“I Tried The New All-Day Restaurant From One Of London’s Most-Loved Neighbourhood Spots”
Cinder probably rings a bell. It is one of the most loved neighbourhood independent restaurants in London. It’s one of Pierre Koffman’s favourite restaurants and has been reviewed and revered by everyone from TopJaw to The Good Food Guide. London can’t get enough of Cinder, so the team behind Cinder expanded. Just down the street now lies their all-day haunt: No. Forty Nine.
As much as St John’s Wood is one of the more beautiful areas in London, you’d expect much more from its High Street. Cinder and its baby sister are its saving grace.
Mallory, Junior Food & Drink Editor
What sets it apart
No. Forty Nine is the newest addition to St John’s Wood, joining its big sister, Cinder, as far and away the two best food offerings on the High Street. I say this because there is really not much going on on the street. That is, nothing outside of athleisure-clad new parents pushing the newest tech in baby prams and prosecco-drinking bottle blondes surviving off one starter at The Ivy.
As much as St John’s Wood is one of the more beautiful areas in London, you’d expect much more from its High Street. Cinder and its baby sister are its saving grace.
Jake Finn, the mastermind behind the two, is obsessed with fire. At Cinder, its Mediterranean influence, British produce, and charred, blackened dishes, smoked and smothered before serving you dinner. At No. Forty Nine, it is softer, while still retaining a bit of Cinder’s edge. It is a bakery as much as it is a bistro, a wine bar as much as it is a cafe.
What we ordered
The pain au chocolat was ginormous, but somehow still managed to feel light: flaky, buttery and airy, without being overly sweet or sickly. The lamination was the work of a genius. The burnt leek, Marmite and Cheddar swirl was my comrade’s favourite — my dear friend is a lover of all things rich and savoury. For me, perhaps a little too Marmite-y, but we know what Marmite is like. I respected it, though. The integrity of the pastry was more than present. The iced matcha was milky and fresh, while the iced cappuccino was perhaps the strongest drink I’d had in the previous 24 hours… and that’s saying something.
It is a bakery as much as it is a bistro, a wine bar as much as it is a cafe.
Moving swiftly on. The chicken katsu sando was my perfect hangover bite: saucy, subtle and not overdone. And thank God I could actually get my jaw around it. It seems like every chicken sandwich I order gets comically larger until I eventually have to dismantle the thing to eat it. This was soft, squishy, crispy and, crucially, manageable.
It seems like every chicken sandwich I order gets comically larger until I eventually have to dismantle the thing to eat it.
The huevos rancheros is how I would like to start my day every day (our server told me that is exactly what she does, which I respect). Simple, subtle and not overthought, it was actually what you hope for when you order huevos rancheros rather than something reconstructed to please the camera-clad Instagram warriors — very often, me. But, I was more than pleased.
The Caesar wedge was the miss. Too much wedge, not enough plate, with fairly flavourless lettuce and a dressing that was just fine. It could have been better, but, of course, I was not here for the salad.
Too much wedge, not enough plate, with fairly flavourless lettuce and a dressing that was just fine.
The breakfast potatoes, on the other hand, were spicy, crispy and seasoned to a tee. My only disappointment was the lack of sauce, until I realised the perfect sauce was sitting right under my nose: the orange yolks of the huevos rancheros. Big win. Perfect duo.
The verdict
No. Forty Nine is exactly what St John’s Wood has been missing. Cinder is where you go for dinner; this is where you go for everything before that. Coffee and a pastry in the morning, eggs on a hangover, a glass of wine in the afternoon.
The good bits were very good. More importantly, it has an increasingly rare quality of feeling highly useful and comfortingly simple. Not a destination restaurant demanding a booking and an occasion, but somewhere you could become a regular. If Cinder gave St John’s Wood somewhere worth travelling across London for dinner, No. Forty Nine has given the neighbourhood somewhere worth staying in all day.
