A Pimlico Road local, The Orange pub and hotel – part of the Cubitt House family – has recently undergone a renovation both on the décor and food front. Adjoining its boutique hotel, the pub is housed in a handsome white stucco building looking out onto the lovely Orange Square. The menu has been overseen by Chef Director Ben Tish with an impressive CV: having coming up alongside Jason Atherton, he went on to spend 13 years at the Salt Yard Group – which saw the opening of Dehesa, Opera Tavern, Ember Yard and Veneta. Alongside two popular cookbooks and Sicilian-Moorish plates at Norma, his craft of Mediterranean food has now been channeled into The Orange.
Building on London’s love affair with small plates, the menu here is seasonal, produce-led and locally sourced. This means a great focus on veggie-focused dishes – with the menu seeing a whole section dedicated to Seasonal Salads and Vegetables. The plates sound inspired – in flavours at least – think olive oil, the perfumed zest of lemons and oranges, fresh herbs, ripe seasonal tomatoes, juicy stone fruits, sizzling garlic, crushed, aromatic spices.
To start, we went for Fried Artichoke Hearts with Runner Beans, Dukkah and Potatoes (£13.50). Though the dish was studded with coriander seeds and the artichokes brought a welcome nutty, earthy flavour alongside the crispy potatoes, the dish lacked any real hit of flavour which I’d had great expectations for thanks to the promise of dukkah.
Meanwhile, the Raw and Wood Roasted Cauliflower and Pistachios (£10) felt dis-unified. Lacking any real dressing or sauce to season and bind, the plate sat as a disappointing assortment of cauliflower bits with a few pumpkin seeds (rather than any luxurious pistachios) thrown in here and there.
The main dish of the evening – Trofie, Peas, Mint, Broad Beans and Goat’s Curd (£16) – was perhaps the most disappointing. Seriously underseasoned and lacking any real sauce, this reminded me of why I avoid ordering pasta out.
The smallest dish of the evening – Braised Spring Cabbage, Chickpeas and Pistou (£11) – was probably the highlight thanks to the herby green dressing. This may have been an off-evening for the kitchen but The Orange’s menu is better sounding that tasting. The service was also disappointingly slow despite this being a quiet Monday evening. I may just stick to a drink here next time round…
The Orange, 37 Pimlico Rd, London SW1W 8NE
Website: https://www.cubitthouse.co.uk/the-orange-boutique-hotel-belgravia/
Rating: *
Yumtini 