Saddle was a large elegant place that has been awarded one Michelin star.  There was a good sized bar area in addition to the main dining room and upstairs are 5 private dining rooms.  In 2019 it took over the space formally held by the legendary Jockey restaurant, which served Spanish cusine.  Saddle was about classic recipes and dining experiences – with lots of service and tableside action. It was created as an alternative to the tasting menu options, that dominate fine dining, offering full and half portions where you can create your own tasting.  The menu is seasonally based so it changes twice during each season as well as featuring nightly specials.  They do have a tasting menu but you must reserve it in advance, which we did, and that booking is non-refundable.   In the dining room the large round tables had floor length cloths with one side of the room looking out at some gardens and the other side into the lovely bar.  At the end of the room was a large glass looking into the kitchen that was full of toque-topped chefs.  A wide plank wood floor was opposite a high glassed in ceiling decorated with a metal sculpture.  Music in the bar bled into the dining room for a nice background.  Service was exceptional as was the food but the meal took about 3 hours even with quick service.  Portioning was spot on.  Thumbs up here.

Set-up

Food

They brought a couple amuse bouche but I didn’t note what they were and now it’s a blank.  Sorry.

 

We started with a martini which was made tableside.  Each came with puffed potatoes, hot in the pan that were wonderful and a nice salty snack.

 

The bread service was another cart with a giant cone of butter which was peeled with a spoon for your serving.  There were 3 types of bread – white, wheat and seedy.  I chose white and seedy.  The large slices were both good as was the butter.

 

Fennel broth and nutmeg biscuit was another amuse.  The thin broth had the biscuit across the top that you could dunk into the broth.  It was mild, lovely and I forgot to photograph it.

 

Mediterranean red prawn tartare with its own coral and garlic was next.  The head stuck in the tartare was deep fried so you could eat it, I thought.  I tried a bite but it was too sharp for me.  The tartare on the other hand had perfect texture and flavor.  The dots of sauces were nice but I preferred not to dilute the fabulous flavor of the shrimp.

 

Moluscada, barnacle, razor clam, and cockle were in a shore herb sauce.  Some trout roe added a little to the the light green broth.  The various seafoods had been cooked in their own broth to enhance the flavors and it did the job.  Good.

 

Quail rosette, pickled porcini mushrooms and pine nut parfait had tender rare quail in a highly reduced sticky sauce.  The bread was good to not miss any of this lovely sauce.

 

Spanish blue lobster, salpicón and lobster claw tortellini was a two part supplemental course that we added.  First was a traditional sauce with pepper like spicy gazpacho with a perfectly cooked bit of lobster.  Really nice.  Next were tortellini filled with lobster and in a sauce of the coral.  This one had a stronger flavor but very tender pastas.  Good one.

 

Chargrilled artichokes, sweet potatoes and poultry sabayon were an artistic plate. The artichokes were cooked confit style and near an emulsion of egg yolk.  The beets and sweet potato were both good and a chestnut granite was somewhere in the mix.  The artichokes were well flavored.

 

Smoked eel, Iberian ham veloutée and chard stems made up a Catalonian dish.  The perfectly cooked chard stems were in a classic butter sauce and the eel did not come off too heavy and oily.  It was a good mix.

 

Line caught hake, lemon pil-pil, piparra basque pepper broth and snow peas made up the next course.  The fish was cooked perfectly and lovely with the lightly thickened sauce.  Nice pepper and vinegar flavors here.  Delicious.

 

Mushrooms from Gredos were on top of an egg yolk emulsion.  The really soft mushrooms were almost pasty and nearly lost in the heavy sauce.  Not a success.

 

Rack of lamb, grape fricassee and roasted garlic was the final savory course.  The lamb was nicely rare on a sticky thick sauce.  The sauce was almost too strong for the lamb, overpowering its subtle flavor.  Some eggplant was on the plate that was good and the cooked grapes were quite fun.

 

Grand Marnier souffleé came with a side dish of ice cream on crunchies.  Couvassier was flamed tableside and then poured in the soufflee.  The ice cream was fine but I added much of it to the souffle.  Very good.

 

Last treats were a coconut truffle which was buttery and dense.  Brown chocolate covered a buttery Madeleine which was nice. Two black chocolate biscuits (butter cookies) were around whipped chocolate for a tasty bite.