Riverine Rabbit

WHAT’S UP DOC?

A MORE RECENT REVIEW (FROM JANUARY 2024) OF THEIR NEW RESTAURANT ‘THE RABBIT’ CAN BE READ HERE

Last week came news of ‘the return of Riverine Rabbit’ pop up at Kilder in Digbeth, with “ex-Carter’s sous chef”, Ash Valenzuela-Heeger at the helm. Dishes such as honey cured beef with rice paper & XO; bass crudo with aged olive oil & flaked salt; and BBQ scallop, grapefruit, lemon & orange had me salivating… and curious.

As pop ups go, it’s gone completely under the radar; there’s normally some word-of-mouth buzz that precedes these things and usually based on a reputation forged on the street food circuit.

A bit of digging around online leads me to discover South African-born Ash is widely considered to be one of Cape Town’s brightest culinary stars, where she trained at two of the city’s top restaurants; La Colombe and The Test Kitchen. Then to London with stints at The Ledbury and two years at Dinner by Heston before returning home to eventually head up her own fine dining restaurant, Riverine Rabbit.

But my poor luck means that after a long run of sparse weekend activity, we were fully booked Friday, Saturday and Sunday and the Kilder pop up passed us by. Then I spot on Cork and Cage’s Instagram it’s taking over the kitchen here for two weeks… and so it is that we’re here at 6pm on Friday with very high expectations.

Curried Spuds – Durban curry seasoning and aioli

First up is ‘Curried Spuds’, fat soaked, crunchy roast potatoes in skins boasting gorgeously buttery soft ‘flesh’ and then an antelope kick of heat from a heavy dusting of Durban curry, tempered by a light aioli. It’s said that Durban curries are the best in the world and I’m fully open to that suggestion on the basis of this.

Beef tartare – cornichons, capers and crisps

The spuds are working in tandem with a chunky beef tartare under a pile of Pom-Bears that can’t fail to raise a smile. There’s additional crunch plus sweet acidity from cornichons and the lemony-saltiness of capers, but it’s an umami dream of a creamy-yolk dominant mayonnaise that holds it altogether, with a suggestion of habanero warming the palate.

Rarebit flatbread – Henderson’s Relish, shallot and chives

The menu announced rarebit flatbread is a victim of the snow… well the flatbread is, so along the more traditional route, we get a perfectly executed slice of toast slathered in a savoury cheese pumped bechamel with sweet and tangy Henderson’s relish, topped with crispy shallots and chopped chives.

Charred leek - brown butter hollandaise and poor man’s Parmesan

Then a contender for veggie dish of the year arrives with soft buttery leek cooked in its own skin, under a blanket of brown butter hollandaise that offers toffee-like sweetness, and then topped with crisp dried onion and nutritional yeast enhanced Parmesan that yanks the umami dial to the max.

We’re using the time before the next dish to attempt to place what’s come so far into some kind of order of preference, but it’s a futile task. It’s a photo finish for joint first, but then the fifth lands and just pushes its nose in front.

Smoked lamb shoulder – chakalaka and goat’s cheese

Chakalaka is every bit as good as it sounds; beans in a softly spiced and lightly sweet tomato sauce. A swirl of whipped goats cheese offers the perfect earthy tart limelight to meltingly moist lamb combining with crispy shards and a lick of hay smoke.

Banana cream pie – coconut, miso and ‘illegal sprinkles’

We’re smitten. So smitten we’ve agreed we’re not sharing dessert—it’s one each—and it’s an excellent decision. Whipped cream so cloud-light it hardly seems possible it’s chocked full of the sweet-umami taste of miso-caramelised bananas. It sits over ‘carpaccio’-thin slices of banana and a coconut laced Nice-style biscuit crumb. It’s topped with ‘illegal sprinkles’ although that only means the E number that was used in blue Smarties, but I’ll take whatever’s going.

Ash’s wife Erin is a fabulous ‘front of house’ host; charming, knowledgeable and clearly invested in the project. Indeed, it’s Erin we should thank for Ash being here, as it was her recently completed PhD from the University of Birmingham that brought about Cape Town’s loss.

This really is just a teaser of the potential of Riverine Rabbit. Ash likes to cook over fire, but the limits of the kitchen here has inevitably meant some compromises. But every plate of food has been fabulous; ingredients and flavours are combined, nurdled, nudged and coaxed into being far greater than the sum of their parts and usually with interesting textures at play.

We’ve washed it all down with a bottle of an easy drinking Grenache Blanc orange wine plus an extra couple of glasses, which brings our bill in at £92.50 plus tip (£50 food / £42.50 booze). For that quality of food it truly is a bargain.

I can only advise you to keep your eyes and ears open for the next pop up. I certainly will.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 10/10

www.riverinerabbit.co.uk is coming soon