Tom Ilic, Queenstown Road

Tom Ilic is our local, in fact if it wasn’t for the Argentinean restaurant next door it would be the closest place we can get food. We have therefore been there about five times, both in a group and as a couple. Therefore when R was trying to decide where to have the party for his 30th this was top of the list.

We had twenty-odd people for drinks in our flat first, and then eventually turfed everyone out to go and eat. We had a set menu with three choices for each of the three courses, which R and I had chosen from the a la carte menu. In the restaurant there are two rooms, and we had a big table down the middle of the far one, which I hope meant that we didn’t disturb everyone else too much!

I had the mackerel with horseradish soufflé to start with, then the sautéed fillet and roast belly of pork, pickled white cabbage, chorizo and caramelised apple. It’s only writing this down that I realise how similar this is to what I ate at Gordon Ramsey! Again it was lovely, and there were lots of other piggy bits with it as well, that were quite difficult to identify since they weren’t on the menu, but tasted great anyway. It wasn’t really the right setting to quiz the waiters about the food, which in the past I have done in great detail. I also need to make a particular mention of the soufflé, which I think is the most perfect accompaniment to the mackerel and has a lovely horseradish taste without being too powerful.

I followed this with the chocolate fondant with pistachio ice cream, which I think is the only pudding I have ever had there, as I love it.

I was really impressed that they could deal so well with such a large table, even with a full restaurant. There weren’t any complaints about the food, and with nearly a bottle of wine a head the bill only came to £40 a head, which is a bargain for this quality of food.
We’ll be back again, although probably not with so many people next time.