Don't Judge a Book ( or a Restaurant) By Its Cover

Says Man About Town, Jon Ball, who enjoys Smoke Cottage in South Ealing

 
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Smoke Cottage
42 South Ealing Road
020 8810 0969

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Never judge a book by its cover. Smoke Cottage in South Ealing Road is one of Ealing’s best kept secrets. It has altogether more sophisticated cooking that you’d expect from its quite unprepossessing exterior. Push hard on the door to get in - don’t worry, it’s not closed. Inside you see simple white walls with Questors programmes on one of the reclaimed fireplaces as a sure sign that it is part of the local community.

Smoke Cottage is a family business. Co-owners Cristina and her nephew Alex started life in Romania but trained at Hammersmith and then cooked for the capital’s thespians at Covent Garden’s famous Joe Allen's for 9 years. Exactly one year ago they opened this venture of their own in South Ealing dedicated to serving quality food at reasonable prices. Now they take turns in the kitchen and front of house and both have a palpable enthusiasm for food and for the local customers who return time after time.

I started with the burnt leaks on a homely floral plate. These combined with the soft poached duck egg, truffle oil and Parmesan shavings to make a very grown up gourmet dish.

My companion opted for the Romanian style aubergine dip. This was a more simple home style presentation and very refreshing.

 



I then had a prime Argentine 28-days aged sirloin steak with Béarnaise sauce. I asked for it to be medium rare and it arrived medium rare which is sadly not the case as often as it ought to be in restaurants nowadays. It was a really succulent steak, seasoned to perfection. The accompanying twice coooked chips are not remotely fatty or heavy. Can chips be a health food? Perhaps!
I drank the house red - a Spanish Tempranillo, which was big enough to cope with the steak. It is under £6 for a large glass or a steal at £12 for a bottle. A more extensive wine list would be welcome, especially more options by the glass, but you can’t go wrong with that.

My companion had salt and fennel cured smoke pork belly in beurre blanc sauce. This was even better than my steak - a beautifuly tender melt in the mouth experience with a lovely taste and the culinary highlight of the evening.

There is an A-board outside the restaurant proclaiming “The best steak in Ealing”.
Is this true? Quite possibly. But do they serve the best pork in Ealing? Definitely!

For dessert I had the healthy 75% dark chocolate cake, which was served warm. More melt in the mouth wonderfulness. It’s a traditional cake with some of the gooeyness of a brownie but still very light.  My companion’s madagascan vanilla cheesecake with cherry compote was fine but a little bland in comparison.

So overall the food is excellent but what really makes the Smoke Cottage special is its people and their passion. The conversations with the owners aren’t something you can get at a branch of a chain. Cristina said her and Alex’s aim is "to make a living, not buy a yacht" and that’s reflected in the prices. Other than the largest steaks and mixed grills all mains at dinner time are between £7 and £12.

There are even less expensive options at breakfast and lunchtime. Alex promises they have the best breakfast in Ealing and I’ll come back to verify that shortly.

Smoke Cottage is run by a very genuine family who pride themselves on producing serious dinners at great prices.  I can’t help being reminded of Ealing’s premier restaurant, the Walpole, but for now at least there is less need to book.

Jon Ball

14 September 2017

 

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