Prawn on the Lawn

Seafood

292-294 St Paul's Road, N1 2LH

£££

Prawn on the lawn is a fish restaurant that originated in Padstow in 2015. I am always comforted by fish that is served so close to the sea, almost like it guarantees a freshness that simply cannot be upheld in a transit van to a London Kitchen. However, 2 years later they wanted to branch out, to break the big city: enter Prawn on the Lawn 2.0, nestled in the fairly bustling, ever-chic Islington. It was the right decision: without fail, these guys have appeared in the Michelin food guide every year since they opened – and last year they won the UK’s Best Seafood Restaurant. It’s fair to say then, that POTL’s boots are pretty big and pretty full. So, did it live up to expectation?

We went to POTL on 23rd June as an early birthday dinner for yours truly. Despite perpetual hype, the interiors are simplistically modest – think exposed bricks, copper, and oak. It reminded me of Angela’s, a seafood restaurant in Margate: teeny tiny in size, big and strong in quality. The blackboard daily changing menu details which fish is freshest, and there’s even a fishmonger on site if you fancy taking home your favourites for another go at home. Despite the small space being rather crowded, the acoustics of the restaurant remained good – my only criticism would be that some kind of outside space wouldn’t go amiss (out the back of course as the front is a main road)... If there’s anything better than fresh seafood to get you in the holiday mood, then it’s alfresco fresh seafood.

The menu has some definite Asian influence, with soy, mirin and kimchi featuring on the menu. After freaking out the couple sitting in front of the food blackboard through heavy staring and consulting our very friendly waitress, we put an order in. To start, we went for some Buttermilk fried monkfish (£9.5) and Scallops with Thai marinade (£16). Despite an older couple next to us not being keen on the fried fish, even leaving half of it, we were pleased with our decision to listen to the staff's recommendations and order it. Perfectly crisp exterior complete with cumin seeds gave way to delicate flaky white fish. Once this was topped with spring onion chilli and lime there was something to freshen up the fried flavours and it worked perfectly. The Scallops were also cooked to perfection and covered in a lightly flavoured green paste, which didn’t overpower or detract from the subtle fishiness at all.

Onto the main and there was only ever one thing on our mind: the whole Padstow Lobster (£45) served hot with lime and coriander butter. We shared this, of course, but by all means I could have devoured the whole thing it was so damn perfect. Lobster is a treat, a real treat, and not something I or anyone else short of millionaires should be able to justify having regularly. However, this means that when you do have it, you really want to get it right. Well, this was certainly right: tender with a subtle bite, juicy from the butter but still maintaining that seaside flavour, easy to get out of the shell (the only setback from a perfect dish is feeling like you can’t quite reach it all). Once this was paired with the Coombeshead sourdough with seaweed butter (£4) and Tomato & Tarragon Salad (£4) we were totally made up. Even these little sides were nothing short of sublime. You should have seen the smile on my face, better yet heard the silence from the table.

We finished with a salted caramel pot (£9) - a burst of amaretti, crème fraiche, raspberries and vanilla: a heavenly way to top off an impressive but relaxed dinner. On our way out we passed the open kitchen and marvelled at just how young the chef’s looked – moving through multiple dishes with elegance and ease. Conclusions? Prawn on the lawn may be small but it is mighty: it definitely lives up to the hype, and does so without an ounce of pretension.

OVERALL RATING: *****

https://prawnonthelawn.com