St Clair
Stroll along The Pavement, Clapham’s famed restaurant street, and you’re spoiled for choice. Now there’s another hot contender on the block.
St Clair opened quietly at the start of the year, and its offering is unique. First and foremost, it is a cevicheria; a restaurant that specialises in ceviche - a seafood dish that originated in Peru, typically made from fresh raw fish cured in citrus juices, such as lemon or lime, with spices, chilli and other fresh ingredients added. St Clair’s offering is described as ‘London-curated’ Nikkei cuisine; Nikkei meaning Peruvian ingredients, prepared using Japanese techniques. In addition to its edible specialities, St Clair is also a ‘fish boutique’ (basically a very smart fishmongers), and wine and sake bar. That’s a whole lot of deliciousness under one roof.
We went for brunch on a Saturday - served from 10am until a very civilised 5pm, or until 6pm on Sunday. First impressions were good, if not great. The restaurant itself is beautiful; it’s light, airy and understated, with stylish touches such as porcelain oyster shells on the wall, white Carrara marble tables and Aztec-inspired pieces by Mexican ceramist Lucia Ocejo. A long, marble-topped counter stretches the length of the restaurant – perfect for cocktails, and a plethora fresh fish, sourced from Cornwall, the west coast of the UK and Brittany, is artfully displayed under a glass counter. Chefs are busy behind the bar preparing beautiful dishes, but the atmosphere is not that of a frenetic, energetic kitchen, instead all feels calm and the ambience relaxed.
The service is super from the off – whilst admiring the huge chunk of stunning sashimi-grade tuna at the fish counter, chef Maria ventures over to talk me through what delicacies are on available today, before offering me a beautiful oyster from Brittany and some of St Clair’s completely delicious Nikkei mochi cheese bread – still warm from the oven – made with cassava flour, plenty of gruyere and smoked cheddar, lemon thyme sea salt and white truffle oil. They were simply divine.
Back at the table, I peruse the menu. It’s unusual, unexpected and completely intriguing. Never one to shy away from trying new things I decided that I wanted the full St Clair experience, and so I started with a Double M Martini – made with oyster and nori (seaweed) gin, elderflower liqueur, lemon bitters and seawater. It shouldn’t work, but it does. It quite literally smells like the sea, and at first tastes like very fishy seawater similar to downing an oyster (I am not really selling this, am I?) but then, the sweetness of the elderflower and citrussy-ness of the lemon salt swings in and creates this wonderfully balanced, powerful and quite extraordinary drink.
Peter, our lovely waiter, is full of knowledge and enthusiasm about the menu and suggests that we choose a selection of dishes to share, and what order they should be served in. We start with the ceviche platter – four completely beautiful dishes arrive, arranged on a large platter of ice; St Clair’s classic ceviche, crab salad, tuna tataki and salmon and yuzu tiger’s milk (a Peruvian term for the citrus-based marinade that cures the seafood in a ceviche). All four are show-stoppingly delicious, packed full of pleasing textures and fresh, zingy flavours. In particular, the tuna tataki is melt-in-the-mouth perfection, lightly seared and served incredibly rare with a salty soy and citrus sauce, and the occasional crunch of a cashew. St Clair’s classic ceviche, made with seabass when we visited, is a mouth-watering explosion of flavour; fresh, delicate fish, swimming in a zesty, citrussy liquid, with small, sweet balls of sweet potato, giant corn, thinly sliced red onion, and punchy little micro herbs.
We also tried the vegetarian ceviche which was just as delicious as its fishy counterparts – made with chunks of soft and sweet nashi pear, a fresh citrus dressing, tamarillo (Amazonian ‘tree tomatoes’), ginger, shallots, goji berries, coriander and lemon balm.
Already feeling surprisingly full, the mohinga arrived, otherwise known as St Clair’s breakfast ramen. An unusual concept I know, but my God it was good. A bowl of tangy, lemongrass-infused fish broth stirred through with chilli, egg white, rice noodles, pok choy, sweet basil, coriander, pickled fennel and radish, and topped with a beetroot-pickled (perfectly cooked) soft boiled egg. It slipped down a treat.
We moved on to Japanese lager (the delightfully crisp Kirin Ichiban) and just in time for the crab cake benedict, a side of baby gem lettuce and a hefty chunk of corn and jalapeno cake. Oh, and a basket of warm sourdough, a small bowl of Maria’s punchy chilli oil and a plate generously smeared with dangerously moreish, bright green matcha and wakame butter. Ironically the benedict, being the most brunch-y thing on the menu, was the least exciting dish of the day in terms of flavour, but it was still very good. The lemon and dill hollandaise was a little too astringent and slightly smothered the delicate crab flavour, but the egg was perfectly poached and the sautéed spinach, pea shoots, and roasted garlic and lemon balm oil took the dish from average to yum. The real of star of this course however was the baby gem lettuce, ordered solely as a ‘should we order something green on the side?’, it was knock out. The curves of lettuce were crisp and juicy and covered in a light and delicate pistachio cream, topped with strips of pickled fennel, chervil, fresh mint, and toasted pistachio to balance it all out.
After a much-needed pause, Peter provided us with coffee and a surprise plate of gorgeous little mochi – pretty, pastel coloured balls of pleasantly chewy tapioca filled with three different ice cream flavours: yuzu, passionfruit and mango (my favourite), sitting in a sweet and sour raspberry dust. It was the perfect end to a pretty much perfect meal.
St Clair may not be cheap, but for the quality of the fish and other ingredients, and for the creativeness and obvious skill of head chef Jorge Baumhauer da Silva and his team, this beautiful restaurant offers terrific value for money, and they’ve got the relaxing ambience, stylish interiors and service just right. The menu may be challenging, especially at brunch, but it’s also really exciting, and incredibly delicious – go with an open mind, take a leap and try everything. You won’t regret it.
22 The Pavement, Clapham, SW4 0HY stclairuk.com. Review published on Essential Surrey & SW London.
