Hidden Gem - The Great Chase Review
Have you ever gone to a restaurant and wondered where it came from and why you’ve never heard of it before? That’s how I felt when I visited The Great Chase. Credit has to go to @localspoon for finding The Great Chase and setting up the foodie meetup, because The Great Chase definitely wowed all of us.
The ethos of The Great Chase is exquisite British fine eating in a relaxed ambience, and the passion for that really comes through the host, Will. He regaled us with the story of the restaurant and how the choice of food places importance on sourcing the products locally, the seasonality and the freshness of the ingredients. If the story about the place and food was anything to go by, we were in for a good meal!
The Location The Great Chase is found on St John Street, in an unassuming spot between residential terraced housing. It’s a short walk from Angel Station and round the corner from Sadler's Wells theatre, and being totally honest, it’s somewhere I wouldn’t have stumbled across, so definitely one you have to seek out to find.
The Space Settling into our seats, the interior makes you feel like you’re in someone’s front room. The upholstery of the seats was actually done by the host Will himself (altogether it was the length of a blue whale!), and a lot of attention to detail has gone into the decor. Exposed filament lightbulbs provide low lighting, pictures of maps dot around the walls, and low jazz echoes around the small space.
The interesting aspect of The Great Chase is that all the meat is halal, which is often hard to find for a British fine eating restaurant, unless a special request is made. The reason behind it is commendable, it means the restaurant is a viable option for Muslims to go to and have an enjoyable dining experience. The common misconception that often arises with Halal food is that it isn’t as good as “normal food”, which isn’t correct, Halal places emphasis on treating the animal with respect during its life therefore the food is very similar to the free range label. The other aspect that means it’s open to all is that the Great Chase is a dry restaurant; no alcohol is served. Instead, the cocktail menu has been carefully curated to offer drinks that balance out sweet and sour notes to create a refreshing selection.
Tea is also elevated to another level; Will gave us a quick run through of the teas on offer on the Tea Menu, with the teas provided by their supplier The Rare Tea Company. Again, this was something of a first that I hadn’t come across before. He gave an overview of how white, green and black teas vary and it was clear he believed in the product, explaining the taste notes of each type and allowing us to smell the tea leaves before choosing.
The Food The menu is split into an increasingly common format; Small Plates range from £7.5 to £9.5, Large Plates £16 to £22.5 and Desserts £6/6.5. Lucky for us, the restaurant put on on a spread so we could sample all the dishes. We started out with west county crab, sea lettuce, sorrel and picked radish (£9), asparagus, cured duck yolk, seaweed aioli and coriander (£9), and cherry smoked duck breast, rhubarb, salsify and spiced apple (£9.5). First up, the crab. Served cold, the pickled radish provided a good acidity to the sweeter crab meat whilst the sorrel and sea lettuce added a citrus and salty notes to complement the seafood based dish. A good refreshing start, but it didn’t take centre stage of all the starters.
Second, the duck. Again, served cold, the slice of the duck breast was cooked to a perfect pinkness. The pickled rhubarb and salsify balanced out the sweet protein, and the spiced apple sauce added a tart sweetness, making a delicious dish when combined.
The asparagus was my pick of the starters. Served as two spears, each was cooked perfectly with good bite to each. The crowning piece to the dish was the cured egg yolk grated over the top, adding richness to each bite. The seaweed aioli and coriander (replacing a traditional hollandaise), created a seaside dish, with the fresh earthiness of the asparagus combined with the taste of the sea from the aioli.
Onto the Large plates. Again we sampled each of the dishes on offer; Spiced lamb shank, cauliflower, samphire, green miso, sesame (£22.5), butter-poached hake, leeks, brown shrimp, hazelnuts (£18), free-range chicken breast, baby carrots, asparagus, maple (£18) and sweet potato gnocchi, mushrooms, chilli, smoked almonds, vegetarian Pecorino (£16). The lamb shank was brought out first to much oohs and ahhs. Served on the bone (as lamb shank should be), it rested on a bed of samphire, with the green miso sauce below, sprinkled with sesame seeds and cauliflower as a side. The meat fell off the bone (which you’d expect as a minimum) which showed the chef knew what he was doing! The green miso, a sauce I haven’t paired with lamb before, worked really well, adding a sweet-sour jus to dip the lamb in. The samphire (a salty green vegetable, usually paired with fish) added considered balance to the sweetness of the miso and lamb. At £22.5, it’s the most expensive dish on the menu, but it warranted the cost. It could easily be shared between two as a main.
