A Surprising Lunch At Fallow, St James
A Surprising Lunch At Fallow, St James
Why (and what) you should eat at Fallow in St James
My sister and I had a surprisingly good meal when we went to lunch at Fallow. There’s a heap of hype around the new restaurant on Instagram, and the cynic in me was hesitant to try it.
But what they say is true. The food at Fallow St James is delicious.
Fallow started out in March 2020 as a 12-week residency at its former location on Heddon Street.
The residency was massively extended due to the pandemic, and now the restaurant has a new, permanent home in St James.
The chefs at Fallow are Will Murray and Jack Croft, who formerly worked at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal.
And the concept behind the food is broadly around sustainable dining. So, produce at the restaurant will be sourced around the UK. Some of it will even come from the chef’s own farm.
Trying the menu at Fallow
Fallow’s new kitchen in St James is much bigger, so the menu has also been extended.
For regulars at the former site, that means there are new things to try alongside the restaurant’s original bestsellers.
The menu at Fallow is split into six different sections, including snacks, plates, a grill section, raw bar, breads and sides.
You probably know where this is going. The food at Fallow is designed to be shared. Yep, it’s a small plates concept. *Eye-roll*.
But I forgive them because everything is so yummy. Here’s what we had.
Corn ribs
I first saw a picture of the corn ribs at Fallow on Instagram. It’s the kinda photogenic food that’s ripe for posting on social media.
Happily, though, it turns out the corn ribs taste as stunning as they look.
I think the chefs fry the ribs first, then toss them with a secret-recipe rub. Lots of good things, plus powdered Kombu. It’s the best thing I’ve seen done to a corn cob.
Fallow deer tartar
Although I’m not usually a fan of raw meat, I loved the deer tartar at Fallow. It’s diced to just the right size and tossed in a chive dressing. With it come two potato crisps.
It’s a delicious dish and one that really shows off the meat. My only criticism is that I wish there were more crisps.
Confit hispi cabbage
By now we’ve realised that most of what we want to order is meat-based, so we scan the menu for something veggie. At £14, the confit hispi seems a bit cheekily priced for a bit of cabbage. But we order it anyway, and hope for the best.
Price aside, Fallow have done things to a cabbage I didn’t think you could. They’ve created cabbage-porn. This is cabbage on crack. Cabbage is the new Marilyn Monroe. I could go on.
A gentle spoon is all it takes to undo the cabbage leaves, which are soft and biddable. Every mouthful is pure silk, and between the cabbage leaves are salty, umami bursts of garlic. On top, a heap of shaved chestnuts.
So yeah. If you’re having lunch at Fallow, and can get past the price, the confit cabbage is worth ordering.
Lamb tongue
Right. When you see lamb tongue on a menu, you know you’ve got to order it. After all, who knows when you might see it next?
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is another delicious plate of food. The lamb tongue is dense and meaty in the way that most offal is, but tender at the same time.
With it comes a rich gravy, and zingy green dip. Don’t ask me what was in the dip – magic? The tears of unicorns? Who can tell? All I know is that so far, it’s been a bloody good lunch at Fallow.
Whipped salmon belly, marrowbone brioche
Lunch at Fallow gets *really good* with the whipped salmon belly.
It arrives with a flourish and is a treat to look at. There’s a big bone piped with pink stuff (the salmon belly), and a mini smeg cauldron stuffed with brioche.
You uncoil the golden brioche and dredge it through the salmon mousse. It’s beautifully baked bread, with the most luxurious of spreads. Another winning dish for lunch at Fallow.
Dairy cow sirloin steak
Here’s where the sustainable element at Fallow really comes into play. And that’s because Fallow only use retired dairy cows.
They also buy in the whole animal, and butcher different parts of it to use on the ever-changing menu. So there’s a lot less waste, and more of the animal will get used up.
And apart from the sustainability credentials, the meat of older animals often has a deeper flavour. To minimize any toughness, Fallow also dry-age the meat at the restaurant. Our sirloin steak is certainly delicious, tender, and full of flavour.
Pumpkin souffle
Our lunch at Fallow comes to an end with the pumpkin souffle.
I’m a sucker for a souffle, and this is a good one. It’s richly spiced and suitably puffy, and we enjoy eating it with ice cream.
Overall thoughts on lunch at Fallow, St James
Fallow is a brilliant new restaurant in St James, and their food is well worth a try. I’ve loved taking their menu for a spin and can see myself coming back.
So if you’re looking for a good restaurant in central London, why not try Fallow?
Is the food at Fallow halal?
Fallow don’t serve halal meat. There are some interesting fish options though, and a couple of veggie dishes.
Read more
23 unlikely Halal restaurants in London
Have you eaten at Fallow in St James? What did you think? Let us know :)
The Details
Fallow
Address – 2 St James’s Market, St. James’s, London SW1Y 4RP
Website – Fallow
Nearest Tube – Piccadilly Circus
Disclaimer – the halal food status note for Fallow is true at the time of writing. Please phone or email the restaurant before you make a booking to double check the halal food status and anything around cross contamination.
