Restaurants

By Guy Dimond

For years, the young chef Tom Ilic garnered high praise for his Modern European cooking. Unlucky sites and short-lived business partnerships seemed to be the other distinguishing feature of his career path for a few years but at last, he's now got his own place. Clearly undaunted by any notional jinx, he's chosen a Battersea site which has seen more outstanding restaurants try and fail than any other location I can think of. Yet Ilic knows the site well: he used to be head chef at the late Stepping Stone on this site a decade ago.

Ilic has clearly decided not to waste money or too much effort on the decor, and has turned his attention to what he does best: cook. He's particularly talented with meat, and with the sort of reduced sauces and strong flavours that make perfect wintery food. A raviolo stuffed with oxtail, for example, is served with sautéed calf's sweetbreads; slow-cooked beef with roasted bone marrow and caramelised root vegetables is another winning dish. Pork is also a distinguishing feature of his cooking; originally from Serbia, Ilic clearly likes pork and serves it here as pig's cheeks with chorizo, or as an assiette with pickled white cabbage. A porker features on his logo.

If you're not eating meat, the starter of grilled red mullet served with a salt cod brandade and globe artichoke is the fish alternative, and has a slightly Balkan feel to it. The desserts revert to the more familiar territory of apple cake or chocolate fondant, though the roast figs with honey is evocative of warmer climes.

Yet there's something not quite right about his latest venture: the service. Our young waitresses dashed around as if they were manning a chain pizzeria, wasting little time with pleasantries, slamming down and snatching plates from the bare tables as if they work in a caff, and - literally - running between tables and the kitchen. It just doesn't set the right tone for cooking of this elegance.

Restaurant Tom Ilic closes from Dec 23-Dec 30, but reopens for New Year's Eve with a set dinner menu costing £55 per head - very good value, by New Year's Eve standards.

Time Out London Issue 1948 / 1949 December 19-January 1 2007