My biggest takeaway from a recent Sunday lunchtime visit to 123V in the basement at Fenwick department store in London was that next time I’ll have the bottomless sushi.
We arrived hungry, promptly at noon as the restaurant opened, and for a while were the only people there. It’s another plant-based dining experience from the vegan chef Alexis Gauthier, and the place soon started to fill up, as did the outside terrace section.
As a claustrophobe, I’m not a fan of basement dining and tend to avoid restaurants without windows, but this wasn’t an issue at all in 123V, which is a large, airy and pleasant space in which to eat.
Two of my companions – this time there were four of us – had gone for the £30 per person limitless package on a previous visit, and been stunned by the array of food presented to them and by the value for money, both in terms of taste and quantity.
This time we went a little rogue and ordered from the main menu starting with two portions of the ‘Prawn’ Tempura at £17 each. As the picture shows, both came in one rather disappointingly small bowl.
We found it a bit perplexing and assumed it was just one of our orders until 10 minutes later when no further food had arrived. No, we were politely assured. The diminutive bowl of tempura in front of us was in fact £34’s worth and enough for four diners.
Confusion solved, there was still a sour taste lingering in the mouth. It was good tempura, but not that good. However, the meals – this time each one served on a separate plate – were all varying degrees of delicious and we soon snapped out of any remaining snit.
I had the Quesadilla Verde, which was fine, but not the best of the meals. I did get a touch of food envy when I looked at the other culinary delights arriving. The filling was okay, but the outside felt a little dry and crispier than I’ve had before.
Both the Petit Sushi Set and the Crispy Rice Green Dynamite looked beautiful. Both were colourful and fresh, and so appetising to the eye. And like the Prawn Tempura, both would have been included in the bottomless brunch. Maybe you can see where this is going…
The Soba Noodle Tiger Bowl looked excellent to a mushroom lover like myself and was given a firm thumbs up.
For dessert, the Pavlova was delightful. Chewy meringue with raspberry sorbet and vanilla cream. The real star among the sweets was perhaps the Macrons, which we were worried might be a little on the small side, it being fine dining after all. Not at all – there were four large but delicate-looking sandwich cookies with a crisp interior.
The clientele at that time was completely varied; we were surrounded by families, couples and friend groups. It was a lovely way to spend the early part of a Sunday afternoon.
But for those among us with larger appetites, it’s most definitely the sushi special on any subsequent visits.
Bardo Burner 