Orasay - Notting Hill, London

Jackson Boxer is a chef to be reckoned with, boasting a culinary pedigree that is sine qua non. His grandmother was Arabella Boxer, famous cookery writer. His father Charlie Boxer runs Italo in Vauxhall, while his brother is the brain behind Frank's in Peckham and his mother, artist Kate Boxer, has a family farm in West Sussex. His godfather Jeremy Lee is of course head chef at Quo Vadis. But that's all relegated to background information when you sit down to a plate of Jackson's cooking. Following on from his successes at Brunswick House and St Leonards, he's opened Orasay in Notting Hill, a restaurant inspired by his family holidays to the Scottish Hebrides.
 
The first thing you'll notice about the dining room is its diminutive size - lending an air of intimacy to the proceedings. Simple wooden tables play off a stylish herringbone floor with rattan chairs. There's a slightly mid-century modern vibe wended into details like pendant lighting and the Rothko-style artwork. Downstairs you'll find a cosy nook of a PDR tucked away next to the kitchens. From here they prepare a menu which draws primarily from the fisheries of the Hebrides with vegetables from the family farm.
 
From start to finish we were smitten with meal. Opening salvos hit accurately. Circular pucks of fried bread were overlaid with spring anchovy. Fried shrimp with celery salt was served in the Portuguese manner so that you eat the entire shell. Beef and tuna tartare was a challenging interplay of fish and field, served with winter tomatoes and watercress. Cockles were a massive hit, the miniature bivalves served on a bed of rock salt with a mesmerising riff on XO sauce. Of the mains, the grilled cod with salsify and oyster leaf was preeminent, the creamy fish beautifully fired.
 
Orasay is a neighbourhood restaurant par excellence. Notting Hill deserves more of its type.
 

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