HALF-BREWED!

The Five Fields is a one-star Michelin restaurant located in Chelsea, London. Taylor Bonnyman is the chef-patron of the restaurant, which was awarded a Michelin star in 2017, four years after its opening.

Although it was a nice experience, it wasn’t satisfactory enough to say that this restaurant must be visited when you come to London.

Ambiance

Unfortunately, there were many negative facts about the ambiance. The ceiling was too low and the room was small. Both of them combined together felt like I was squeezed up in the building. The lighting was too dim with the closed vision blinds at the windows. It would have been better if they were completely open on a pleasant summer night. That way the restaurant would have a more spacious feeling as well.

Another disturbing fact was the chairs. They were very uncomfortable for a minimum of two-hour degustation. For a delightful experience, the chairs must be comfortable at a restaurant offering a tasting menu.

Taste

There were two different options for dining. You could either have a tasting menu or choose three courses from the à la carte menu for a fixed price. I went for the tasting menu and asked the foie gras dish to be replaced by another course since I don’t eat foie gras.

Three different amuse bouche was served. All three of them were promising and tasted delicious, especially carrot soup with cheese custard was really tasty. Although the start was promising, the first dish wasn’t a success. I wasn’t impressed with the oysters. The next dish was asparagus, which was really firm and delicious. Accompanying cone with tamarind and gravy was too salty, though I loved the tropical touch.

Instead of foie gras, I had smoked monkfish with pine puree and micro salads on top. It was a mediocre dish with nothing special to say.

The following dish was girolles with lettuce and bacon that looked like a dumpling. This was my least favorite dish on the menu. The flavor of the separate ingredients vanished, I was able to taste salt and lettuce only. I’m not a big fan of cooked lettuce, it really needs to be combined very well to be tasty.

Cod was one of the best dishes on the tasting menu. It was served with an incredible sauce with mussels. The fish and the sauce integrated very well.

Last main course was mutton. It was served with turnip and nasturtium, an edible flower. I usually prefer the meat of lamb rather than mutton since it is more tender due to age. Nonetheless, I loved the combination of mutton with the turnip.

Cucumber and grapefruit sorbet was an excellent choice, very refreshing indeed. The finale was a chocolate dessert with coffee ice cream, hazelnuts and whiskey jelly. As approaching the end of the dessert, you could feel the popcorns in your mouth. They were a bit too salty, but a nice play.

No petit fours were served.

Service

Although the staff was polite and smiling, service was really slow from time to time. They were talking a lot with each other. It gave the impression that the staff wasn’t organized well. I felt like I was at a restaurant that recently opened its doors and still struggling with the coordination of the service.

Creativity

The part that I enjoyed the most was the different tools that were used for the presentation of the dishes. Whiskey jelly at the dessert was also unique.

Value

Some of the courses need to improve in taste for a better value.