Medcalf
Telephone: 020-7833 3533
Address: 40 Exmouth Market, London EC1
Rating: 16/20
Open: Lunch, Mon-Fri, 12 noon-3pm. Bar menu, Mon-Sat, 3pm-8.45pm.
All major credit cards.
The Zetter
Telephone: 020-7324 4444
Address: 86-88 Clerkenwell Road, London EC1
Rating: 16/20
Open: Lunch, Mon-Fri, 12 noon-2.30pm. Dinner, Mon-Sat, 6-11pm; Sun, 6-10.30pm.
All major credit cards.
It's curious. Medcalf & Zetter sounds like the title for a TV comedy thriller series while Zetter & Medcalf sounds like a firm of discreet, smoothichops solicitors. In fact, they are two of the latest additions to the Clerkenwell restaurant assortment.
What is it about Clerkenwell? The area is turning into an absolute gastro-park, from the Gascon empire (Club, Cellar and Comptoir) and Smiths in Smithfield in the south, to Exmouth Market with Moro, Brindisa, and Bar Meze in the north, via St John, The Real Greek Souvlaki And Bar and the Clerkenwell Dining Room in St John Street, and Flaneur, Vivat Bacchus and the Eagle in Farringdon Road, and innumerable watering holes of every variety in between.
In a way, Medcalf and Zetter (or is it Zetter and Medcalf?) represent contrasting extremes of the same culinary spectrum. Medcalf, formerly a butcher's shop of the same name, has a rollicking, cheery, relaxed approach to life, not quite rough and ready, but not exuding polished exactitude either. Zetter, on the other hand, is polished and designed to the eyebrows, and carefully considered in all its parts - in fact, the restaurant is in a new hotel of the same name, crafted out of the headquarters of the old Zetters pools business. However, while not rollicking exactly, it shares a similar energy and cheeriness with its near neighbour. It is the Emporio Armani end of the restaurant business, while Medcalf is more homespun.
But they share a similar care for their food. At Medcalf, it is a bit gutsier, more French in its accents - soused sardines and crème fraîche; ox heart with broad beans and mint; tranche of grey mullet with puy lentils and spinach. Zetter, on the other hand, speaks in the olive-oil-and-garlic argot of the Mediterranean - bruschetta with buffalo mozzarella, anchovies and rocket; potato gnocchi with fresh tomato and basil sauce; roast seabass with chickpeas, dressed chard, rosemary and anchovy sauce - with an edge of refinement, the gloss of a more highly geared kitchen.
Take my pudding there, a pot of chocolate mousse with a streak of reduced, slightly thickened (arrowroot, perhaps?) Valpolicella on its surface. The mousse itself was elegant, smooth and rich, an all round wonderful thing. There was a chocolate mousse at Medcalf, too, boosted by armagnac and carousing with prune purée. It had the same wallop of chocolate, but it was less well-mannered, heftier; no less delicious, simply more homely.
Set course against course - clams with white wine, chilli and garlic from Zetter versus soused herrings with crème fraîche at Medcalf; or grilled squab pigeon with juniper, marjoram and roasted butternut squash versus grilled ox tongue with mash and herb sauce - and you see what I mean. It is hard to see Medcalf serving a high-born squab, or grilled ox tongue on the Zetter menu. I could be wrong, but it doesn't invalidate the contrast in styles.
What is more pertinent for the discerning eater is whether or not these dishes are well cooked. After all, there may be days when you fancy the Zetter experience and those when Medcalf appeals; days when you want to impress with your suavity and nous, and those when a sense of sleeves-rolled-up relaxation is called for. In both places the food is handled with an assured simplicity.
The soused sardines at Medcalf were beautiful. The texture of the fish was firm, the sousing distinctive but quite light, holding rather than drowning the sardine flavour, the dollop of crème fraîche just rounding off the edge with soft luxury. On the other hand, the clams at Zetter were pretty as a picture, speckled green with parsley and streaked red with chilli, sweet and juicy, cooked just so, the chilli discreetly handled.
The grilled ox tongue was slightly overcooked, but it still had that muscular firmness that tongue lovers value so highly, the caramelised, slightly burned surface offsetting the richness of the meat. The fine, oily herb sauce brought freshness to each mouthful, and fine, floury mash filled out the dish. At Zetter, the grilling of the squab intensified the more cultured flavour of the bird, but without drying out and toughening up its seductive softness. I am not sure whether or not the juniper and marjoram added much, because I couldn't tell whether they were there at all, but the slices of roasted butternut squash added a sophisticated rustic touch. There was absolutely nothing to choose between them in terms of pleasure.
There was, however, in terms of price. All the first courses at Zetter run between £6 and £6.50 (or from £5.50 if you count in the pasta/risotto section), while main courses start at £14.50 and finish at £17.50. Over at Medcalf, first courses run the gamut from £4.50 to £6.60, and main courses from £8.50 to £14 (strictly speaking, half of a shorthorn rib for two). So there is a slight, but distinct price differential, but none in terms of pleasure or kitchen assurance. It's just a matter of their style and your mood.
