Perilla - Platform 1, East Dulwich

I have no illusions in saying that I am not the most typical/average/normal person in the world. I might even go so far as to say that I am positively strange in parts, but occasionally I am confronted with an approach that confuses, challenges or surprises even me. Hopefully, all at the same time. Such is the case with the latest buzz word to be thrown around the national press, food blogs, celeb endorsements and the such like. Clean eating is being called a trend (definitely not a diet) and has come to be popularised by eating small dishes that are 'good for you'  as well as being focussed on flavour.

So eating less food overall but more fresh fruit and veg than anything else. To be fair, I'm not sure we can call that a trend; Mr Motivator was saying it twenty years ago.

So why has this diet alleged trend confused, challenged and surprised me this time around? There doesn't seem to be much to confuse anyone in that approach does there? To answer the question, we must turn to Perilla on a lovely Saturday night where Mrs P, The Child and I were delighted to be joined by the Sister-in-law for dinner over our annual Christmas weekender. The s-i-l had enjoyed Perilla only a few weekends before and was so taken with it that she booked us a table before she had even finished her own meal! Under such a powerful recommendation, how could we go anywhere else?!

As is the nature of any pop-up restaurant the menu is under constant development with tweaks and changes happening on a very tight turnaround but from what we could see, Perilla clearly knew what they wanted to do and given the pedigree of the people behind the place you can see why. Ben Marks (formally of NOMA and The Square) and Matt Emmerson (manager of both Polpo and Polpetto) have serious credentials and when I say that Head Chef Ben is only 23 then you'll be forgiven for reviewing your own achievements and finding them somewhat lacking. The principle behind Perilla is described as informal fine dining. Certainly the venue at Platform 1 is anything but formal, the atmosphere is relaxed, the music is loud and dress code is non-existent. The bar has a great range of vino as well as cocktails often with housemade ingredients which more often than not come from the edible garden terrace out the back. So far, so 'modern Britain', I thought it was great.

So we know where they are, we know who they are and they know that they are good at what they do, but what is it exactly that they did do? First the flat bread with brown butter, served with a rosemary 'brush'. This was lovely, the s-i-l assured us that they were 'better last time' which would only convince me further that it was bloody brilliant.

We then moved on to 'Crisp Chicken Wing Stuffed with Mushroom', which at £1.50 seemed like an absolute bargain, so we ordered three. And then these arrived.

Suddenly 'bargain' wasn't quite the word I would use. Now don't get me wrong, they were crispy, chicken-y and absolutely delicious (although I'm not sure how much mushroom could have been stuffed into the 15mm by 15mm sandwich) but man alive, the value is certainly questionable*. Then we moved on to the starters and as there were three, we ordered... three.

First the cauliflower which was cooked effortlessly, beautifully and stylishly. The sauce was creamy, glossy and the cauliflower was treated with such skill as to demand the oohs and aahs that it elicited from those around the table. Top notch curding too and I don't like curd.

Then the duck egg with mussels was as green as the cauliflower was beige. The mussels were Michelin-ised by some very fine chopping and probably placed with tweezers or quinelled around one of the freshest duck eggs that has passed my lips. The green sauce was phenomenal and the whole bowl was rich with the adulterously thick yolk mingling with the salty mussel and the distinctive lovage. This was far and away my favourite of the lot.

Then there was the lettuce. Until now, grilled lettuce has for me, been the preserve of destined to fail Masterchef contestants and amusing anecdotes from other foodie friends. "Do you remember when we put the baby gem under the grill? Hahahaha, what were we thinking" etc etc. Now though, having tried the above bowl I can totally get it. Perhaps it was the cheese sauce, or maybe I had previously missed the point as it was, after all, still just various kinds of slightly burnt lettuce. To be honest, I don't really care because tasted absolutely cracking**.

Then came, what was described as the mains: mackerel, pork chop and the beans, again we ordered all three, but so engrossed with the conversation that I'm afraid you are left with only the following shot:

Beans in the foreground, then the sharing mackerel and finally the pork at the back. All were cooked magnificently with particular mention going to the perfectly cooked mackerel for being boned whole with the head still on when it came to the table. An absolute masterclass if ever I've seen one. The beans were creamy, well seasoned and happily layered under another scattering of greeny leaves and the pork with green sauce had been clearly selected for it's delicate proportions but what was there tasted very good indeed.

Puds were similarly expressed with a restrained cheese and toast number:

Which provided a brilliant balance of the salty, melty, cheesiness we needed along with those islands of honeyed grapes which were such a clever idea that I may even try to do it myself. 

We also had the poached pear which came in yet another green sauce and blended soft pear with tart, cooling creme fraiche and various herbage to give a very accomplished yet ultimately unimaginative dish. I'm afraid I just don't like the herb and pear combo, but that said, the others on the table were very complimentary.

The menu, on paper, was to feed three adults and The Child and certainly the s-i-l woke up the following day and decided against breakfast being as she was, still full from the night before. However, speaking for myself any meal that I finish being more hungry than when I started has some questions to answer. Despite fulfilling the Clean Eating brief, we were crying out for some kind of potato to help bolster the meal and the portion size simply wasn't going to cut it so we jumped at the chance after the meal when we were lucky enough to meet Ben and ask him about his style; he was really friendly and chatty as well as forthcoming in his skinny jeans, fitted t-shirt and fashionable haircut about the fact that he 'doesn't really like carbs'. Well, no kidding my disgustingly talented friend. 

Perhaps Clean Eating is for young Londoners who are already slim and maybe my dinner at Perilla is forcing me to admit that's just not me any more***, but I have no doubt at all that this team are well on course for Michelin stardom. Everything we ate here was executed incredibly well and bursting with freshness and the chefs absolute dedication to his craft. These dishes certainly have their place as part of a multiple tasting menu (with added potato please) and when considered against that Michelin star this menu absolutely represents value. But they don't have that star yet and so charging £1.50 for what is effectively a vol-au-vaunt (albeit a very nice one), is difficult to justify for those of use who live outside of the magical M25 circumference of expensification. 

So with all that being said, a total bill of £180 for three adults, a child and a very good bottle of wine is not extortionate by London standards, so I continue to count my lucky stars that my family live so close to so many different (and delicious) experiences. This may not be my favourite type of food but my God, this kid knows how to cook.




*that was the confusing bit.
**I was suitably surprised.
***now that's a challenge if ever I heard one.