Trivet is a two Michelin Star restaurant run by the former head chef of The Fat Duck, Johnny Lake. It’s elegant, it’s refined, it’s pretty much all of the good adjectives. Dining doesn’t get much finer.
But every Monday night it shakes off its formal outfit and becomes the considerably more laid-back Labombe Wine Bar. And that makes it, essentially, a good excuse to dine at a Two Star restaurant without flirting with financial ruin. You don’t even need a booking. Dare we say it, it’s almost casual. And it’s every bit as good as you’d hope.
If you fancy checking it out on any given Monday, you’ll find it a mere five-minute stroll from London Bridge Station in a nevertheless quite tranquil little side street in Bermondsey. Inside, it’s got all the plush & polished refinements you’d expect from a place of its calibre, and in weather like this the team open up the charming terrace too.
Each evening will have its own special menus, for both the food and the drink. There’s enough range in each that if you fancy spending the same as you would in Pizza Express, you more or less can (glasses of wine start at £10, and the dishes at £9), but if you do want to push the boat out then you frolicking with the mermaids in no time.
The noodles were perfectly al dente, and the cod roe was delicious
It’s pretty hard to find fault with the food, which moves from slices of salumi, meltingly good Mangaliza leg, and simple chips with oregano & onion ketchup, right up to hefty slabs of focaccia with salami rosa, a hot tongue bun (which is what a salt beef sandwich wishes it was); or a plateful of perfectly al dente cold noodles with marinaded trout roe & sea herbs – but the winner is the costolletta alla Milanese. It’s described as a veal chop that’s ‘lightly flattened’… but what arrives is a dictionary-thick hunk of meat in perfectly cooked golden breadcrumbs, dipped in an unctuous vinegar sauce. And for dessert, you should absolutely try the butter tart, a speciality of the area of Canada that Johnny Lake hails from. It’s luscious, velvety, and just £6.
The wine is all marshalled by Isa Bal (also the former somm at The Fat Duck) and his extremely talented team, and they’ll partner you up with something to fit whatever mood or price point you’re looking to explore. And their biblical wine list gives you a solid helping of history, too.
It’s Triveting reading.
NOTE: Labombe is open Mondays from 5pm-11pm for drinks, with a special menu available to order between 5pm and 9.30pm. You can find out more and book at the Trivet website.
Trivet | 36 Snowsfields, SE1 3SU
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