Scully, in St James's, is the solo venture of Ramael Scully, who previously headed up the kitchen at Yotam Ottolenghi's Soho restaurant, Nopi. We love to travel and try new foods both at home and on holiday, and yet the flavours at Scully are truly original.
The service is impeccable, with staff floating in and out of your view like ghosts. They seem to telepathically sense the very moment you need them, and other times they've come and gone before you even realised you wanted them there. So smooth. The wine list is full of rare gems that go remarkably well with the food, which is very good value – we ordered mostly vegetarian dishes and had a couple of glasses of wine each, and it all came to about £70pp.
Upon arrival, we were given a glass of sparkling wine (not a Prosecco, which neither of us are a fan of), which was very good indeed. Then a bowl of crispy chick peas with curry leaves – incredibly tasty and we hadn't even ordered yet!
We then ordered all of the vegetarian dishes and a monkfish one (actually our least favourite), before not being able to resist almost all of the desserts. We also ordered a dry Hungarian Tokaji, which we’d been on the lookout for and were delighted with how well it accompanied our food:
First up, one of our favourite dishes on the menu, a flavoursome aubergine sambal served with aromatic bergamot labneh, and a slightly sweet arepa (theirs is made from corn bread fermented for 8 days).
Next, Cornish baby candy beetroots roasted in fig leaf oil and Banyuls vinegar, with fresh cherries, caramelised pecans, apple miso and spiced caramelised pecans. Tastes as good as it looks!
Third, broccoli florets with their stems, Chinkiang vinegar flavoured onion gel, salted egg yolk in burnt butter, and crispy onions. Fresh and green with a rich umami depth.
Another top dish are these seasonal tomatoes, with coconut sambal, green chilli oil, green strawberries, 3 month preserved beef-heart tomato shrub with light soy and cider vinegar. An amazingly well-balanced dish of sour, sweet and fresh.
These potatoes may look simple but they are perfectly crisp, having been thinly sliced and then confit in avocado, coconut and smoked rapeseed oils. They are served with a cold emulsion of roasted, yeast-flaked smoked garlic and urfa chilli for a rich depth that makes triple cooked chips seem basic by comparison.
For our only non-vegetarian dish, we went for a market Shetland monkfish tail on the bone, served with a curry-flavoured black mole sauce (27 ingredients and 5 days of cooking to make this!) It was served with a grapefruit salsa, urap sayur, and spiced tamarind coconut soil. A fine example of fusion cookery.
We didn’t think our stomachs could handle it, but the desserts did not let us down (it was Anika’s birthday, after all). Soft cakes, ice creams, pops of fruits, flavours and nuts. A wonderful end to the meal.
It seems impossible to fault Scully, it really is incredible. If you think you’ve tried it all, try this.
Stay salty af,
Anika & Fleurie