‘Why call it Rextail’ my mum asked.
‘It’s a contraction of Oxtail and T-Rex’ I responded.
Well that explains it…
That being said, you would expect a fiercely carnivorous restaurant menu, but that’s not the case. Arkady Novikov’s third London restaurant offers a wide range of fish, meat and vegetarian dishes. But the signature dish is the steak; several different cuts are on offer, all cooked on the Josper grill.The head chef, Adrian Martin, has an impressive CV including Annabel’s, Mark’s Club, Harry’s Bar and stints at the Ivy and La Caprice; we were expecting big things!
Based in Mayfair underneath DKNY, the dining room is a subterranean cavern with red banquette seating, give a comfortable and cosy feel.
Animal heads on the wall underline that meat is, indeed, the main focus here.
My mum and I bucked the meat trend for the entire meal! Her starter being cauliflower soup with a walnut sprinkle.
Its one of her favourites and she adored the comforting, creamy bowl of cauliflower goodness!
On the other side of the spectrum I chose yellow fin tuna tartare with koshu dressing and pickled cucumber.
The koshu, a Japanese wine, wasn’t particularly strong in flavour, but I loved the fact that I got a huge portion of the juicy red raw tuna. And it was sat on a bed of crunchy cucumber spaghetti.
A photo of bread…just because I really love bread… it was so crusty and chewy!
For the main course I had red mullet with rosemary and lemon. Ok so it looks boring…and it kind of was boring. A well cooked piece of fish, it benefited from the more interesting side dishes.
Sorry Rextail, it was my fault that I didn’t choose something more exciting!
Roasted broccoli
Butternut squash
My mum’s choice was slightly more adventurous.
Grilled wild seabass with tapenade and braised fennel. A nice big thick slab of fish with a good swirl of tapenade. My mum commented on the abundance of oil on the plate…but then she is trying to watch her calories…
We finished with a coffee served with a cute jam biscuit on the side.
Although the food didn’t totally blow us away it was enjoyable, but what really made Rextail for me was the warm, cosy atmosphere and the comfortable environment. Hix is just across the road from Rextail, and by contrast, had felt stuffy and formal.
It is somewhere I’d revisit but next time I’ll bring big meat eaters!
Rextail has also just opened a cocktail bar, serving informal light bites and new cocktail creations. I’ll definitely be back, as I don’t see Rextail becoming extinct!