The perfect window table - almost alfresco, looking out over Fallow's large terrace on Heddon Street.
So what do we need to know about Fallow?
There's been a lot of buzz building about this Mayfair restaurant - not least because of the team behind it. Chefs Will Murray and Jack Croft met in the kitchens of Dinner by Heston. They then teamed up with seasoned hospitality operator James Robson to come up with Fallow.
Where is it?
They've taken over the rolling residency space at 10 Heddon Street. But while other restaurants have been here for a few months, it looks like Fallow's taken it for a longer time. They opened the week before lockdown, promptly shut again and then slowly started serving takeaway (to grateful cops from the Charing Cross police station, mainly) before reopening in full.
Over the lockdown, they spent their time fermenting and bottling pickles and drinks which you can also buy on site.
Housed in an old drum barbecue their shop includes kombu, pickles, oil and more to buy and take home with you.
What sort of Covid safety steps have they taken?
The nature of this room means that it's pretty easy to stay socially distant - a lot of the inside tables are either booths or far apart from each other. There's also a big outside terrace if you prefer to dine alfresco. And there are hand sanitisers on all of the tables.
Where's good to meet friends for a drink first?
Judging by the icy loveliness of the martini one of us kicked off with, you might as well head straight here. Our dining companion was off the sauce and enjoyed a non-alcoholic elderflower spritz.
Yes, it's another picture of a martini. But the no-alcohol elderflower spritz was also very good.
So what sort of food is it?
They run big on sustainability, so they use interesting cuts and - as you'll probably have guessed - everything is super seasonal and focuses mainly on British and Irish produce. A succinct menu kicks off with snacks before sticking to traditional starter, mains and dessert dishes.
Here's what we had:
Carlingford rock oysters with Fallow's homemade sriracha (£3.50 each).
Fallow deer tartare, hazelnut, pickled onion (£15) - wonderful tasting meat and a nice change from beef tartare.
Corn ribs with lime (£5) - fried and then covered with their amazing house seasoning.
Beef scrumpets with mustard (£2.50 each) - think British croquetas coated with panko crumbs and deep-fried. You will want more than one.
Dairy cow rib wing rib for two (£68) - served with the bone which is braised in a pastrami brine and slow cooked and served with a horseradish cream and a mustard gel. Memorably good.
Is it good for vegetarians?
Very. There are plenty of vegan and vegetarian options on the menu. We very much fancied, but didn't get around to trying, a starter of English pea with girolles and goats curd. And, of course, there are the corn ribs. But the veggie starter below, in particular, was an absolute belter.
A towering mushroom parfait made with chestnut, button and shiitake mushrooms and then topped with smoked marinated shiitakes, pickled shallots and gratings of pinhead mushroom and summer truffle. (£12)
Room for dessert?
For sure. There were only two on the menu, and while the lemon peel pudding topped with milk ice cream sounded great, we had our hearts set on this.
Fallow soft serve (£5.50) - covered with a coco and brown bread crumble then mixed with coco nibs and feuilletine before being topped with shaved 75% Jamaican pump street chocolate.
Overall thoughts:
Before we get into generalities, we'd really like to single out the kitchen for going above and beyond when it came to responding to the dietary requirements of our guest. They couldn't have been more careful and thoughtful to make sure certain elements were flagged, omitted and any cross-contamination considered. We were very impressed with that.
As for the food and vibe, well we'd been hearing from all manner of chefs and bar folk about how good Fallow was, so it wasn't much of a surprise to have had such an enjoyable meal. The outside terrace was getting a lot of love and we've seen the menus changing really regularly, so it definitely warrants repeat visits.
More about Fallow at 10 Heddon Street
Where is it? 10 Heddon St, Mayfair, London W1B 4BX
How to book: Book online.
Offer: our reader offer gets you 30% off the food bill at Fallow until 20 September.
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @fallowrestaurant.
Hot Dinners ate as guests of Fallow. Prices are correct at the time of writing.
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