Just by a stroke of luck i happened to be in London on the weekend that Simon Rogans new `pop up` restaurant “Roganic” was opening on a two week`ramp up` soft start.Even luckier for me that i was searching around for somewhere to do lunch on Roganics first day and happened to discover that i could book a table to eat at opening time on opening day…..First official diner to eat at Roganic.
The restaurant is situated on a quiet and really clean site in Marylebone ( Blandford street ) and as soon as Simon secured the property everything happened in a bit of a whirlwind, the trades were sent in to fast track the refurbishment.Chefs and staff were appointed and Simon Rogan added more craziness to his non stop life at Lenclume in Cartmel by taking on the weekly journeys between his London and Cumbrian restaurants until things were well firmly established.Ben Spalding would head up the kitchen at Roganic , a young highly talented chef with a great pedigree from a background in some pretty high end eateries – L`autre pied , The capital , Rhodes , Gordon Ramsay , Per Se ,
Fat duck and Le Manoir….wow , this guy has an amazing history.Teamed up with Simon then i had very high expectations of what they were capable of as a collective pair in the kitchen.I really don`t need to start writing volumes about the food at Roganic ,the photos simply speak for themselves and if they don`t tempt diners to eat there then
nothing will.The hedgrow and woodland herbs and flowers don`t grow on Blandford street . Simon can`t do what he does in Cartmel and simply walk outside the kitchen door to pick fat hen , Hedge garlic,Bistort , Sweet cicely and many more herbs so somehow they`ve managed to export them down from Cumbria as though they had been picked five minutes prior to being delicately placed on the dishes.
So enjoy my little journey through the food of Roganic and the 10 course tasting menu , encompassing the best of British organic produce with a Cumbrian twist.Oh and by the way , service was near perfection , fault free and the staff were all well educated on the food being served….including the Chenopodiums, Hyssop , Orache and Mallow buzz words i threw in at them.Sandia Chang ( Per Se , Noma and Marcus Wareing ) and Jon
Cannon ( Galvin ) head up front of House….Two lovely people , keep up the good work and good luck to a great future for Roganic.
Full set of pics from my lunch at Roganic – CLICK HERE or scroll down for highlights
Appetiser – Chick pea wafer, cream cheese with herbs.
Broad bean and Hyssop , fresh curds and beetroot
Yellow turnip baked in salt , smoked yolk , Blite and wild mustard
Sea water cured Kentish Mackerel , Orache , broccoli and warm Elderflower honey
Shredded Ox tongue , Pickles and sourdough paper
Flaky crab and Mallow cream , young Squid and cucumber
Vintage potatoes in onion ashes , lovage and wood sorrel
Roasted Brill , chicken salt , cockles and ruby chard
Cumbrian Hogget , Artichokes and Chenopodiums
Sweet cicely with strawberries , buttermilk and verbena
Warm spiced bread , salted almonds , Buckthorn curd and smoked clotted cream
Cherry marshmallow and cherry shot
Little treats with coffee.
Cumbriafoodie 
Headed there next week and your post has got me suitably excited! Stunning pics as always Alan – I especially like the artistically angled and aerial shots.
Thanks very much GT , dont forget your camera will you ?