REVIEW: The Crocker's Folly, St John's Wood

For any restaurant reviewer (or lowly blogger like me), visiting The Crocker's Folly is beyond special. this ancient foodie palace was originally founded in 1898 and was recently refurbished for the 21st Century. Located in the north-west London borough of St John's Wood, Crocker’s Folly is one of the most old-worldly restaurants I have ever visited. Celebrated chef Damian Wawrzyniak has been appointed as Chef Consultant, advising on everything from work flow and kitchen equipment to menu specifics and ingredients sourcing. When Damian invited me to come in for a review, I almost fell off my chair and couldn't wait to visit. 

Where:
The Crocker's Folly, St John's Wood
When:
8pm-11:30pm, Saturday night
What we ate:

• Smoked salmon with beetroot and fennel cream
• Scallops with tomato, mango, bacon and avocado
• Rump steak with chips, peppercorn sauce, bone marrow and spinach
• Roasted pork with apple, potatoes and a pork jus

What we drank:

• Cocktails: Mint Julep, Cherry Martini
• Wines: Italian Chenin, Sauvignon Blanc, Côtes du Rhône, Sauvignon Blanc dessert wine.

Highlights:

• The cocktails were knock your socks off strong! Although this was a bit of a shock it created a fun atmosphere before our meal. The strength however did not negatively affect the flavour of each cocktail which was quite unique. 
• Absolutely stunning presentation throughout the meal with and interesting yet minimalist crockery
• The salmon flavour in my start was absolutely incredible, rich with beetroot with a wonderful smoked finish. There was too much fennel cream however. 
• The scallops were beyond perfectly cooked ,working well with the accompanying ingredients of mango, tomato and bacon. The avocado cream was a touch over powering. 
• For my steak, the side of spinach was iron rich and went well with the steak. The peppercorn sauce was also knocks your socks off good, packing a real flavour punch. 
• The apple and roasted pork was very nice with a bit of crunch avoiding a soggy plate. The jus was also excellent, shiny and thick with a very meaty umami flavour.
• Pudding was outstanding! The crumble had plenty of crunch and the fruit just sang with freshness. The chocolate fondant had plenty of oozy chocolate, whilst the ice cream was rich with the scent of popcorn and was incredibly moorish.
• Good wine pairings throughout started with a Sauvignon Blanc (Apple fresh, floral) and an Italian Chenin (peachy). We then moved onto Côtes du Rhône (excellent with the meat, lovely velvet finish) and finished with a vanilla sweet Sauvignon Blanc dessert wine.

Lowlights:

• Though very welcoming and respectful throughout our visit, the service was unfortunately notably slow when having cocktails. It was much better at the table, with the waitress allowing enough time between courses to complete our wine.
• We were offered four types of bread served with butter and salt. Sadly the two white breads featured walnuts which is obviously a no-no for me. I found it quite surprising that two out of the four had walnuts in and I would have preferred at least one white without nuts.
• The steak was a little tough which was disappointing, though definitely cooked rare as per my request. The chips were also not quite cooked enough but we're tasty none the less. I also wanted way more bone marrow as it was amazing! 
• The pork was well cooked but the edges were a tiny bit dry. This could have been avoided with more of that stunning jus.

Overall:
Would I visit the Crocker's Folly again? Absolutely, 100%, done deal. This iconic restaurant really took my breath away from the incredibly cocktails and wines, through to the stunning architecture and delicious food. I cannot wait to visit again and urge you all to book a table. 

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