Fans of Wes Anderson, and great food in a special place, now have even more reasons to duck into this well- established restaurant, says Nick Harman
I have some sordid food habits that often shock people. Number 1 on the list is my love of mainlining pieces of cold, rock hard, butter. Another is my need to occasionally fish out an anchovy fillet from its jar and eat it in the glow of the fridge light.
The film director Wes Anderson might also have a thing for anchovies, a food that is referenced in his latest film The Phoenician Scheme. They’re one of the things eaten in the bar called Marseille Bob’s featured in the film.
So I am well happy when, sitting in a replica of Marseille Bob’s under legendary restaurant Bob Bob Ricard’s, to be served a whole tin of smoked anchovies from perhaps the finest producer of them all, Ortiz.
With them comes toasted brown bread, wrapped in napkins to keep warm, and a pat of superb butter. Toast, butter and anchovy. Absolutely delicious. My colleague said there was no way I could eat the whole tin, he was wrong.
Red Room, the famous bar downstairs, has been packed out with all kinds of obvious, as well as sly, references to the film, ones that may seem odd to anyone who hasn’t yet seen it – what’s the point of the bathroom sink, for example? And the staff are resplendent in white blazers, red carnations and fez hats. And there are special cocktails, too.
The bartender serves me a ‘Tycoon on the Rocks’. A margarita in which he uses a pipette to place a few drops of a dark liquid. Once stirred it turns the whole drink midnight black – in the film this is a test for poison. Far from killing me, it makes me crave another.
My colleague goes for Handgranade’ (a white Negroni twist that’s mentioned in the film). Cue me saying he was ‘blown away’ by it. Boom (sic) boom. It’s all very good fun and I could stay in Marseille Bob’s all night, but lovely as the anchovies are (and the giant pretzels), we need some proper food so head up to the restaurant and its signature menuof British and French classics,
I haven’t been back in for years but it seems much the same. A place done out in a Mittel European style between the Wars, a style that probably never existed; opulent, classic, grand, impressive and yet welcoming.
With booth seating, marble table tops and lots of theatrical touches, it feels very special as well as slightly weird in a good way. If you want to impress a guest, this is the place to come because the prices, whilst not bargain, are surprisingly reasonable, and the staff make everyone feel special.
Unless you have the caviar that is (Bob’s may identify as a French restaurant, but it’s owned by the Russian-born British entrepreneur Leonid Shutov). There are a lot of ways to eat caviar on the menu, but we went for a plate of Severn & Wye smoked salmon with buttered rye bread, and a Stinking Bishop double baked souffle with hazelnuts, a Comte sauce with a cute side dish of pear, apple and ginger chutney.
The salmon was very good, artfully presented and the rye bread, which was unusual, added an extra complimentary flavour. Mittel Europe loves its rye bread and I do too. It’s not seen anything like enough in the UK.
Double baked souffles are never as light and airy as single baked, but they are very ‘doable’ for a busy kitchen. This example was a little bit stodgy, the nuts I found a bit irritating, but the Bishop had been well tamed by the cooking and was not as stinky as feared. The Comte sauce was a bit thin, but overall it was the kind of old-skool starter that it’s reassuring to find still alive and floating in a sea of transient London trends.
One classic you will struggle to find anywhere in London today is Chicken Kiev (or perhaps we spell it Kyev now). When I was a miniature food fan, my mother would buy these ready-made every now and then to lighten her usual repertoire of hardcore British dishes – my dad was very suspicious of ‘foreign food’ despite, or because of, spending years in the Navy stationed abroad.
This was a cracking example of an often unjustly ignored dish, presumed to have been created by a French chef working in Russia in the time of the Tsars and then made popular in what is now Kyev. Beautifully golden and crispy outside, with thick, moist, meat on the bone. And of course sat in a lake of gorgeous molten garlic butter. You could call it ‘comfort’ food, it’s certainly something to relax with.
Another classic, Lemon Sole Meuniere, pan fried and served with caper and parsley beurre noisette was presented at table in the classic style, before being whisked off to be expertly filleted. We ate both with some crispy fries and sauteed spinach. This was great eating, unpretentious yet pampering and stylish.
As perhaps a result of the anchovy binge earlier, we couldn’t do dessert, we had two home made truffles instead, one infused with super smoky Laphroaig whisky and the other with Glenfiddich. Gone in a bite, but well worth it.
The Wes Anderson pop up continues for a few weeks more, don’t miss it.
The experience begins daily from 5pm, simply click “Marseille Bob’s” when booking.
1 Upper James Street
Soho, London, W1F 9DF