty, salted peanuts and vanilla ice cream and cream. All the flavours of a tarte tatin presented in a modern way. The apple was soft you only needed a spoon the pastry providing delicate crunch and the salty peanuts stopping everything becoming sickly sweet. It was my favourite.

Lastly was a chocolate truffle. I’ll admit I physically couldn’t eat more than a spoonful of this without making a scene, but what I did try was exquisite. The chocolate truffle was dense and rich, filled with a chocolate and lemon sauce/syrup and topped with a lightly whipped cream.

Adam Handling and his team surpass expectations time and time again. If he doesn’t have a star by next year I’ll be shocked. The quality of the food and service is second to none and I can imagine if enough people spread the word it’ll be very hard to get a table without months and months of notice. 

You can all wait behind me in the queue though.

But once again. NOT a Stalker.

Just writing this is making me full again. 

#FoodieTart Out!