Tucked away in Pearson Square, on the former site of the old Middlesex Hospital, now resides a lovely eatery that is Percy & Founders. Having not been open for long, this restaurant offers diners a relaxed and welcoming environment, coupled with delicious food with a good selection of wines to match.
As you enter, you are offered the chance to check in any bags or coats (for free) which would be useful for the post-work crowd that were there on a Wednesday evening. The décor was one of dimmed lighting, chevron walnut flooring and various framed art pictures on the wall. The absence of any background music allows you to converse properly without having to strain to hear or be heard and the overall vibe was one of part pub, part modern dining room, although this worked very well to create a relaxed atmosphere.
It offers various dining spaces, including a Reading Room, a Chapel Room which provides views of the Restored Fitzrovia Chapel and 2 Kitchen Tables for large groups, which allow you to look directly into the open plan kitchen to see your meals being prepared.
For my first course, I opted for the Potted Rabbit, crab apple jelly and toast, which came with a delicious Dijon Mustard Crème Fraiche. The portions were very generous and the Potted Rabbit was full of flavour. The Crème Fraiche served well as a butter substitute to provide a layer between the toast and rabbit. A truly delicious first course. My dining partner chose the Charred Mackerel, with beetroot and horseradish. I was told it was superb. With our starters, we enjoyed a crisp glass of 2013 La Mise du Printemps, Pinot Blanc.
Next, the mains: I chose the Lamb Loin & Shoulder, which came with onion puree, roasted shallots, and side orders of savoy cabbage, butternut squash and truffle skin-on-fries. One word: Amazing! The lamb was mouth-wateringly tender and pink and cooked to perfection. A helping of lamb shoulder complimented the lamb loin, whilst the butternut squash was fluffy and light. The truffle skin-on-fries were undoubtedly the richest, tastiest fries I’ve ever experienced. From initially stating that they were too rich to have too many, we couldn’t help but devour them all, unable to stop until they were all finished.
My partner had the Roasted Cod, which came with pearl barley, kale and hazelnuts. A truly meaty sized portion of cod greeted her, thick and tender. The pearl barley and hazelnuts provided a textured contrast to the smoothness of the cod. The kale that came with it was unfortunately fried within an inch of its life; however the flavours of the cod and barley together made this one small error quickly forgivable. The Beverage Director had clearly gone to great lengths to match each course to a chosen wine and our wine for the main course was a full flavoured 2009 Bourgogne Pinot Noir, Domaine Bachelet Monnot.
After the delights of the first two courses, I had high expectations for dessert. Thankfully I was not disappointed. Their speciality dessert is Percy’s Mistresses; warm madeleines with a streak of blackberries baked through them, served on a wooden chopping board with a side of maple syrup butter. The warmth from the madeleines helped to melt the maple syrup butter, which in turn helped the entire dessert to melt in my mouth. The blackberries had a strong, fresh taste and my only complaint was that there were not more of them (‘only’ three, unfortunately). My dining partner opted for the Crepe Soufflé, with apricots and caramel, which was equally as good as my own choice, sadly if not marginally better, I decided after being offered a mouthful. Not a traditional soufflé by any means, but a thin layer of crepe, filled with a deliciously light and whipped cream filling, covered in an apricot caramel sauce. The result was crepe perfection. The caramel sauce was sweet but not at all sickly. To accompany our dessert, we enjoyed a glass of the 2013 Jurancon “Marie Kattalin”, Domaine de Souch, South West. Sweet and rich and it complimented the fruity flavours of the blackberries in the madeleines.
After thoroughly indulging in three courses we ordered a tea to finish off the evening. As an avid tea drinker I was pleased to be served a decent size pot of tea for one, as opposed to the half size cups some restaurants offer.
Executive Chef Diego Cardoso and his team had clearly put in a lot of effort with their new autumn menu and the results speak for themselves. Each course was thoughtfully planned out, pairing different foods together to create a menu that offers multiple flavours in every option. Any diners to this establishment will be sure to enjoy every mouthful.
Address: 1 Pearson Square, London W1T 3BF
