Nopi Nopi

Imagine floor-to-ceiling crisscrossing mirrors, light beige marbled floors and walls, and a door, as if in the court of Louis XIV, hidden behind one of those mirrors, which opened to, well, a pure white toilet bowl. If there is such a place in which a lavish lavatory would be situated, I wouldn’t, in a million years, have thought it would be on the basement of this unassuming brand new bistro Nopi, the brainchild of Yotam and the team behind N1 love-child Ottolenghi, on Warwick Street. Where? It’s one of those back streets near Beak Street and Regent Street, which we occasionally walk past on our way to somewhere else. A street that sounds familiar but we never quite head for deliberately. Leaving the toilet, I walked into the two massive chef’s tables positioned next to shelves of colourful exotic tins, bottles of sauces and ingredients and overlooking, of course, the chefs in action. The kitchen was spotless, fully staffed. The scene was loud and disciplined. I heard Sarit was shouting orders. This was, probably, one of the very few times, piss-taking enhanced my gastronomic experience.

It was a different scene in the upstairs main dining room. Though spacious and relatively packed, the scene was relaxed. The wooden tables with brass covers were well spaced out; the stunning bar fully stacked with well polished wine glasses; the white tiled walls complimented the elegance of the dining room; the brass ceiling lamps whose shape resembled that of an incense burner; and the light dimly lit appeased the wearied souls on a Friday evening. I never came across a place in Central that was just void of the hurley burly as this.

The subtlety of the decor was, indeed, materialised in the cooking. The cuisine at Nopi wasn’t easy to categorise. Was it European, Moroccan, Turkish, fusion, innovative or what!? To me, I wouldn’t waste time categorising. It was great, and for all that mattered! Like Ottolenghi, Nopi followed the same philosophy of small sharing dishes, albeit the portion at Nopi was more generous. Among me and my other bib, we picked three dishes from the meat section, two from the fish and two others from the vegetable – all came when ready.

Bread Time…

Good and very soft bread served with rather intense, smokey olive oil – very good quality! – and a surprise mash of things. We were told those “things” were made from butternut squash, yogurt, tahini, date syrup, coriander and sesame seeds. It was sweet with a hint of nutty flavours from the tahini – which was basically a paste of sesame seeds – the yogurt worked wondered to disguise the pronounced taste of the squash adding hint of creamy sour-and-freshness. There was also fresh earthy flavour from the coriander. Another depth from the mellow and sweet date syrup. I was thrilled and, shameless as I was, asked for another helping. Our girl was extremely accommodating.

(1) Burrata, Blood Orange, Coriander Seeds + (2) Slow Cooked Pig Cheeks, Celeriac and Barberry Salad
Decent sized burrata ball. Not gargantuan but enough to be leaking creamy butter. The dressing was earthy, thanks to the coriander seeds, and with a touch of tanginess. This was served with crispy pitta toast, which I didn’t feel necessary. Perhaps I am too much used to eating a whole burrata by myself? To me, the only down side of this dish was that it was not aggressive enough. As I was clearing up the plate, I felt the buttery flavour plus the basil leaves dominated the flavour and did not leave much room for the subtle beauty of the dressing to shine. This, however, wasn’t the case with the pig cheeks. Slow cooked and served with some very sweet, fruity jus. There were two substantial pieces of them. Intense! The cheeks were tender, almost caramelised by the jus from the outside and with the natural sweetness of the meat within. The “coleslaw” of celeriac was aromatic, full of crunch, and light, which contrasted well with the pork and also balanced off the flavours. Too bad the photo did not turn out well due to inadequate lighting

(3) Seared Prawns, Fennel, White Oregano, Feta + (4) Grilled Hake Kebabs, Lemon Pickle, Yoghurt + (5) Baked Blu di Pecora Cheesecake, Wild Mushrooms
The seared succulent prawns, served with tails and heads, lay submerged in a right Bouillabaise-style soup that benefited much from the herbal explosion. There was extra bite and burst of milky feta crumbled in the soup, which I thought was genius. Too bad there was no spoon around as I’d love to clear up all that juice of goodness. The hake was also brilliantly grilled with a touch of saltiness well combined with sour and bitter lemon slices, luscious yoghurt and a side salad. I had to say, I was not wow-ed by this but it was good. The baked cheesecake, which I’d say it was a Quiche, was the stellar dish of the night. The cheese, which I never came across before, had a nutty sweetness of Pecorino but with the strong, spiciness of a blue cheese. It was bake-perfect. Firm enough but tongue-pleasingly mellow. Quite strong for my other bib – he wasn’t a fan of a Blue – and took him a couple of bites to get used to the flavours. After that, there was a drama and a lot of bitching as I forked the last thick piece and put it all in my mouth. We fell out, well, until the next round of dishes arrived…

No photo for the hake kebabs.

(6) Ossobuco, Sage and Parmesan Polenta + (7) Braised Lamb Meatballs, Yoghurt Sauce, Pomegranate Seeds
I found the ossobuco interesting. The meat was flaked and sort of half way between a salad and an unformed terrine. There was some acidity which I couldn’t identify what was but it was pleasant. The polenta was rich in flavour and grainily smooth. The meatballs were among ones of my other bib’s favourite, served with a lava of spiced yoghurt. Personally I found the spices too explosive for my liking. That said, the balls were big and juicy .. mmm.. what were I insinuating here? A bit pink in the middle. Let’s stop here before it turned into a porno fantasy. The pomegranate seeded added bursts and juices, which kinda lifted the whole dish up, though I still felt it was quite a heavy dish.

Again, due to bad lighting, no photo for the ossobuco!

Right, I was stuffed. I thought seven dishes between two were too much. It was just after my meal at Opera Tavern that I felt I had to over-order to get filled at “small dishes” eateries. This wasn’t the case at all at Nopi. The dishes were hearty and generous for a small portion size. I felt five savoury dishes among two would be just right and then one dessert each. That said, it didn’t stop me from getting desserts…

(8) Pineapple Galette, Pandan, Coconut Ice Cream + (9) Cardamon Rice Pudding, Rose Syrup, Pistachio
The galette was f**king gorgeous!! Paper thin shavings of pineapple baked on top of paper-thin piece of puss pastry. It was crispy underneath and soft and juicy on the top. The pandan flavour, however, was subtle. Just a hint for the nose really. Coconut ice cream was good and you know pineapple and coconut are always a match made in heaven. I could seriously with one more of this. The rice pudding was also very good. It was such a mouthful of aroma, cardamom and dried rose petal. I felt as if eating a warm dish of kulfi, so velvety and sweet. Pistachio provided a contrast in texture much needed in this dish. Both were ace.

So, one last question: what kind of food do they serve at Nopi? Is it fair to say this is Western cuisine with Middle Eastern influences, or perhaps, Middle Eastern cuisine with Western twists? But, there are also Asian influences looming in the background, say, pandan and shiso. Is this fusion food? Probably but then probably not. I feel this is the food that marries off the otherworldli-ness of ingredients, flavours and cultures, making things foreign no longer THAT foreign but also making familiar things no longer QUITE familiar. To me, the meal was a near-perfect revelation. And, I didn’t even take into account the 50% the bill during this soft launch!

<3 Nopi

Enough said,

My head rating for Nopi says, “9 out of 10″.

My heart rating for Nopi says, “9 out of 10″.

NOPI

21-22 Warwick Street
London
W1B 5NE

Tel. 020 7494 9584

www.nopi-restaurant.com