[title]
Light and airy, with stripped brick walls and a contemporary feel, Elliot’s is a busy little spot full of tourists, dates and business people; in the evenings it can get noisy. Sit out front and watch the world go by, perch at the bar or take a seat in the bright back area with a glass roof above your head. The seasonal, ever-changing menu is small but innovative, and carefully sourced (they deal directly with growers and producers); bread is excellent.
Smaller plates such as crab on toast or buffalo mozzarella and polenta are listed alongside larger plates including the ever-popular (but weekday lunchtime only) burger. Served in a toasted sesame seed bun, with fried maris potatoes, a pile of pickles, ketchup and mustard, the burger was too juicy to pick up, and oozed with cheese and fried onions. The meat was tender, delicious and still a little pink in the middle. At dinner, lemon sole, wild garlic and fino (a large plate) was good, but there were no more than a few slivers of wild garlic in the sherry-based sauce, making a side dish a must.
Jersey royals with bacon and shallots went nicely with both this and a (small) plate of three scallops with herb butter. Well-mannered, very engaged service is on the evangelical side when it comes to the natural wines (orange wines are listed alongside the expected white, red and rosé).