“FINE dining gone wild” is the tagline of Great Guns Social’s latest culinary pop-up, fodder, the latest sign of the restaurant’s commitment to showcasing a variety of cuisines through its rotating residencies. In winter, when Glass last checked in, Khalid Dahbi was improvising Moroccan dishes large and small; this spring’s residency feels far closer to home, with fodder casting its eye over local resources, procuring its ingredients from nearby suppliers and foraging fresh food from all over London.
Egg dish at fodder
Given this back-to-basics ethos, and the fact that pea wafers, nettles and asparagus give several dishes a memorable green colour, it’s surprising that the menu isn’t very vegan-friendly – though with a few days’ notice, fodder can accommodate dietary preferences. The “chefs’ choice” menu (£50) has two iterations (vegetarian and omnivore), with seven small, rich, delicate courses that begin with Jersey milk ricotta, peas and dittander between two pea wafers, and end with dehydrated dark chocolate mousse and nettles that were foraged in London.
This menu offers some relatively ambitious dishes – the pre-dessert course is birch sap-glazed white pork, turnips and garlic mustard (or, for veggies, roasted cauliflower, kombucha-coated rhubarb, turnips and radishes foraged in Cornwall). A plate of Jersey Royals and wild garlic and oyster mushrooms soaked in mushroom broth, sprinkled with dried seaweed powder, is pure earthy pleasure, while its omnivore analogue – charred Cornish mackerel with sea buckthorn and colourful carrot glaze – is succulent enough.
But my companion and I concurred that the simplest dishes were the most satisfying, whether that was the homemade sourdough with whipped butter or the PBJ sandwich (jam and lentil parfait between two small triangles of toasted brioche – no peanut butter in sight). More affordably, there are bar snacks (£2-£6), and the above dishes are available individually as mains (£9-£16).
Cod at fodder
The cocktails, which use homemade pickled syrups, are less impressive. The Moscow Mule packs a gingery kick that plays well against the food’s indulgent richness, and the Elderflower Fizz complements the pea wafer amuse-bouche – if “garden” were a taste, it would taste like this dish. But both the Fizz and the Cuba Libre lack depth of flavour, and neither is memorable on its own terms.
The fodder team
Louise Stapley and Jenny Novitzky, who co-founded fodder, have been working with Michael Thompson and Ollie Downey – former chefs at Fera at Claridge’s – to put together the menu; fodder being a pop-up, all four are around to cook, serve, or be on hand to answer any questions about the dishes. There will be monthly events, talks about sustainability and culinary resourcefulness, a weekday lunch offer, and a Monday evening discount for staff in the hospitality industry. So if your interest is piqued by quietly confident combinations, a smorgasbord of locally sourced and well-prepared ingredients, pleasant presentation, and young, friendly pop-uppers, head down to Great Guns Social before 22 June 2018, when fodder’s residency comes to an end.
by Arjun Sajip
Great Guns Social, 96 Southwark Bridge Road, London, SE1 0EF
020 3475 0030
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