Thursday, 10 June 2010

Moro







So, the indulgent supper club met again this week. It had been a long time coming. We were all hungry for another treat. This time we went to Moro; a Moorish restaurant on lovely Exmouth Market in Islington.

It was a gorgeous hot evening, and I felt like I was walking down a Parisian street. People were sitting outside on little tables, sipping their rosé and soaking up the joie de vivre. Moro has concertina windows so that the whole restaurant opens and has tables spilling out on to the street. You honestly feel like you're abroad, and it wasn't just the weather.

As you can see from the picture above, the interior is sleek, understated and cool. The room is quite lofty and there's lovely sense of space. Chitter chatter fills the air, and it isn't too noisy because the ceiling is so high. There's an open kitchen at the back which is alive with culinary magic. They have a wood burning oven, and a charcoal grill to make their home made delicacies. The smell is amazing!

So, onto the food... The menu changes on a weekly basis, with ingredients sourced from the best suppliers all over the UK. The cuisine is called 'the marriage of saffron and cinnamon' with its roots in Spain and the Muslim Mediterranean. The menu is so mouth-watering-ly amazing that it makes you want to go there everyday and try something different each time. Everything on it sounds sooo good. Such unusual and good combinations of ingredients which sound good for you. Wholesome indulgence. They also do tapas at the bar, and this is super popular.

After much deliberation, we picked our starters. We shared some Pan fried lamb's sweetbreads with braised peas, sweet herbs and seasoned yoghurt (home made of course!). This was really yummy! I'd never had sweetbreads before and they were meatier than I thought they'd be.

We also had a Raw broad bean salad with salt cod, olive oil and lemon. This was ok, and not surprisingly, very salty! It tasted very fresh and was sort of a palette cleanser. So we felt set up for round 2. And wow was it good. All the plates were beautifully presented (I can't believe I forgot photos!!) and so colourful. I think the aesthetics adds SO much to a dish, and Moro have perfected it.

Cordelia had the Wood roasted pork with patatas alinadas. Now pork is the one thing I NEVER order. I always find it a disappointment, but... this was really yummy. A very generous portion (as with all the plates), big cuts of meat and lots of scrummy potatoes.

Pemmy had the Charcoal grilled lamb with chopped salad, pomegranate molasses and farika. On paper this sounded like the best one! Such an exotic mixture. And it was delicious too! The lamb was cooked perfectly, and the pomegranate was a fantastic addition to the dish. It was the right balance of extra flavour and freshness.

But for once, my choice was the best! hehe! I had the Seared sea trout with spring vegetables, lentils and rosemary manteca. Mmmm.... The flavours were insane. First of all you got the seared sea trout which tasted as if it had been caught that morning. Then the lentils and rosemary kicked in which rounded off each mouthful perfectly. Scrummy. I could have had it twice over.

Now, as there's always room for pudd (and because I have a weakness for ice cream), we shared the Caramel and Seville orange marmalade ice cream. Sadly, this was the down point of the meal. I was a little disappointed. It wasn't orangey enough at all, and tasted more of burnt caramel. But I love the idea of it. Maybe I just got a bad scoop!

But all in all I LOVE Moro. The menu is amazing, I could honestly eat everything on it (even the pork!). The quality of the ingredients and food combination are superb. And all the dishes are beautiful; combining colour, culture and taste. It's a fantastic restaurant with a wonderful atmosphere that puts you in a great mood for the rest of the evening.

This Moorish is more-ish.

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