The Zetter

Food

It was half price cocktail hour, so I ordered a Ze-llini - passion fruit puree, peach puree, peach liqueur and Prosecco. Garnished with Physalis was really wonderful, the sweetness of the fruit complements the bitter alcohol. We had:

• Grilled octopus with borlotti beans, capers & pickled ginger (£8.50) – really slimy and weird texture, but nice sauce, a bit strange with the addition of the ginger
• Rosemary papardelle with rabbit ragu, white wine & Parmesan (£7.50) - gutsy tomato flavour, the rabbit was shredded so you can’t really identify it. Papardelle is just on the wrong side of al dente.
• Grilled whole bream with baked polenta, Cavolo Nero & gremolata (£17.50) – loved it. I admire them for serving this whole
• Caramelized Gressingham duck breast with braised lentils, Porcini mushrooms & bacon (£17.50) – really nice, sweet sauce, with brown layer of skin and just enough fat
• Dulce de Leche Crème Brulee and Banana Split Ice Cream (£5.35) – definitely the right pick. Really creamy and smooth crème brulee, and excellent banana ice cream
• Apple Tart with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (£5.35) – well executed, but boring as well. This is the thin sliced apple variety, so the apples were not too caramalised or too stewed. I prefer mine more like an apple pie or tarte tartine, where you really get into the apple flavours.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

It was still quite empty when we arrived at 6:30pm, so we could take advantage of our 50% off offer. I don’t mind, it meant that our food was delivered promptly, and the chefs had time to spend on our meals. There is a small bar area, with a pretty big circular bar at the front. We sat at the back, decorated with some strange paintings. Our table was at the back, overlooking the pavement and square outside, so it was quite nice, to be away from the crowds. Music was very enjoyable too.

Rating - 2

Service

Slokky was very afraid of our waiter because she was too friendly, but I found she was very nice. In fact, all the wait staff were eager to please, explained to us what we wanted to know, and actually talked to us.

Rating - 4

C-factor

About average for Farringdon area, and pretty much bang on for the price. I would be interested in coming back, especially for brunch, or jazz on Sunday.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 14.5

Info

St John’s Square
86-88 Clerkenwell Road
London
EC1M 5RJU
Phone +44 (0) 20 7324 4444
Website