THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
The pandemic didn't have many silver linings, but I found a few. I renewed my love of cycling which led to the discovery of London's canals. These waterways, teeming with life and full of character, have become my favorite part of the city. They vary from hood to hood and can be anything from industrial to hipster cool. Caravel is moored on Regents Canal about 15 minutes from Angel tube station. It's magic!
A caravel was a small sailing ship in the 15th to 17th centuries. This one is a barge but it's been done up beautifully. There's a rustic elegance about it that balances fine dining with life on the water. Brothers Fin and Lorcan Spiteri have been serving more casual fare at the adjacent Studio Kitchen with seating both indoors and on the pontoon. Now they have upped their game and the barge is a real winner.
Fin runs the floor and bar. I ordered a Paper Chaser (£8.50) because £1 of it is donated to Cook for Ukraine. Next time I'll order it because it's delicious! Bourbon, Aperol, lemon and blood orange made a punchy version of a whiskey sour.
Service throughout the evening was excellent. Our 2 waiters were both well-spoken, well-informed and remarkably poised with a fine understanding of hospitality. 10!
Lorcan runs the kitchen with aplomb. His food is a mix of British, Italian and French classics and everything we sampled was very well executed. I enjoyed every mouthful! The menu is small but well-rounded and the prices are remarkably low. You don't have to sell a kidney to eat here!
We began with potato rösti, sour cream and caviar (£6.50). The rösti pancakes were crisped perfectly but the little dab of quality caviar got lost in the generous dollop of sour cream. Duck croquettes with wild garlic aioli (£8) were exceptional. Rillettes of duck were beautifully breaded and crisp fried. The sharp aioli and gherkins cut through the fatty duck and made a great match.
White crab and fennel tagliatelle (£16) was the best take on the linguine classic I've had in a long time. The pasta was excellent and there was tons of crab. Packed with flavor, each bite tasted of the sea! Pressed lamb, sprouting broccoli and anchovy (£21) was another great dish. Slow cooked shoulder of lamb was well-seasoned, succulent and tender. Just delicious. The generous portion of broccoli with anchovy cream was a wonderfully punchy accompaniment. The florets were perfect. The stem, too al dente to cut.
The wine list too is small but affordable. A Garnacha Nativa, Care 2019 (£6) was one-dimensional though certainly drinkable. A Briccotondo Barbera, Fontanafredda 2019 (£7.50) fared much better. Full of fruit and light spice at the finish. Very enjoyable.
Bananas, caramelized perfectly, were wonderful in a puff pastry almond tart (£7). The big surprise was Rhubarb jelly, crème diplomat and honeycomb (£6.50). Bursting with flavor, the jelly and heavenly bites of caramel crunch really rocked my boat!
