Dinner / £££ / 7/10

In the old Oscar and Rosies site in Hockley (which was previously the old Mondo Comico site – jeeeez I feel OLD) a little bit of magic has happened. No one could ever accuse this building of being full of character. From the outside it looks like a mix between a library from the 70’s and petite fire station tower but after months of hard work it has been transformed into a very stylish restaurant. Inside there is minimal decoration, thoughtfully curated art on the walls and an embrace of the 60-70’s bones of the building with dark wood and vinyl seating.

The dining room and bar look very grown up, simple and sophisticated, we hoped it was a sign of things to come. The Northerner had previewed the menu online and found it lacking, nothing really jumped out at him but I assured him after weeks of following the social media account that the chicken and tomato dishes looked great. When we got there we were shown to a window sill and 2 stools, as we sat down and tried to get comfy we realised that we couldn’t. As there was no ‘table’ for us to put our legs under on this window (others did have them) we had to sit side saddle and my legs swung from the stool like a child in a hair dressers chair. We asked if we could move to a table and after a quick scan of the bookings were advised there had been a ‘no show’ so we could sit at one of the lower tables but they would need the table back in 90 minutes. Challenge accepted. The small menu was well complimented by the specials being served that day and we found a good selection of dishes and ordered drinks.

The wine list at Raymond’s is impressive and it will always hold a special place in my heart for serving Cremant (French sparkling wine NOT from the Champagne region but just as good). We ordered our selection of small plates and finished with a question mark (as I assume everyone does). The question mark says ‘Is that enough?’, ‘Have we over ordered?’ and the server immediately reassured us it was a good selection, I felt a strange sense of pride. ‘Are you a first daughter’ I hear you question? Well, yes I am actually, why do you ask?

The menu is sorted into snacks, plates and specials (containing smaller and larger dishes). We went for the Salumi croquette (weird way to spell salami), heritage tomato, fried chicken, confit potato and the sirloin.

The croquettes arrived first and I now realise the spelling was a nod to the filling – inside was a cheesy bechamel which I later decided was probably halloumi. Not being a big fan of the sheeps cheese I let The Northerner polish them both off but appreciated the tomato topping with the warmth of the cured meat really rounding off the flavour. Next to arrive were the heritage tomato and potato dish. The tomatoes had a light flavour and were overpowered by the cheese (in both volume and flavour), on their own though they were beautifully fresh and the salty, richness of the anchovy was a nice contrast. The confit potatoes had a beautiful earthiness and were really comforting but by this point I had de ja vu. They too were sat on top of a cheesy sauce with a red ingredient contrast and onion element. Looking back I should have scrutinised our order a little more, in hindsight I don’t know what I expected but I was keen to try something else.

When the chicken arrived I was relieved there was no cheese. Served very simply it was a perfectly fried piece of chicken. Crispy on the outside with the chicken still moist and juicy. The herb salad that accompanied it meant each mouthful was a variation on the last and the spiced caramel sauce brought a sweetness and heat that made the dish memorable. This was the dish of the meal.

We finished the meal with the sirloin. When we ordered it The Northerner had said ‘for nearly £40 it will have sides’ but knowing the ‘small plate’ approach and having seen a few photos I didn’t want to burst his bubble. When it arrived alone on the platter I asked ‘Is that butter on top?’. Why would there be solid butter on top of a steak? We found out a few seconds later; unfortunately the meat was (at best) room temperature and with the butter refusing to melt I did a half arsed job of trying to spread it over the sirloin. It was a high quality piece of meat and I am sure it must have been marinated in something prior to cooking to get the all over colour but it wasn’t warm enough and over done. We had a few bits and then gave the rest up as a bad job.

I always want to give new places the benefit of the doubt and feel sure that had we ordered better the meal would have a higher score, but that steak is the reason we decided to head somewhere else for pudding.

FAMILY – Save Raymond’s for a night out with friends, not children.