Cowie's Birthday: Trinity

Cowie has been revising like a geeky dervish for the last few months in preparation for her surveying exams. It's important stuff and quite stressful. So I wanted to do something local and relaxing with a touch of glamour. One of our first London dining experiences was at Polygon through TopTable. We had a wonderful meal. Canon of perfectly rare lamb and a luxurious fillet of beer if I remember rightly. But then Polygon disappeared and we almost shed a tear.

Trinity emerged in it's place with a flurry of great reviews and a menu that just begs to be guzzled up. I've been cycling past it on a daily basis and have to really concentrate to stop myself from lurching through their front door wearing my lycra and hi-vis jacket!

We were treated to a near perfect meal. The service was the best we've ever had. Everything was just right. We were given the best table in the restaurant. They remembered it was Cowie's birthday. They filled our glasses at the right time with just the right amount of wine. They didn't rush us. They even laughed at my attempt at banter! Legends!

We knew instantly what each other would choose. It's always the same and is a brilliant part of our relationship. Cowie chose the crab and tuna salad followed by a wonderful looking piece of monkfish. It was perfectly cooked. So often monkfish is over cooked, too meaty or dry. This was the opposite.

If Cowie's choices were delicate, feminine, light and the essence of Cowie. Mine were very me. Rich, meaty, a biz grizzly and sensuously deep. My starter of pigs head was sensational. Better than at Wild Honey. It oozed flavour. Not to mention a drop or two of fat!

My main course of hare two ways was almost as good. The slow-cooked, pulled leg meat was strewn in a semi circle over the top of the plate, interwoven with silky mash and brussels sprouts. And a circle of saddle meat anchored the rest of the dish. My only criticism would be to question whether the thin sheath of fat that coated the saddle shout have been seared off...

All of this wonderful food was accompanied by a classy chardonnay from the Langeudoc/Roussillon area of France. Think of a really good St. Aubin, but with a bit more to it.

Things at this point were stunning. But we were slightly underwhelmed by dessert. The lemon cheesecake arrived in a kilner jar an hour too early. That hadn't had a chance to cook it! They left the construction work up to us. Now call me old fashioned, but don't we go to restaurants to be cooked for? I'm all for a bit of interactivity... but only when it tastes good. A good baked lemon cheesecake is a thing of heart stopping beauty. This one tasted like it had come from a down market supermarket. I don't want to be too rude because they had gone to the effort of writing "Happy Birthday" in toffee on Cowie's plate!

My Valhrona chocolate pudding was fantastic. But enough for an entire family! I tired to only eat on person's worth... but landed up eating my own body weight in rich, warm chocolate!

We're delighted to have finally made Trinity's acquaintance and are already planning our next visit.