Originally published on Monday, 10th June 2013

YOU GOT KALE'D

Same menu, different venue
 

It all started with lemon sole. It got kale'd. Recently, all the restaurants we've been frequenting are featuring copycat versions of similar dishes. It's the "same menu, different venue" bug – and it's spreading.

Back to the lemon sole. We understand it's sourced from Cornwall (hence the appearance on so many menus) but it's become the exposed brick of the food world. The most recent offender is The Pearson Room. It came with jersey royals at Beagle, butter sauce at Brasserie Chavot and we've even spied it on the bar menu at The Clove Club. Cuttlefish (with pea, mint, fennel or all of the above) is also a serial offender. The same goes for braised ox cheek. It's been done well by Master & Servant, Tozi, Hélène Darroze at The Connaught and at One Leicester Street, but it's spread to the mainstream quicker than you can say gastro pub.

While we're on a roll, even ingredient combinations are being plagiarised. Take the delicious pig's cheek ham, asparagus and egg yolk plate at One Leicester Street. How innovative, you say? Not so. Master & Servant do chicken skins, asparagus with a hen's egg, while Beagle serves an asparagus, chive butter and boiled Bantam egg combination. For your bit on the side, radishes are the new kohlrabi (which is the new kale).

Finally, dessert. The Clove Club and One Leicester Street are scarily symbiotic in their dessert choices. They've brought back the cheese board, they're heavy on malty flavours – the latter's warm chocolate, puffed barley and malt concoction is delicious – and both serve a similar creamy, blood orange dish. The Clove Club wins it with their addition of fennel granita.

Copying is the best form of flattery… but we can't wait for some new things this summer. Bruno Loubet's latest restaurant Grain Store opened yesterday, his electic, veg-heavy menu ignoring geographical boundaries (raw snowball turnips, anyone?), while self-proclaimed punk-chef Carl Clarke is bringing Rock Lobsta to Mahiki. It's not our usual bag, but pirate chests with lobster rolls and a fresh oyster bar sounds fun. And, from tomorrow, Barrafina and Koya will do the first of two chef swapsies. Udon tortilla? Take that lemon sole.

by JC