This weekend we had the pleasure of dining with our friends Flat Three at their new Scandinavian inspired Japanese restaurant in Holland Park. Yes that’s right, Scandinavian X Japanese, what an ingenious combination!
We have been working with founders Juliana and Pavel for several months, along with the talented photographer Andy Boyle to create the new Flat Three website. To celebrate, opening their doors to the public, they invited us to try their 9 course pairings menu and after spending weeks drooling over the food photography, we almost bit their hand off at the opportunity! Ok, getting a bit excited and seriously need to keep the food puns under control.
Having little experience in fine dining, we weren’t sure what to expect, but the beauty of the pairings menu is that the chef has done all the thinking for you, so you can just sit back and allow your taste buds to enjoy themselves.
I’m not going to attempt to describe what we ate in any detail as I’m not qualified, nor have the vocabulary to do it justice. All I can say is that we were blown away by how well the flavours complimented and contrasted one another in ways we never imagined possible.
No dish showcased the team’s knowledge and experience better than the striped horse mackerel sashimi with myrrh, wood ants and chojang sauce. Using the acidity of the ants to cut through the saltines of the fish, offset with the spicy/sweet chojang sauce… it just works. If you think that’s a typo, no that’s right, wood ants. They are delicious and I recommend you try them, although perhaps not anteater style from your garden, but prepared by a professional chef.
Other favourites of ours included the Japanese baby turnip with crunchy milk, brill with oyster mushroom sauce, sea buckthorn sorbet and dandelion coffee desert.
The next generation of food.
The interior scheme is beautiful and the same attention to detail that’s evident in the cooking also extends to the choice of furniture, crockery and particularly the glassware, which was so fine it was like drinking out of thin air! Very cool indeed.
In addition to the food, the service was flawless and the staff were young and friendly which made us gastro newbies feel at home, despite never having eaten somewhere like this before. The atmosphere reflects the fact that Flat Three started our as an experimental kitchen in a west London flat, where Pavel and Juliana would try out their new ideas for friends and family.
Flat Three is a unique little gem in west London and is a must see for anyone interested in gastronomy. Book your table now, don’t miss out - flatthree.london
Photography - Andy Boyle
