Lasdun
South Bank, London
A second venture from the team behind the Marksman pub in Hackney, who’ve risen to the challenge of creating an ambitious new restaurant with its own identity while meeting the needs of theatre-goers, young and old, wealthy and not-so-wealthy. The pre-theatre menu needs to be good, and it is: £38 will pay for three courses including the likes of Tamworth pork and guinea fowl terrine, gurnard with warm tartare sauce, and a raspberry soft serve with a warm doughnut. The wine list opens at £32; cocktails at £11. To experience Lasdun the way many of our readers might, we visited during a busy pre-theatre service and can confirm that we were fed and watered in good time for curtain-up. We can also report that the restaurant’s loos were queue-free (key intel for theatre-goers). The menu is cleverly structured, opening with Carlingford oysters or Dorset crab saffron buns from the seafood bar, ahead of snacks such as the Marksman’s signature beef bun. Mains might bring turbot or a Duroc pork chop, as well as a majestic chicken, leek and girolle pie for two, plus crowd-pleasing sides of chips, mash and salad. Our starter of smoked eel, pressed potato, and cured ham was typical of the kitchen's style: dainty, quite plain to look at, but with lots of work behind it. Likewise a ‘strawberry and almond bun’ – craquelin choux pastry with piped almond cream, caramelised whole nuts, and macerated strawberries worthy of a Parisian patisserie. The Marksman's signature brown butter and honey custard tart has also made it across the river. Lasdun is not ‘just’ a theatre restaurant, it’s a useful new addition to the South Bank, whether or not you’re attending a show. Our one quibble is that the service is still in dress rehearsal. While the rest of the production is press night-ready, we were served by understudies who didn't really know their lines. What this striking new restaurant needs is a charismatic lead who’ll bring everyone to their feet.
