THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
Cajun, Creole and Jazz? Yes please! Chef Patron Jacob Kenedy has brought some of the best of American culture to this delightful pub on Regents Canal, just 5 minutes from Angel tube station. This authentic taste of Louisiana has everything but the mosquitoes!
Cajun and Creole cuisine exemplify the melting pot that is America. Both are part of Louisiana history. Cajun refers to the French who settled there while Creole stems from a multitude of cultures.
Chef Kenedy is a star. After founding Bocca di Lupo, one of my favorite Italian restaurants in London, he turned his attention to the American Deep South. With good reason. His great grandparents lived there at the turn of the last century. This connection gives meaning to the brilliant food he serves.
The pub is also a destination for music. Music and dining can be a marriage made in heaven. Sadly it isn't here. The volume was so high, it was impossible to enjoy conversation or in fact, the meal itself. This was clearly mirrored in faces of the other patrons. It's no reflection on the fabulous Bex Marshall, an excellent blues/rock singer and guitarist. She was mic'd for the Apollo in a room the size of a corner shop. It made no sense.
Otherwise, there is much to love. A perfect margarita (£10) was indeed perfect and a Cajun martini (£13) grew on me with each sip. Hot sauce and pickle juice made it “dirty” and a slice of chilli continued to infuse the drink until the final gulp.
Fried oysters with bacon (£14) were little bombs of flavor. Scallops (£15), cooked perfectly, were paired sweetly with a pumpkin purée. Best of all were the fried green tomatoes (£6). Beautifully crisp and served with a punchy Cajun mayo, they just explode.
Jambalaya with mole and pumpkin (£16) was a vegan take on the Cajun classic. The original, not unlike paella, is made with shrimp, chicken and veg. Well caramelized pumpkin was a great substitute, the mole added layers of rich taste and it all came in a great big pot.
A shrimp boil (£22) with crab mussels, sausage, potato and corn is the southern version of a clambake. It was all cooked beautifully and given star treatment with an exquisite seafood bisque. Beyond delicious.
Joel Gott, 815, 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon (£39) is a multi-vineyard blend from California. The sweetness of vanilla and juicy berries mellowed during the meal and the wine rounded out with balanced tannins and a hint of cedar. Good value.
Beignets (£6) were my only disappointment from the kitchen. Instead of the anticipated, crisp, light-as-air, deep fried crullers, these were more like sweet buns with powdered sugar and a dark, chicory coffee caramel. Pumpkin pie (£9) was much better, the filling light as air.
Service was laid back, in line with the atmosphere, but meticulous and well-paced.
With a better balance in the music department, this could be an American dream!
