Rogan and Co — Restaurant in Great Britain

We had a wonderful lunch at Rogan&Co the other day, choosing the Set Lunch Menu. The food was excellent.

The mushroom on rye cracker snack to start with was delicious. Problem with an amuse bouche is that it’s designed to be a single mouth full. We were very sad when it was gone and would have happily paid extra to get another one each. So yum!! The bread and butter is light fluffy carb heaven. The kale started wasn’t either of our favourites, but was still interesting and nicely cooked. We shared both mains, and ate probably the technically best cooked chicken either of us has ever eaten and a carrot purée we’ll both think about for a long time, but for me the vegetarian main (Ibis celeriac) won out. So very tasty! The desert was very nice, and managed to feel indulgent, yet light, which is what you need at the end of a hearty lunch.

I’ve seen many reviews complaining about small portions, but I couldn’t disagree more. Neither of us had eaten any breakfast as we didn’t want to be too full to enjoy this lunch, and we left the restaurant very well fed, without feeling uncomfortably stuffed, which allowed us to actually enjoy our experience, and feel good about the money we had just spent on this delicious food, rather than regretting all of our life choices, because we’d eaten way too much.

We tried all 3 mocktails available, and while we definitely had a favourite (the rosemary one, hands down!) they were all really fun and interesting, and I very much appreciated that they cost £8/£9/£10, as often you go somewhere where your cocktails cost £18-£20 and your mocktails £15, which always seems insulting. They also offered alcohol free G&Ts for £6.50, another thing I very much appreciated.

We were a little bemused by the ever changing servers (being greeted, brought to our tables, offered water, brought and explained the menus, and having our order taken was done by 5 different members of staff) and glad when after the initial flurry we seemed to settle into mostly having one main server, and he was absolutely lovely! They all were, but it’s a LOT of social interaction trying to keep track off and make small talk with all 8 staff members on the restaurant floor at any given time, because any of them could approach you at any moment!, rather than just having to pay attention to 1 person. All around I would say the service was great, but for me personally a little too much. I am perfectly happy filling up my own water glass and for my napkin to remain unfolded when I go to the toilet. However I do appreciate that this is part of the style, so I can overlook it.

All around, we had a lovely afternoon. While £50 a person for food isn’t something we can spend on lunch every week, we felt the price was pitched perfectly and that we received exactly the level of food that we were expecting for that money, and will very happily come back in...

Stopped here for lunch and we were not disappointed. The price of the food is high but that is reflected by the service and quality of the food.

We went all out and had a snack of Doddington gougères, truffle between us which was out very quickly and set the standard for what was to come. Once these were finished we were given a nice freshly baked sourdough, which we were told was baked in L’Enclume’s own bakery. This was served with a beautifully tasting whipped Parmesan butter which added perfectly to the taste.

For a starter I had the Cornish squid noodles, pork dashi, cured egg & shimeji and my partner the Terrine of Goosnargh duck, crumpet, date & fennel pollen. We both tried each other’s and they were a taste sensation. The duck fat crumpet was fantastic and rich. I think maybe a bit filling for a starter. It was a much more generous portion than I would expect in a Michelin star restaurant. My squid noodles again were amazing and were the right quantity to leave me satisfied but longing for more.

When the mains arrived I was too excited to get eating that I forgot to get photos of them. I had the Roasted loin & belly of lamb, creamed potato & black garlic. The loin was cooked just right and nicely rare that it kept all of the flavour and just melted in my mouth. The hit of black garlic complimented the flavours so well and the the creamed purée finished the meal. My partner had the Aged short rib of beef, broad beans & onion jam. I tried the small amount of this that she would let go spare and it was spot on. The shorter rib was tender and juicy and the ox tongue gave the richness required. We asked for a glass of wine to pair with the mains and these were, as expected, perfectly matched to bring out the flavours.

We both had deserts which we asked to go with the wine pairing as well. I had the Baked vanilla cheesecake with lightly spiced pineapple. The cheesecake was rich and creamy while somehow still being light. My partner had the Set buttermilk custard, rhubarb & sorrel which was a nice light desert to not fill up too much with the rhubarb having just the right crunch to it bringing out sharpness in the flavour. They rounded off the meal brilliantly. We unfortunately didn’t receive the dessert wine pairings so cannot comment on these but they reflected this by not charging us for the glasses of wine we had with the main course.

The service received was attentive with our glasses of water never being empty and the table being cleared quickly once we had finished. I even went to the toilet to come back to my napkin had been refolded for me.

If you want a top notch meal and are not on a tight budget, we spent just under £180 for two of us, I cannot recommend this place enough. The atmosphere is relaxed while still giving too level of food...

It's very hard to fault the quality and presentation of the food offer at Rogan & Co - A couple of the dishes on the Valentine's day tasting menu were easily L'Enclume '2 star' standard - circa 2010-15? Though obviously not really comparable to L'Enclume today, it's the UK's best restaurant after all. Having dined at both comparatively recently.

However & this one's been brewing for a while - why as a non-alcohol drinker do I have to struggle with drinks pairings when I'm enjoying the best quality restaurant food it's possible to find? It's starting to make me question both the value and enjoyability of these occasions.

I don't want to have to chose between fizzy sodas or sweet fruit cocktails. I want to drink beverages that are crafted to hold their own in complexity, maturity, and uniqueness with any drink - alcohol based or not. With the added challenge that if it's not alcohol based, then you drink for taste, hydration & to slake thirst. Once you are hydrated and no longer thirsty - the drink won't taste nearly as good, unlike those that contain alcohol - which give the familiar alcohol buzz and often taste better the more you drink.

I get that the mark-up on alcohol is almost certainly the difference between profitability and non-profitability; but the elephant in the room is that many more people aren't drinking nearly as much alcohol. 25% of under 25's haven't drunk any alcohol for a year & those that do, drink a lot less or at home, or use other.. stimulants. Rekom, the biggest nightclub group in the country have gone into administration, citing students not drinking as much alcohol and going out less.

Low and no-alcohol beer, wine and spirit (NA) sales are booming. Yet you wouldn't know it going into anywhere from the local Wetherspoons, thru Cloud 23, Rogan & Co to L'Enclume. Where compared to the hugely extensive 'Everything from Appletini to Zinfandel' drinks lists, the NA options seem like an afterthought; or mixers & ingredients (for the food menu items or the many alcohol based cocktails & drinks offered) . Notwithstanding that L'Enclume does have a 'tea' based NA drinks flight.

Being forced to drink cola as the least worst option, or sending someone to get Kombucha from L'Enclume to have something that goes with a £125 meal is no...