Eighty Six is an unashamedly impressive venue. The brooding, dark corners of the bar, punctuated by opulent gold decorating, open to a double-height ceiling and a winding bar.
But it’s the restaurant upstairs that showcases Eighty Six’s real decadence. The four-sided balcony setting allows the ambience from the bar below to float up, meaning that even on a quiet night the space is pleasantly lively.
But you’re there for the food, and it is lovely.
The chefs use seasonal ingredients, altering the menu depending on what’s available on the day. For starters, a scallop and pear salad was beautifully cooked and presented, and the duck fois gras was smooth and devilishly rich.
The menu focuses on traditional British cooking, and mains included lamb and some beautiful fish dishes. It’s testament to the restaurant’s belief in seasonality that there were a couple of changes to the menu on the day – certain things had gone out of season or not been sourced locally that week. There was also a beautiful piece of beef served with chips for two which elicited a lot of food envy when we saw it brought out for another table.
The black forest sundae for dessert was like a childhood throwback, served in an ice cream glass, with adult favours. The cheesecake was a beautiful deconstructed pud, with shortbread biscuits and fruit. All in all, it’s a solid menu of good classics.
The restaurant is let down, massively, by its terrible bathrooms. They are right next to the kitchen in a dark corridor, with taps hanging off the walls. They couldn’t have presented a greater contrast to the rest of the restaurant’s slick interior.
But don’t let that put you off. The new à la carte menu offers started from £6 and mains from £11, which is very reasonable for the quality of ingredients and the part of town.
A two course meal for two with wine is around £100.
For information and booking, visit here.
Rhiannon Bury
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