St. John Bread & Wine, London

The menu

Often when I'm in London on a weekday for work I like to meet up with my sister or another capital based friend and take on one of the Big Smoke's restaurants. My sister, never a slouch when it comes to fashion, as per her blog, or choosing a restaurant takes me to St. John Bread & Wine, a restaurant serving British dishes opposite trendy Spitalfields Market.
We arrive at 6.45pm into a dining room that is as sparsely decorated as it is sparsely populated at this time, with the kitchen and bakery behind a tall bar at the rear of the room. The menu is not in the traditional style of starters, mains and desserts, but rather the single A4 sheet has a list of dishes that are rather like British tapas, which my Sis and I share.
The first dish to arrive was Globe Artichoke, Hen's Egg & Cress. The egg is hard boiled with just a smidge of liquid yolk at it's centre and the artichoke came as a cold, stiff cream which actually worked really well the cress, egg and crispy breadcrumbs.

Globe artichoke, hen's egg & cress

Next came Sweetbreads, Peas and Bacon. The sweetbreads being not as crispy as I usually like it and the peas were a tad al dente for my taste, but the resulting sauce on the plate was superb, excellent for soaking up with our bread.

Sweetbreads, peas & bacon

Next was Potted Hare followed in quick succession by one of the specials: Rabbit, Carrot and Pig's Trotter. The hare came cold and was in effect a rough pate and was well complemented by a surprisingly tangy pickled chicory. I expected, as special that the rabbit would be better than it was, although it was tender, it was also underseasoned.

Rabbit, carrot & trotter

Potted hare

After these 4 simply presented dishes, some olives (adequate), some bread (decent) and a glass of wine each, we are both quite full so decide to share a dessert of Honey Mousse and Prunes. The mousse was surprisingly light and was a delicate counterpoint to the heavier, juicy prunes.

Honey mousse & prunes

By the time we finish, the restaurant was packed and the lack of soft furnishings in the place are very much apparent as the room is now quite loud. Overall, we spent £30 each and though the food was decent it was not as good as the hype I had heard about the place. Good, very good even, worth a visit, but not worth the hype.