Throwing Another Shrimp on the Barbie at Scarlett Green
What: A wander down the oh so atmospheric Soho, amongst the smiling faces of football fanatics (it’s coming home) took us to the hip, Aussie-inspired restaurant Scarlett Green. A hotspot with a name as inviting as its dishes and sneaky, bold, bright and beautiful artwork sure to have you at hello and make you load up your Insta app. Part of the Daisy Green collection of Aussie-inspired cafés, Scarlett Green is the new-born in a large family, which includes Timmy Green in Victoria, Daisy Green on Seymour Street, Darcie and May Green at Paddington Central, and many more.
New? Yes. This little gem is a young’un, and opened its doors at the start of June.
The Setting: The foodie haven that is Soho houses new Scarlett Green, located on the metropolitan Noel Street. A short drift from the tube past the buzz of diners and drinkers.
The Look: The looks of the Daisy Green collection need no introduction, famed for their eccentric and rebellious art work booming out against chipped grey walls, issuing a run-down art gallery in a desolate warehouse vibe. Scarlett Green doesn’t shy away from this either, with neon head-turners lining the walls and a wanderlust worthy photograph of Bondi beach, in keeping with the Aus theme. The bar is awash with jumbles of spirits, wines and atmosphere, with pastel washed stools lining the marble bar. Plush sofas, quite 80s reminiscent outline the restaurant below hangings of Roy Lichtenstein-style art. Over all, it’s a sexy Antipodean-inspired space.
On the Menu: If you’ve taken a “gap-yah” to Aus and have been dreaming of those crystal coast lines, shrimps on the barbie and cork hats ever since, Scarlett Green is a good bet at helping to take you back, without the air miles and cost! The menu draws on Melbourne and Sydney café culture, with a range of small and large plates of food as imaginative and easy on the eye as the art lining the walls. They cater for foodies all round, with vegan and vegetarian options galore.
What We Ate: When visiting a new location for the purposes of food indulgence, I am always willing to let the waiting staff take the helm. We happily handed over the tricky menu decision making to our waiter and boy did he do us proud.
So, to start we had halloumi fries with pomegranate yogurt and mint. I’ve noticed a real surge of pomegranate being used lately and I love it. Especially coupled with halloumi. We also had the beef shin cigarillos (I love that word), and I also loved the beef shin. This is significant coming from me as I’m really not a beef fan typically, but the stringy-ness of them coupled with a flavoursome tamarind sauce worked well.
Just enough to get us involved and raring to go, these small plates were followed by some dreamy hot Bondi prawns in secret Scarlett sauce. Whilst the sauce might be a “secret” what’s not so secretive is how great these were. My goodness, I love prawns and the whole dish felt very synonymous to Aus, and so full of taste. They are laid out on a gold platter, and a squeeze of lemon pulls together the flavours.
Amazingly, we had room for dessert. Having said that, I don’t think we had much choice as our waiter was so eager for us to try the Melbourne mars bar cheesecake ball. I can still taste this dessert as I write, it was SO chocolatey and if you like to experiment with desserts then you just have to try it. We also had yoghurt pavlova, perhaps overshadowed by the huge ball of chocolate adorning our table, but still sweet and recommended.
What We Drank: Renowned for their skills on the coffee front, (and because we’d both needed that post-work pick-me-up) my partner and I opted for two espresso martinis to begin with. Delicious, as expected, we then moved from these onto a bottle of white wine. Australian wine? Yep, of course. Most notably because the bar hosts London’s largest Australian wine list with over 24 Aus wines by the glass.
Recommended by our waiter, we polished off a bottle of Chardonnay, The Architect, 2015. A sucker for a Chardonnay, I was impressed with the fruity flavours of pineapple, peach and coconut. It really gave the food an extra “oomph” coupled with this palette cleansing white that is set to defy all Chardonnay-phobes.
Go With: An Aussie, or if they’re lacking in your social circle, take your date.
Where: 4 Noel St, Soho, W1F 8GB, www.daisygreenfood.com
Final Word: Whilst I championed the food and drink, I must give a nod to the service which was unfaultable throughout. Smiles all round from the waiting staff, coupled with excellent menu knowledge. I almost wanted to ask them to join us round the table – Hooroo!
Like This? Try These: Darcie and May Green, Cambridge Street Kitchen
