Behind, London (*)

A ten course seafood-focused lunch at Behind, a small restaurant in London Fields with a core team of four chefs and one front-of-house.

The chefs prepare, serve and explain each dish, which is a blind tasting menu (though they’ll give you a menu afterwards on request). The woman running FOH was very good indeed, warm, friendly, and running everything from coat check to sommelier duties. My meal was as follows:

1. Prawn & white wine consommé with edible flowers and dried shrimp. Reminded me of the broth at the end of a bowl of moules marieniere or spaghetti vongole, so it was warm, soothing and full of seafood flavour.

2. Mackerel two ways – a “rose” served with horseradish and apple sauces, split with chive oil, and a small seared fillet with ceviche-style sauce (tiger’s milk and citrus). The fillet in particular was superb here. These were served with a middle-eastern crisp bread which was full of flavour, in particular from the fennel seeds.

3. (Not pictured) Cured sea bream with Thai basil emulsion, verjus and finger lime – very refreshing and the emulsion was almost grassy, in a good way, cleaning the pallet from the fattier mackerel.

4. Chalk Farm Trout with kimchi, Brussels sprouts and a warming ginger consommé. At this stage of the meal my favourite dish. The consommé in particular was a real star.

5. Cornish plaice and potatoes in a smoked kipper and trout roe sauce. Very moreish and warming for a wintery day, gave very strong fish pie vibes – but personally I’m not a huge fan of smoked fish – so while it was well executed, it wasn’t one of my favourites.

6. Orkney scallop, hazelnut crumb, cauliflower purée in a vin jaune sauce, with oscietra caviar supplement (at £20). These dish of the day, a fantastic combination elevated further by the caviar.

7. Lobster tortellini with pumpkin seeds, vanilla and quince in a sauce americaine. The sauce americaine was fantastic, a classic sauce for a reason, though the lobster pasta was tasty but not a standout.

8. Monkfish with chanterelle purée in a chicken jus – really delicious with a rich sauce that paired great with the chilled red wine served with this dish.

9. Rhubarb sorbet and compote, polenta cake and ginger beer foam – a really delicious dessert, the unctuous cake matching superbly with sharp rhubarb and warming ginger.

10. 82% chocolate mousse, salted caramel, black olive crumb and sesame tuille. Another triumphant dessert, just a perfect balance of sweet flavours offset with little hints of savoury.

Overall, for me this was a cut above a few of the other one star places I’ve visited in London, but priced a little below, thanks to the out-of-the-way location and scaled back service team. There’s not a ton of innovation on show here, but there is first rate seafood cookery, well chosen flavour combinations and desserts that aren’t an afterthought. So if you simply want a delicious meal, give this place a try.