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The Test Kitchen by Adam Simmonds

The Test Kitchen - a pop-up by Adam Simmonds

A few weeks ago we went for lunch at chef Adam Simmonds pop-up The Test Kitchen in Soho. Connie from Connie Consumes had been and I was drooling over her Instagram pics so decided to book it as a treat for my husband.

The concept of the restaurant is that it’s a place where you can see the chefs cooking, they then serve the food and they constantly change dishes depending on the feedback they get. Adam Simmonds was there when we had lunch and he had a chat with us – he was really lovely.

So, what did we eat?

We had the tasting menu, which was four courses and included a glass or white or red wine. The first course was parsley soup with ham hock and smoked eel. I’m not going to lie… I was really apprehensive about the eel because I’ve never had it before and it’s not something I would ever order. But, I gave it a go and was pleasantly surprised! The soup was such a vivid green and it was really tasty – a good way to start the meal.

Parsley soup with smoked eel from The Test Kitchen

The next course was a scallop with celeriac and truffle. I love scallops and celeriac so this was fab. I couldn’t taste the truffle though.

Scallop with celeriac and truffle from The Test Kitchen

The third course was duck with orange, cep and cabbage. The duck was perfectly cooked and the orange is such a classic combination. It was fabulous but too small…. there could have been at least one more piece of duck.

Duck with orange, cep and cabbage from The Test Kitchen

The last course was dark chocolate with IPA, miso and rosemary. The IPA was in the ice-cream and it was really good, even though I’m not a beer drinker. The little bits of rosemary added a little bit of salt and worked so well with the chocolate. I couldn’t taste the miso at all, which was a little disappointing. I asked one of the chefs where it was and apparently it was in the gel but as I said, I couldn’t taste it at all.

Dark chocolate with IPA, miso and rosemary from The Test Kitchen

Overall, the food was absolutely delicious but the portions were really small. We were still hungry when we left! Also, we were in and out in just under an hour so it would have been nice to extend the wait time between courses a bit and maybe start with some bread and butter. We were asked to fill out feedback forms, which we did.

Despite the small portions, I would actually go again because the food was really excellent and I like a restaurant where you can see and talk to the chefs. Apparently they are looking for a permanent restaurant space in Marylebone so I’ll definitely be back when they are up and running. I might just eat a snack beforehand!

The Test Kitchen by Adam Simmonds

Kirsty Marrins

Reader, writer, occasional runner, travel lover.

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