http://www.balticrestaurant.co.uk/
I first visited Baltic on opening a few years back. The cool, grey austerity that greeted me was a world away from Daquise, London’s longest established Polish restaurant. The emphasis was firmly on sleekness and modernity rather than communist block, with polished concrete floors and perfectly rendered white walls. Uncared for, such spaces can quickly deteriorate with scuffs and the like, but not Baltic. The place still had the cool crispness I remember when it opened.
Andrew and I arrived for an early dinner as we were off to the theatre afterwards. We both stuck to Baltic’s pre-theatre menu at £11.50 for two courses, or £13.50 for three. Our table was immaculately laid out with crisp white linen. A beetroot and horseradish relish and a little saucer of pickled vegetables also featured. Service was attentive throughout.
We chose vodka-infused gravadlax with potato latkes and a lamb sausage with bulgar wheat from the set menu and greedily ordered a third starter from the main menu of blinis - a speciality- with Smoked Salmon, Marinated Herring, Keta Caviar, Aubergine Mousse, and Sour Cream (£7.50). All three starters were excellent - in particular the latkes - crisp and hot against the salmon. The smoked salmon accompanying the blinis was plentiful and exceptional in quality, slightly thicker cut than usual.
We both chose the same main course from the set menu - cabbage stuffed with veal. This arrived with more bulgar wheat - unfortunate given it featured heavily in one starter, but it was an accomplished dish, the cabbage rolls light but flavoursome contrasting the coarseness of the wheat and richness of the red wine sauce.
We had an acceptable organic bottle of South African Syrah/Cabernet blend at £18 and a bottle of mineral water, leading to a final bill of £58 - reasonable given the location and excellent service and quality of cooking. Strongly recommended.
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