Brawn
IT’S IN THE GENES
I love Sundays on Columbia Road with my hangover focus blurring the colours of the flower market into something resembling a Monet painting. Throw in slurping down oysters with Bloody Marys on the cobbled side street, it could only be more perfect with a good place for lunch. I always check to see if Brawn is open, but nah, not on the Sabbath.
Coumbia Road Flower Market
Sunday joy
Until eighteen months ago, that was never really an issue, then I stumbled across Sargasso—their younger sibling—on the harbour arm, in the weekend foodie destination that’s Margate.
Sargasso
It’s an intimate, mostly counter seating place serving impeccable local seafood-dominated, seasonal dishes with a decent drinks list and warm atmosphere coaxed along by a sublime vinyl-powered soundtrack. I was so enamoured, I returned for my birthday earlier this year and now, heading to All Points East in nearby Victoria Park, my opportunity to eat at Brawn will never be easier.
Brawn (main room)
There’s just the slight angst that the big city sibling will be a little too formal and serious, but first impressions are completely disarming; it’s a square-shaped version of its younger, slimmer sibling (plus another dining room), complete with its own sublime vinyl-powered soundtrack. The seasonal menu is definitely more grown up—as well as prices—presenting as snacks-starters-mains-desserts—snd its influences are so seasonally Mediterranean it should come with factor 50 suntan lotion.
Menu of dreams
Smoked cod’s roe, radish and panisse
Attempting to go for the most exposure possible, we’ve gone for shared plates, solely from the snacks and starters. First up is whipped and lightly smoked cod’s roe served with fresh radish with maximum crunch and at the opposite end of the spectrum, there’s the joy of panisse, which on the face of it is pure simplicity, but when produce is this good, it’s all you need.
Melon, basil, Pecorino Fiore Sardo & peperoncino
Turning down the kitchen’s work dial even further is the subtle sweetness of fresh melon chunks, served with the salty piquant-tang of Pecorino Fiore Sardo in a puddle of peppery EVOO and melon juices that demands to be mopped and damn, it’s fine bread, that’s bang up for the task, leaving the generous slab of butter largely untouched.
Damn fine bread
Domaine Deboutbertin Achillée
We’re glugging on a Domaine Deboutbertin Achillée from their impressive pages-long wine list—a shorter list is available—and whilst my wallet flinched, our palates are fully rewarded. It pushes Chenin Blanc high into my favourite grapes short list with spice, baked apple and citrus in the mix.
Raw tuna loin, peppers, salina capers & colatura di alici
Then, whilst looking like autumn on a plate, it’s my favourite looking dish of the whole summer, with slices of raw tuna loin, sweet roasted red peppers, briny-bitter salina capers and umami in bucketloads with colatura di alici (fermented anchovy seasoning) in verdant EVOO amplifying the flavours. Thank God for the bread, otherwise I’d drink that plate clean.
Squid, tomatoes, taggiasche olives and salmoriglio
The BBQ’d squid could only be better if I was in earshot of waves breaking on a beach; it’s easy on the bite—of course it is—with delicate slices of full flavoured tomatoes—of course they are—but it’s fruity Taggiasche olives and a citrussy salsa verde that take charge of the palate.
Beef carpaccio, beetroots and horseradish
If we didn’t have plans for the afternoon I’d happily stay for dinner, but for now it’s the final dish; slices of beef carpaccio, under a sprinkle of chives and grated horseradish, draped over sweet and earthy heritage beetroots on horseradish cream with the gentlest kick of heat, scraping up the last of it with the final crust of our second portion of bread.
We settle up the bill of £186.85 (£87.50 food / £78 wine / £20.69 Service Charge) and head out into the afternoon. Brawn is exactly how I’d hoped Sargasso’s older sibling would be, with textures and flavour combinations the dominant themes, backed up by first class ingredients and service too. It’s clearly in the genes.
As Brawn refuses to open on Sundays, who’s going to sign my petition to Columbia Road Flower Market to get it moved to Saturdays?
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 9/10
49 Columbia Road, London E2 7RG
