The dining room of the Claridge’s used to be the domain of Gordon Ramsay until a few years ago. Then Simon Rogan took over, but his Nordic English cuisine did not quite fit the ambiente, so now they turned to Daniel Humm. He incidentally used to cook there as a very young cook, so it is a bit of a walk down memory lane for him.
For Davies and Brook (a New York play on the street names around the hotel) Chef Humm is rolling out an all time classics menu, as series of signature dishes. This might sound boring but it is not. I believe that he will earn very swiftly three stars and will then be one of the few London three star places which actually deserve to have them.
All dishes are very classical composed, with a fine calibration of flavours and acidity. The black cod, one of the many stand out dishes, cannot be cooked better. Glassy flakes of sweet fish paired with cabbage, Miso and kohlrabi gave an incredible flavour profile that one is tempted to ask for an encore. Luckily, we did not as when we entered the room we ran into Chef Humm coincidently. Not knowing that we were coming, he immediately took over the sequence of dishes and served us the XL version of the menu. His celeriac dish, braised with Black Truffle, can only be topped by Daniel Berlin in Sweden. The intensity of the flavour and texture of the celeriac is simply perfect.
I could now go on and on and describe every single dish but instead I suggest you just go there and enjoy the next new three star restaurant in London.