RSJ

Time Out says

Tue Jun 26 2012

Opened in 1980 and named, bizarrely, after its dining room’s lacklustre design rather than its beautifully executed traditional dishes or epic wine list, RSJ needs a makeover. The lighting is unsympathetic, the furniture utilitarian, and the colour scheme ill-conceived. However, the kitchen produces food of great intensity of flavour, which honours tradition without being stodgy.

A terrific starter featured chicken livers sautéed with heaps of lardons, doused with a spicy Worcestershire-tinged sauce, and served with a fried egg on brioche. The rich food was ideally matched by a 2010 Quincy Dom des Ballandors, a sauvignon with impressive weight and ripeness. A giant portion of own-made ravioli with fresh crab and avocado arrived in a wonderfully rich bisque. Next, côte de boeuf was perfectly rare, as requested, flecked with rosemary, a flavour also used to sublime effect in the accompanying béarnaise. Puddings let the otherwise authentically Gallic menu down: no Frenchman ever requested spotted dick.

RSJ is an oenophile’s dream. Linger over the encyclopaedic Loire-dominated list, or save time by ordering one of the dozen regularly changing by-the-glass options. A great pre- or post-theatre choice.