In an era of Soho Home décor, restaurants have all but forgotten the romanticism of dining. Personality is swapped for lifeless cream couches, H&M Home candle wicks and yet-another terracotta cushion cover.
Just off of King’s Road, Chelsea – the hub of trend followers, rather than setters – you’ll find The Rabbit. This little gem reads straight from a Beatrix Potter story, if Wes Anderson designed the illustrations. In an all’s-well-that-ends-well approach, The Rabbit uses only farm to fork produce, grown in-house on their West Sussex farm.
Having worked a brief stint in one of London’s top restaurants, I know how highly chefs value their produce. London – home to skyscrapers, canals and forests – might boast a diverse landscape, but farms it has not. As a result, suppliers such as Natoora have a strong grip on the restaurant scene, meaning most restaurants are pulling from a very same-y source of fruits and vegetables.
Factors such as rainfall, soil quality, and sunlight dramatically affect the overall flavour profile of produce: it’s why fruits abroad taste so much better. Though The Rabbit’s menu reads simple, its food boasts a complex flavour profile: the tomatoes tasted sweeter, the herbs felt that little bit fresher. Wes Anderson’s colour grading didn’t just stop at the décor; it seeped into every element of the dish.
The Rabbit boasts a detailed menu, with delights everywhere you look. Take for instance, the Mushroom Marmite Éclair with Egg Confit. A savoury style profiterole, filled with a rich, mushroom pâté was a wonderful opener to my lunch. The Goat’s Cheese Tartlet with Sussex Honey was also fabulous.
Whenever I get excited about a restaurant, I get extremely hungry. That was my excuse for ordering two starters. And I have no regrets. The Scallops with Radicchio were light, fragrant and nutty, whilst the Yorkshire Grouse Breast was much headier, paired with earthy wild mushrooms and poached plums for a very autumnal-feeling.
For the mains, (only one this time), arrived Fallow Deer with glazed carrots and sticky onions. The venison was tender, paired with a beautifully rich jus, flavoured with a hint of beurre noisette for sweetness. Rustic, but still refined – exactly how meat with veg should be served. The chargrilled seasonal vegetables that came along as a side had been kissed with charcoals, resulting in a wonderfully smokey aftertaste.
With just enough room for dessert, I managed to order a Fruit Tart (although I did have to go halves with the waitress).
It would be inexcusable to visit The Rabbit without dining but, should you only look for a glass of wine, their wine list is fantastic, with many of their grape varieties being grown directly on their land in West Sussex.
The Rabbit is a must-visit for anyone who values the importance of eating good ingredients. Not only does the food just taste better, but you also feel better. It’s near impossible to trace the source of meat suppliers when dining out: at The Rabbit you know your dinner has had a nourished life. Go for a feel-good feeling; in my opinion, that’s worth more than any movie.
Review and Images by Ella Mapes @lrmapes
