Core was last visited by Frankie in 2018, just nine months after they opened.  They have made some changes to the interior, especially the bar, since that time and won a 3 Michelin star rating in 2021 as well as numerous other awards.  Some of the staff, including Chef Jonny Bone and Restaurant Director Rob Rose, are still there which maintains the excellent level of food and service you receive there.  They offer a selection of tasting menus with some supplements and wine pairings available.  It’s a bright and airy room which is now adorned with a hand-sewn copper thread on the painted walls that matches what is on the menu and the signage.  The unclothed round tables are well-spaced on a wood floor with round rugs and some curved bench seating.  Two doorways look out to the large kitchen and the chef’s table directly in front of it.  Some cabinets with books and objects are in the periphery and now a large serving table is next to the support column.  The changes in the dining room are subtle yet elegant while the bar, Whiskey & Seaweed has seen more substantial re-decorating.  It is a lovely space with tremendous food and excellent service – definitely go if you can.

Set-up

Food

A selection of terrific snacks start the tasting.  They included a lobster roll, caviar sandwich, black truffle gougére, and roast chicken.  The caviar sandwich was wonderful with cream fraiche providing an accent.  The lobster roll was a soft brioche enhanced with a tarragon dressing.  The gougere was amazing and filled with yummy truffle flavor.  The roast chicken was with ‘potatoes and gravy’ in the taco shaped shell and another good one.  The snacks themselves are great but the presentation is just as well thought out with the dishes and utensils seemingly made for just this idea.  We enjoyed a well made Negroni with the snacks before moving to wine.

 

Bread was served by the piece and it was a dark dense bread with a very crisp crust and wonderful air pockets in the crumb of the bread.  It came with softened butter.

 

We chose the Core Seasons tasting which as expected varies with the season as last visit we’d had the Core Classics.   Portland crab was served with sabayon and caviar, as a consommé, and as a claw piece topped with consommé jelly.  The brown crab was mixed into the sabayon while the white crab was underneath.  The sabayon was rich and strongly crab flavored – it was like eating a bit of ocean foam, only this was wonderful.   The broth also had fabulous flavor whereas the claw was more mildly forward on flavor.

 

Crispy veal sweetbread was with honey, mustard on Norfolk kohlrabi.  Madagascar pepper and a kohlrabi reduction made up the sauce on the extra crispy sweetbread.  Some ribbons of kohlrabi were in the sauce which was excellent with the sweetbread.   It was also fun to have the different preparations of kohlrabi combined into one dish.

 

Cornish sea bass was presented with cockles, razor clams, coastal herbs and lovage.  The fish was poached and the broth then combined with lovage to make the sauce.  It was excellent.

 

Jerusalem artichoke was plated with Davidstow cheddar (5 year old), malt and black truffle.  The Jerusalem artichokes are naturally sweet right now and cooked to bring out that feature.  The skin of it was toasted and placed on top which added a textural contrast to the dish.  The sauce was sticky sweet and the whole dish was loaded with flavor.

 

Beef and oyster included Highland wagyu beef and Porthilly oysters.  What a treat this was!  So many fine dining places have turned to Japanese A5 beef and while it is divine this UK beef was every bit as good.  This dish was inspired by Victorian London where oysters were on top of the pie.  I doubt they were this good.  Fantastic beef with a rich sauce decorated by a bit of oyster cream that was topped with a drop of Guinness.   The “pie” in the accompanying shell was topped with something like a shrimp chip only made with oysters and underneath a savory pie filling.  This one was a surprise star.

 

The pre-dessert was Rhubarb and rose made with pink peppercorn and marigold and shaped like the head of a rose.  Marigold leaves and olive oil finished the lovely, smooth sorbet.  Amazingly tender ribbons of rhubarb made up some of the outer layers of the rose.  It was nice and light.

 

 

‘Core-teser’ was with made with chocolate, malt and hazelnut.  According to the server it took 113 steps to make this dessert.   It was served on a clear glass dish filled with feathers – so light it could take off flying,   The top is made with crystalized sugar foam and on top is hazelnut ice cream.  Part of the chocolate is a 74% Tasmanian chocolate and underneath was more crystalized sugar.  This one not only had loads of taste it had tons of texture.  Delicious fun to eat.

 

Final treats included warm chocolate and clementine tart which had a liquid center and a tasty crust.

‘Sauternes and Banyuls gels were on the wood flavored with dessert wines.  They were fine.