The butter-poached hake, leeks, brown shrimp, hazelnuts was next. It was delicious! I don’t often order hake but this was cooked perfectly. The fish flaked apart with a mere press of a fork and was buttery and rich. The leeks also added a sweetness whilst the hazelnuts added texture and crunch. The shrimp added an extra taste of the sea, and all round was well executed.
The free-range chicken breast, baby carrots, asparagus, maple wasn’t the most dazzling plate served up, the chicken breast placed alongside the vegetables in a rather simple way, but the execution made up for it. The chicken was cooked sous-vide (in a water bath for those that don’t know), then pan-seared to finish the crust. This method makes for perfectly cooked chicken as it keeps the chicken at the exact temperature until it’s done, trapping in all the juices. The crust then gives a nice crunch to the meat, balancing out the moist protein. At £18 though, this is a steep cost for chicken and vegetables, no matter how well-cooked the chicken is, so again it would be a good dish to share.
Last up was the sweet potato gnocchi, mushrooms, chilli, smoked almonds, vegetarian Pecorino. This was the favourite large plate of the night amongst the group. The gnocchi were soft and light, while the shiitake mushrooms with good bite and not over-cooked, which is often easy to do. I wasn’t expecting much chilli to come through the cheese and gnocchi, but it really built up the more you had. Pairing the sweetness of the sweet potato, chilli and savouriness of the pecorino, the dish was very moreish. If you’re not a fan of chilli though, it may be too much for some people.
After all the mains we were definitely ready for dessert. We were treated to the three desserts on the menu: caramelised carrot, smoked carrot jam, oat crumble, honeycomb and cornflake ice cream (£6), chocolate, strawberries, hazelnuts, vanilla (£6) and whipped cheesecake, cookie crumb, rhubarb, basil (£6). The carrot dish was first up (and probably the most unusual). This was my favourite dessert of the three. The standout element was the cornflake ice cream... imagine the flavour of the milk leftover after having a bowl of Kellogg’s cornflakes (the best part), and that was the taste but in ice cream form! Combining the ice cream with the oat crumble and honeycomb for crunch and the sweetness of the carrot, it was delicious. The carrot also worked well as a sweet instead of savoury element, it grounded the dish more so it wasn’t over sugary.
Next up, the chocolate, strawberries, hazelnuts, vanilla. Served as a cross between a chocolate mousse and ganache, with a hazelnut crumb, topped with strawberries, it’s the safest choice in the menu for those who are less adventurous. Everything worked well, with good richness from the chocolate and tartness from the strawberries. Overall, it wasn’t too exciting to me compared to the other dishes, but I’m sure any chocolate lovers would be a fan.
Last up, the whipped cheesecake, cookie crumb, rhubarb, basil. Served as two quenelles of cheesecake on top of Oreo-cookie like crumb, with crispy basil leaves rested on top of cheesecake alongside fragments of rhubarb. The colour contrast with the bright pink rhubarb, white cheesecake and black crumb made a visually appealing dish. The cheesecake was creamy and thick, with enough sweetness that wasn’t overpowering, and was really the main feature of the dish. Pairing the basil and cheeecake was interesting, but worked if you used it as a palate cleanser.
The Verdict
Cost ££/£££ (out of ££££) I was pleasantly surprised by The Great Chase. To find somewhere I hadn’t heard or read about before and be so impressed by the food on offer was great and something that I love about London. Will clearly cared a lot about the place and everything served there, evident through the way he described the different aspects of the menu, cocktails and rare teas. It would make a great place if you want to try something different, particularly if you’re looking for halal food (or vegetarian) or curtailing your alcohol intake for the night. With the relaxed atmosphere, it’s perfect for a date night. Downsides, the obvious one is if you have a penchant for wine or alcohol with your dinner, this isn’t the place for you (I do recommend trying it anyway though). The cost of the food can also add up, with three courses adding up to at least £30 without any drinks. Despite that though, the quality of food on offer does qualify for the slightly higher prices, particularly when you can split some of the larger plates. All in all, it was a great dinner, and definitely worth going out on a limb for to try something new!
316 St John St
Clerkenwell
London
EC1V 4NT