The Ninth, London, England, UK
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Our dinner experiences, July 2017
My fiancé and I have followed Jun Tanaka from afar since he was responsible for the Pearl Restaurant at the Renaissance Chancery Court. This is now the Rosewood London.
We had always wondered where he had gone to and were happy to find out he had a new restaurant, called The Ninth, and holding 1 Michelin star. It is his 9th restaurant hence the name.
The cuisine is inspired by Jun Tanaka’s travels.
In July/August 2017 we spent a long weekend in London, so we booked a table for dinner at Jun Tanaka’s newest venture.
It is located on Charlotte Street, within ca. 20 minute walking distance to the British Museum. There are other Michelin stared restaurants in the area, one even on the same street, and the Charlotte Street Hotel is just across the road.
Again the front is unassuming like The Portland (see review) and we walked past The Ninth once, when looking for it.
At the time the weather was nice, so patrons could choose to sit outside on the small terrace and enjoy the sun.
We were greeted warmly by the Maître d’ and brought to our table. Our jackets were taken.
Tables were close together, so we could easily overhear the conversation of our neighbors. If you are looking for privacy or a more peaceful atmosphere this isn’t the place to go to. It was probably the loudest of the four Michelin stared venues we had lunch or dinner during our three nights/four days in London in July/August 2017.
Our fellow diners were international and one group celebrated a birthday.
Soon afterwards we were asked if we would like to have an aperitif or a bottle of water. We asked for still water, which was The Ninth Eau de Vie.
We also had a The Ninth Cocktail. It was a refreshing summer drink and we liked rather much, it’s made with Hendrick’s Gin and served as a Martini.
Since it was our first time at The Ninth we were explained that all dishes on the menu were made for sharing and we should choose five to six each. They would arrive whenever they were ready. If we wanted we could have a break after a certain amount of dishes arrived.
The waitress and we had a discussion about Bilbao and oxtail, since one of the dishes we had ordered was oxtail croquettes. We had eaten this particular delicacy the first time at the Cafe Metropol at the Gran Hotel Domine in Bilbao last year. She had been to Bilbao and the Biskaya too, but more for the wine. The croquettes came highly recommended by her, though.
One of our neighbors ordered it, too, but the rest of his family wasn’t interested, even so he tried to convince them to try some.
Our choices were as follows:
Four oxtail croquettes,
Burrata, Datterini and fresh almonds,
flamed mackerel, dill, cucumber, capers,
sea bass Carpaccio, salsa Verde and pickled Kohlrabi,
Osso Buco tortellini,
rabbit lasagna,
chargrilled cauliflower, tomato and yogurt,
one slice of Comte cheese, 36 months aged with crackers,
Pain Perdu and the caramelized lemon tart.All dishes looked appetizing and were outstanding in flavor.
The oxtail croquettes were moreish.
The Burrata was creamy and worked well with the crunch of the almonds and the juicy, sweet-tart Datterini tomatoes.
Both fish dishes were refreshing and beautiful.
The Osso Buco tortellini and rabbit lasagna were astoundingly light, considering that these are traditionally heavier dishes.
The cauliflower was crunchy, while the yogurt was soft. Flavor was added by the tomato. Jun Tanaka is famous for his vegetarian dishes, so you should try at least one.
The Comte was stronger in flavor, still not over powering, ideal for a taster.
The Pain Perdu was thick, crispy on the outside but soft on the inside and large. It tasted heavenly with the vanilla ice cream.
Normally I’m not a big fan of lemon desserts. It’s more his thing, so I was pleasantly surprised when the lemon tart found the right balance between being sweet and tangy. The slice was ideal for sharing too.
The bill was 110.81 GBP / ca. 125.20 Euro / ca. 142.80 USD including service charge.
We would return, because we like the sharing concept, the colorful and tasty dishes and the warm and personal staff. Value for money is very good too in our opinion.
Please see:
Would we recommend this restaurant to a friend? YES!
Would we want to enjoy lunch/dinner at this restaurant again in our future? YES!Thank you and safe travels.
