Goetz B.
Yelp
Parlour in Kensal Green is an oustanding restaurant somewhat off the beaten track. Its Sunday roast is reason enough to make a little journey - it really is exceptionally delicious.
I was once for a private dinner event at Parlour and then went back almost a year later for the Sunday Roast.
Parlour in Kensal Green is classy and modern at the same time. The interior looks simple and beautiful with a few interesting touches here and there. The restaurant is just lovely, not least thanks to the cute dogs that were sitting, or rather lying, next to me.
Perfectly suited for a Sunday roast, there was a table full of papers, so you easily find something to read in case your did not bring your favourite magazine or newspaper with you.
Unconventionally, at least if you compare it to your average pub, I started my roast with bread and butter. I found the bread slightly too sweet, however it was really tasty and the coarse-grained salt on the table just added to the pleasure.
My starter was a somehwat playful chicken popcorn thing. It was delicious and fun with a hint of mustard seed. This is usually not a flavour I like a lot, but in this dish it was well-balanced with the other spices and ingredients, the combination of it all resulted in delightful taste.
On that week, they offered a duck breast roast, nothing I came across very often before. This was truly one of the best Sunday roasts ever made. Like everyone expects from a decent roast, it came with lots of tasty gravy, and I made it my duty to finish it all. The duck was not dry at all and full of great flavour. It came with blood orange juice from roasted blood oranges, and this was a heavenly revelation of a sauce.
The roast came with the standard trimmings, made to the highest quality. The potatoes were just as perfect as the duck, crunchy on the outside and a pure pleasure to eat with a bit of pepper and salt, drowned in the beautiful gravy.
The Yorkshire pudding was also very good, especially to finish off the gravy. And the carrots were thick, well-prepared with a bite - simply a good side.
The roast came with a confit duck leg as a very welcomed bonus. However, the indulgence did not stop here, they also added a kind of pressed duck patty to the mix. It was pretty salty, but also delightful.
The Picpoul de Pinet that was recommended to me when I asked for a white wine was lovely and worked together with the food for me.
According to the menu, Parlour serves Allpress coffee. As this is one of my favourite roasteries, I ordered a cup. The coffee was alright for a restaurant. It actually was a good effort and better most other restaurant coffees I've had.
The one thing that upset me a little bit was that they gave me the dessert menu full of tasty dishes, and then kind of forgot to ask if I actually wanted to order a dessert. But then, I was probably too full anyway after the roast, so I was happy to leave without a dessert.
Parlour is a beautiful place. I yet have to go there for a normal dinner, the food at the private function was great. And the duck roast was one of the best Sunday roasts I can imagine. So far, all I can say is that everything is simply done without a fault and served in a beautiful restaurant with a friendly atmosphere.
