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The Irish element at Richard Corrigan’s charming restaurant is low-key indeed: noticeable only in the odd ingredient (Carlingford Lough oysters, say) and the occasional overheard accent. Lindsay House is an 18th-century Soho townhouse, with intimate dining rooms on the ground and first floors (plus several private rooms); it really comes into its own in the evening. Elegant restraint rules – drawing-room decor, impeccable service, quietly spoken diners – until the food arrives. An amuse-gueule of a tiny duck pasty with chutney produced squeaks of pleasure. It set the tone for the rest of the meal, as one perfect, gutsily flavoured course followed another. Smoked eel salad with cider apple jelly and crispy bacon gave way to onglet of beef with roast garlic mash and sautéed girolles, followed by peanut parfait with roast banana and caramel ice-cream: a grand and indulgent finale. The wine list doesn’t have a dull bottle on it – organised stylistically, it contains unusual varieties and styles plus top-grade producers, and there’s an emphasis on food-friendliness. All this comes at a price, of course: the set dinner is £56 (you pay for three courses even if you only eat two); the tasting menus are even more, though it’s worth noting that one of them is vegetarian. And an espresso is £4.95. But if you’re prepared to swallow the financial hit, then this is a real treat.
Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008
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Lindsay House was a major disappointment.
I went with my girlfriend having booked the 3 course, fixed price menu for £29, thinking this would be good value for such a highly regarded restaurant and chef (Richard Corrigan). However it was a let down on many levels. Firstly, you get the distinct impression that the policy for anyone dining from the fixed price menu is to get them fed and out of the door as quickly as possible. We had ordered within 5 minutes of being there, had our starters 5 minutes later and were served our main course as soon as our plates had been taken away. I then asked for at least 10 minutes before our dessert and got just that. Almost to the second. We still had over half of our £51 bottle of claret left when we'd finished dessert.
As for the food, while it was very good in places, such as the starter of carpaccio of beef, on the whole it was a let down. You had one of two choices for mains, halibut or lambs liver. The halibut was reasonable but the lambs liver dry and grainy and I have eaten nicer liver at Turkish restaurants in Dalston, where the bill totals less than our two G&T's (with warm tonic water) at Lindsay house. Also, giving diners the choice of either offal or fish for mains is naive, if not an insult. We both had a pleasant enough chocolate pudding for dessert as neither of us much fancied the other option of cheese with a celery salad.
I'm sure Lindsay House can hit very high standards but I expect you would have to opt for the a la carte (£59) or the tasting menu (£70) to be deemed worthy. Still having paid the £144 bill I expected better, and to have been sat down for slightly longer than an hour and twenty minutes.