Counter 71

 British theme counter dining

Squid, clam, girolles

I have noticed counter dining has been popping up a lot recently, from Humble Chicken, Behind to Abajo... a new wave of high-end counter concepts has been flooding London, usually with an aspiration of reaching Michelin star status. Counter 71 was launched in the summer of 2023, with a concept of only using British ingredients, headed up by chef Joe Laker, serving a long British-themed tasting menu format of about 12 dishes. With only 16 seats looking over the kitchen space. The meal kicked with bite-size canapes, before switching to bigger plates of food and then 3 rounds of desserts.

Langoustine, crab, caviar

Smoked egg and truffle muffin

Tomato, rhubarb

Smoked eel and kohlrabi

Out of all the canapes, without a doubt the langoustine tart was the strongest of the lot, it contained fresh raw Scottish langoustine and was blended with crab custard, behind topped with caviar, it had such a remarkable seafood umami hit. The main course of BBQ seabass was cooked to perfection, the fish was moist and had a lovely, mild charred crispy skin. What I didn't get was the garnish of a cold 'courgette pie', which I didn't enjoy and it was heavy in texture, cold and thick. The duck on the other hand was excellent, cooked medium rare, right on the spot and the black garlic really uplifted the richness of the dish in such a wonderful way.

Seabass, mussel, courgette

Duck, black garlic, sweetcorn

Truffle and cheese toastie

Chocolate and sheep milk yogurt

Counter 71 served British small plates in a pretty high standard manner, it was very similar to St Brats, the 1 Michelin-starred restaurant in St Paul London, which was no surprise as they both came from the same space aka Fenn in Fulham in the past. Now that St Brats is going for a modern, more formal fine dining offering while Counter 71 is all about casual fine dining in a counter dining manner. I found it is still the early days of Counter 71 so it will only improve, the price of £110 per person for the tasting menu is about right given the current London standards. 

Food 3.5/5


Average cost without drinks and services:
£110


71 Nile St, London N1 7RD

https://www.counter71.co.uk/