Story

Great story in the making

Restaurant Story near London Bridge was one of the most anticipated and hyped openings of the year in the London restaurant scene. Having worked at some high profile restaurants such as Noma in Copenhagen, Tom Sellers is one of the brightest British chefs and his restaurant has already received some very positive feedback from the press as well as a Michelin star in less than six months of trading.

We went for the 10 course tasting menu at £75 per person, which is a £10 increase from when it was first opened, I must say that is a huge increase in such a short amount of time. Before the actual meal started, we were "bombarded" with selections of appetizers one after another. Out of them all I enjoyed the nasturtium with oyster purée and the squid ink biscuit the most, the oyster puree were nicely blended and had a great contrast of texture with the breadcrumbs inside the nasturtium. The squid ink biscuit with smoked eel filling had a fun element but also delivered in both great taste and texture.

As for the 10 different dishes it was a little hit and miss, I found the onion, apple and old tom dish was weak, the onion itself was cooked well but lacked any real depth and the same went for the potato dish. Lots of advance techniques and creative ideas went into the cooking but the end result just didn't hit home for me. However the rest of the dishes were at a very good standard.

onion, apple and old tom

Scallops, cucumber and dill ash

Mackerel, sloe and cobnut

Heritage potato, turnip and coal

The best two dishes were the shrimp and venison. The shrimp was very fresh and sweet, the rose and chestnut delivered amazing contrasts of aroma but it totally worked with a creamy butter in the mix.The venison was cooked to the perfect level, it was tender with a lovely earthy aroma. We also went for an extra cheese course with the truffle brie. It had  a very creamy and buttery taste with a nice hint of truffle aroma flavour. All the desserts on offer were outstanding, almond and dill showcased multi layers of texture while the prune tea dish put good use of herbal essence in sweet dishes.

Shrimp, brown butter, chestnut and rose

Venison, yeast and cowberry

Truffle brie

Almond and dill

Prune tea, lovage and milk

Pumpkin, creme fraiche and sorre

Petit four

While the food is modern British using local sourced ingredients, I saw the food at Story had a lot of similarity to Viajante and a good number of Spanish restaurants in the manner of "El Bulli" in both presentation and format so for me the wow factor wasn't as much as some press suggested. To sum it up, my meal at Story was a very solid affair with a touch of beautiful imagination. While I found some of the dishes on the menu didn't seem to work for me, the creative modern approach along with the fun factor is sure to be a winning formula in the London dining scene. 


Tasting menu:

Appetizer x7
Bread and dripping
onion, apple and old tom
Scallops, cucumber and dill ash
Mackerel, sloe and cobnut
Heritage potato, turnip and coal
Shrimp, brown butter, chestnut and rose
Venison, yeast and cowberry
Truffle brie
Almond and dill
Prune tea, lovage and milk
Pumpkin, creme fraiche and sorre
Petit four

Food 4/5

Executive chef: 
Tom Sellers

What I paid: 
£106 per head with a beer and a glass of wine

Average cost without drinks and services:
£35 lunch menu
£85 tasting menu


201 Tooley St, London SE1 2UE

http://www.restaurantstory.co.uk/