Another hospital appointment in London, so I made a reservation at Mere on Charlotte Street, in the Fitzrovia district north of Oxford Street.  Mere (pronounced “Mary”) opened in 2017.  Monica Galetti, former sous chef at Le Gavroche and known for judging MasterChef – The Professionals and for presenting BBC’s Amazing Hotels – Life beyond the lobby, is Chef Proprietor at Mere and her husband David runs front of house.  In spite of Monica’s 2 Michelin star background, Mere has yet to be awarded a star.

I arrived early for my reservation and I was shown down to the lower ground floor dining room (there’s a bar upstairs).  An open duplex design at the street end of the building lets in lots of natural light and creates a sense of space not normally seen in subterranean dining rooms. Outside was a small terrace area with a wall made from old fine wine boxes.

To my right the rest of the dining room was still bright and welcoming, but empty. By the end of my meal only 6 other diners had come in – I hope they do better business at other times!  The dining room was smart but informal; no table cloths to hide the attractive bespoke furniture.

I ordered a Negroni, which was very good with dried as well as fresh orange slices (10/10) and shortly thereafter I was brought a canape; a sphere of pastry which had something to do with chickpeas. I can’t tell you more because I couldn’t understand the quiet mumblings of my Central European waitress, but whatever it was it didn’t impress. 5/10

Then another canapé appeared; this time “cauliflower tempura” with lime yogurt.  It wasn’t much better, as the cauliflower was quite al dente and the batter could have been crispier. 6/10

My starter was soft shell crab with black curry emulsion, heirloom tomatoes and smoked lemon gel. It was a very pretty dish when put in front of me, but after a bit of eating the black curry element made a yucky grey mess on the plate. But I found the vegetables brought a nice freshness to balance the heavier curry. The crab could have been a tad crispier, and I would have liked a little more. I think I had half a crab, though it’s difficult to judge because restaurants rarely tell you what type of crab you’re eating. Soft shell is a phase all crabs go through as they grow and shed their exoskeletons, it’s not a particular species of crab. 8/10. With my starter I had a rather nice glass of Riesling kabinett.

Pigeon
Roast Breast, Braised Leg, Lardo, Salt Baked Celeriac, Pedro Ximenez Sauce was the menu description for my main course. I don’t believe I got the braised leg, but I did get two breasts. They were nice and pink even though they look anaemic in the picture (because of the lardo draped over them). There was really delicious half a roasted onion with pigeon offal and fried, shredded spring onion on top, a charred spring onion, a very good onion puree. Two slices of pickled daikon cut through the richness very nicely, in fact another slice or two would have been welcomed.  But I did enjoy this dish and the glass of New Zealand pinot noir I chose to go with it. 9/10

I didn’t want to risk pains from my troublesome stomach, so I skipped dessert and just had a double espresso. The coffee was strong but not bitter, with a decent crema, and it came with a pair of chocolates, which were tasty and well made. 8.5/10

My total bill for 2 courses, water, 2 glasses of wine and coffee was £105.47, which I was quite happy with.  I enjoyed my lunch, the menu it came from and the dining room.  I really hope the low occupancy during my visit is not a reflection of Mere’s overall trade. It’s clear that the Galettis have put a lot of money and passion into this venture and it would be terribly sad if it didn’t make the money it deserves.  I could have chosen several dishes from the menu, so I would be glad to go back to Mere.

My dissatisfaction with the waitress’ diction is more a reflection of Britain’s recruitment challenges in 2019, than it is of this particular restaurant.

Overall 8/10