Picture Marylebone

Falling down

Stone bass, courgette, black olive

Picture, the modern British restaurant in Fitzrovia, has just recently launched another restaurant with the same name at Marylebone. I had a fantastic tasting menu at the old site two years ago and it's one of few restaurants I would recommend to friends when they are seeking something special without going above the £50 mark. The new site's format is more or less the same as the original's, diners can chose between from an a la carte or a six-course tasting menu.

Bread

Chilled summer vegetable soup

Charred spiced cauliflower, sea purslane, peas

The charred spiced cauliflower was more of a side dish than a stand-alone course for me; the sweetness of the cauliflower paired well with the sharp taste of the curry powders and shallot, but it was far from anything special. The smoked pork was very enjoyable; great depth of taste and all the garnishes on the plate worked together cleverly. I wasn't particularly overwhelmed with the quality of the stone bass as the dish was almost tasteless and totally dominated by the powerful flavours of black olive. The beef was decent at best, again, the flavour was lacking and the texture of meat was fairy tough.

Lightly smoked pork, potato, radish

Aged beef, bone marrow crumb

Dark chocolate mousse

The service was pretty decent and while the wine list was short, it does contains plenty of styles and fairly affordable bottles to choose from. My meal at the new Picture restaurant was far from meeting my expectations of reliving my first meal, which was such a shame. Almost every dishe on the night was missing something and I hope it was just a one-off as the restaurant is still in its soft launch period. 


Food 2.5/5

What I paid: 
£40 per head with two glasses of wine

Average cost without drinks and services:
£40

19 New Cavendish St. London, W1G 9TZ

http://picturerestaurant.co.uk/