Bulent Yusuf's Qype reviews
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94-96 Commercial Street, London E1 6LZ
Bulent Yusuf
wrote on 8 March 2010
St. John Bread & Wine has a large, open plan dining area, with a spartan decor of white walls and coat pegs. We were a party of three, booked in for Saturday lunchtime. Place had a bustling, lively atmosphere, so all the signs were good.
Instead of going for mains, we just shared six or seven starters and a bottle of wine, then followed it up with several choices for dessert. We had a fried duck's egg on a bed of pig's cheek and potato; a beetroot and goat-curd salad; duck's liver and fois gras on toast; braised ribeye of beef; white faggot and sweet potato mash; ox's heart salad; and smoked mackerel. For dessert we had a rum baba (sponge soaked in, er, rum and sugar syrup, topped with cream); rhubarb meringue; apple sorbet; gingerbread loaf and toffee sauce; and toasted almond cream with biscuits.
Reading though that list, you're going to need an adventurous palette to dine in here. And vegetarians will most certainly have cause to take offense. But it's worth taking the plunge; the food was incredible and delicious. Incredibly delicious, even. Plus, at the most basic level of trade descriptions, I can attest that the bread and the wine were fabulous also.
Service was efficient and came with a smile. The bill made us smile also. We didn't hesitate to leave a generous tip.
So, after a three hour gastronomic odyssey, we waddled out of the restaurant, blinking into the afternoon sunlight. The food is spectacular, every bite was a delight. A return visit is made doubly likely by the fact that the menu is changed daily.