Note – this piece was written almost two years ago and I repost it now as I found out yesterday that the restaurant I talk about has now closed. These things happen for so many but it’s a nice reminder that everything is temporary.

I’m not even sure I know exactly what the word means but if I’m on the right track I experienced it last night.

Yesterday we had another full day with decadent food and multiple rounds of drinks with my in-laws as we are visiting them in the UK. We are now into our fifth week and it’s important to schedule in rest days. Not just rest from the walking and exploring but also rest from eating out and the alcoholic drinks, regardless of temptation.

Sitting on the bus on the way home we began discussing dinner options as Steve was getting peckish. I suggested we might pop in to some place in Shoreditch which was where we would have changed buses. Straight up he suggested Leroy, a cool spot we’d visited a couple of weeks prior and very much enjoyed. I wasn’t super hungry so thought their small plate style menu would work.

He gave them a call and confirmed they had room so we made our way there. The waiter recognised us from the last time and upgraded us from bar seating to a table, cosily situated between another table for two and the window. No problem with the tight seating as I figured we weren’t there for a long dinner.

A rhubarb spritz for me, Negroni for Steve and a few interesting sounding dishes were ordered.

The dishes were, as last time, delicious without being over-complex or overworked. I’m reticent to use the word simple as there is definite skill involved making something appear simple.

We began with prosciutto and melon that I declared possibly the most delicious version I’ve ever tasted. Is it something to do with the smaller, darker-fleshed melons? Or just the vacation phenomenon where food seems to taste the best iteration of itself?

Next up were a couple of ricotta-stuffed courgette/zucchini flowers. Creamy, creamy ricotta generously loaded into tender blossoms served with a herby, chilli oil.

A little more substantial was the ricotta gnudi with jammy tomatoes, capsicum, spinach topped with pangrattato. Three large gnudi surrounded by sweetly reduced tomatoes, charred capsicum and some just-wilted English spinach all topped with crunchy, fried breadcrumbs. Definitely one to recreate at home.

Our final dish was the elegant rabbit ballotine on a bed of ratatouille. I hadn’t realised the rabbit would be so finessed when I ordered it. I was expecting closer to a peasant-style dish. No complaints though.

I’ll confess to an ordering error on my behalf being the duplication of ricotta, and also the gnudi accompaniment too closely resembled the ratatouille. Though I did want to try dishes that we hadn’t had on the previous visit plus I had to avoid the chilli-laced options. Anyway, we enjoyed them all.

Sitting at the table next to ours was a young couple speaking French. You couldn’t help but hear them and spy at the dishes on their table (I’m never not curious as to what other people are eating). I shouldn’t have been surprised that they were guilty of the same. Over the course of the meal, we’d been discussing some of our favourite meals we’d enjoyed on the trip. A wide and rich topic for both of us.

When our rabbit dish turned the gentleman offered us the last glass of the bottle of red that they had been enjoying as he thought the Côte-Rôtie would pair nicely with our rabbit. He was right. He then went on to say that he couldn’t help but overhear us earlier that this was our second visit to Leroy and the other restaurants we’d been chatting about.

That launched a lengthy conversation about restaurants in London, all of us trading recommendations freely. Before long we were adding social media accounts, Steve was adding stars to his google maps for subsequent UK trips and I then had to ask how he knew so much about the food scene in London.

Of course, he owns a couple of French bakeries and a bar in north London. No points for guessing where we are now going for dinner on Thursday night.