Supper club series: Avenue London ‘The Ring of Fire’

Once more I found myself at Avenue. Can you blame me? Avenue is a beautiful venue, friendly staff and pretty damn good food. The location is a stone’s throw from beautiful Green Park and Pall Mall, within easy reach from everywhere in London. Last week was the first tasting of this month new gastronomic experience the supper club series at Avenue London ‘The Ring of Fire’ was all about chillis.

The Ring of Fire is a loose description rather than the literal meaning of the area situated on the border of the Pacific Ocean, where 75% of earth’s vulcanos are located. It wraps around a few regions in the Pacific, including Japan, Canada, USA Pacific coast, New Zealand, Philipines, Mexico, and Chile. Based on this phenomenon Chef Andras Katona devised an inspiring hot menu showcasing chillies and bringing his South American and Asian twist to the table.

The wines matched the dishes beautifully with great choices by head sommelier Agustin Trapero.

On arrival, we had a taste of some of their new cocktail menu ‘Myths & Legends’, a journey from South America to Asia through cocktails.

My first aperitif, The Sun, was inspired by Tonatiuh who according to the mythology was the Aztec sun god who provided warmth and fertility to the people. I love a good story, so I chose this mezcal and rum-based concoction with added jalapeno and fire! Now that’s it very Hot&Chilli! The pineapple juice added fruitiness and the Mezcal a distinctive smokiness. I enjoyed this drink immensely.

Avenue London ‘The Ring of Fire’ Supper club

Moving on to the private dining area; the greeting drink was a tequila lime; apple ‘margarita’ inspired cocktail to go with our Amuse Bouche which offered a glimpse into the chef’s approach to the meal.

 

The baby heritage tomato, avocado mousse and spicy kumquat had a vibrancy from the super tasty tomatoes that contrasted well with the smooth avocado. A small and full of impact dish using jalapeno chilli.

Spiced tuna tartare, tobiko- flying fish roe with I believe had a bit of wasabi – yuzu emulsion, rice & nori cracker, showcasing bird’s eye chilli, was well matched with a chilled Beaujolais. The tobiko provided a smoky or salty taste to the silky spiced tuna the yuzu brought a freshness to the dish which was impeccably presented.

Gochujang marinated lamb canon, edamame, Thai asparagus, wild garlic, seaweed, this recipe paired with red wine from Rioja; red hot chilli came from the savoury, sweet, and spicy fermented Korean Gochujang. This dish had it all! I liked the perfect tender and juicy meat served three ways with a mild spiciness. The seasonal wild garlic added a unique layer of flavour.

The sweets!

Raspberry & Mango cheesecake was delightful! But the winner was the smooth, creamy cool chocolate chilli ice cream – the spice came from Cayenne pepper. It was faultless!

The vanilla macaroons filled with smoke poblano chilli kumquat ganache was a pretty sweet finish.

The Supperclub Series details:
£65 for three courses, an amuse bouche and cocktail on arrival and petit fours at the end.

Next two themes for 2018:
The Marine Ring of Fire (Wed 30th May) Seafood
The Green Ring of Fire (Wed 13th June) Vegetarian

Avenue Restaurant London
7-9 St James’s Street London SW1A 1EE.
For more information and reservations visit: www.avenuerestaurant.co.uk

 

Disclosure: I was a guest at Avenue at press evening. All options are my own.