Leon, 35-36 Great Marlborough Street, London W1 (020 7437 5280). Meal for two, £18
Before the latest thing in fast food, a few words about the oldest thing in slow food: grouse. I love them. I love the ripe gamey meat and the rich, stinky kick of the offal served alongside - I also love the fact that they are entirely seasonal. What I don't like is the premium some restaurants place upon them. At the River Café, for example, grouse currently starts at £38 a pop. I just hope it's an impressive little bird; one that can sing three choruses of 'Swing Low Sweet Chariot' before chucking itself at your fork.
Top tip for grouse this season is Rules, in London. You get the grouse, celeriac mash, shredded Savoy cabbage with crisp bacon, and piles of game chips, plus jugs of game jus and bread sauce, all for £19.95. It is terrific value. Rules has also dispensed with the laminated menus and electronic waiters' notebooks that made it look like a fast-food joint.
Which is a neat segue into Leon, just off Carnaby Street, a new fast-food joint attempting to sell good food. I was deeply suspicious of this. The phrase 'fast food' is not merely a description of speed but also of type. Fast food to me means bad food, but not always in a bad way. I have eaten a Whopper at Burger King and, hell, I've enjoyed it. Sometimes bad is good.
So I didn't think that good fast food was a good idea. I was wrong. Not everything at Leon worked, but most of it was far more than passable. There was quality lamb in the spicy lamb wrap, and the flat bread around it was fresh and crisp. Sure, at £4.25 it costs more than a Whopper, but you get so much more for your money. There are also big salads - fresh yellow fin tuna, roast chicken - at the same price. From a list of mezze, a £2.20 pot of butter beans and chorizo had a serious depth of flavour. One of taramasalata tasted right - light and creamy with no vicious acidic kick, if a little loose on the consistency. I also liked the moist lemon cake and the fruit smoothie, and the overall look of the place. It's clean and bright and gloriously civilised, with fine bare wood tables. There is not a scrap of moulded plastic in sight.
But the most impressive thing is that this genuinely is a fast-food operation. Behind the counter is a multi-channelled chute. Just like at Burger King. You give them your order and they turn around and get it, just like at Burger King. And then you eat it and feel good about yourself. Unlike at Burger King. I think it's called progress.
