Chapter One, Locks Bottom part II

When you already know the place you're going for lunch has a Michelin star you go in with certain expectations.  You know the food will be superb, the service will be attentive and the wine list extensive.  But there are lots of restaurants around that will give you all these things, so what sets a "starred" establishment apart?

Well, in the case of Chapter One the answer is simple.  Everything.  From the relaxed atmosphere to the knowledgable staff, the contemporary decor to the unusual options on the menu, it was all just right.  The restaurant itself is just on the outskirts of Bromley, right on the A21.  It offers a lunchtime menu du jour at just £18.95 for three courses, and the a la carte lunch menu offers half a dozen starters all at £4.50 each, a dozen main courses all at £14.50 each and a selection of deserts at £4.50 each, so it needn't break the bank.

Dee managed to stick to her plan of missing out the starter to ensure room for desert this time, I was not as strong.  As soon as I saw "Compression of pigs head, piccalilli, warm pork bonbon & pickled grelot onion" on the starter list I had to try it!  It arrived in a lovely square dish with a generous dollop of home made mayonnaise, which was as light as a feather.  The compression of pigs head was smooth and tasty, but the warm pork bonbons were the star of the dish.

We both opted for the loin of rabbit wrapped in pancetta, with carrot and parsnip puree, pickled shitake mushrooms and a rabbit cottage pie as our main courses.  As we hoped and expected, the plates looked fantastic when they arrived!  I was a little concerned when I opened my rabbit loin up and found it to be a little pink, like undercooked chicken inside.  I asked a passing waiter if this was usual, as I haven't eaten pink rabbit before, and he was able to explain the entire cooking process for the dish to me.  The loin is rolled around a core of mousse and wrapped in the pancetta, then cooked slowly in a steam bath before going into a hot pan to be finished, and yes indeed rabbit can be eaten very pink indeed.  So I ate it.  And it was delicious!  Moist and rich, with a salty bacon twang from the pancetta offsetting the sweetness of the purees perfectly.  The little saucepan of rabbit cottage pie was also spot on, Dee's favourite bit but a little salty for my taste, but that is such a personal thing I hesitate to mention it here.

We finished off our half bottle of Bordeaux and just sat a while, soaking up the lively atmosphere and people watching.  The other diners ranged from elderly couples to gatherings of twenty-something year olds, a few large family groups and several other couples.  A wide range of diners, clearly enjoying themselves in the large, relaxed feeling dining room.  Having let our rabbit go down a bit, we decided we'd better have a look at the desert menu.  (It would be rude not to, right?)  How do you choose between such fantastic sounding dishes?  The most unusual by far was cream cheese mousse with a strawberry curried chutney and black pepper meringue.  Who thought of that???  To my delight, I did not have to choose.  I went for the assiette of deserts....a little sample of each.  Where do you start?  The chocolate fondant was warm and gooey, the raspberry mousse was sharp and smooth, they were all individual little masterpieces in their own right.  Dee had the lemon tart, which came with a passion fruit millefeuille and a creme-fraiche sorbet that cleaned the pallet beautifully.


After a pot of tea for Dee and an americano coffee for me (which came with a couple of slabs of home made raspberry jelly and some chocolate petit-fours) we resolved to come back soon, perhaps during the evening next time, to enjoy this most hospitable place again.