A meal at Sheekeys
We celebrate 7years of marriage with a fish supper washed down with Champagne. By Kate
It was an anniversary week this week. Seven years of marital bliss and purgatory, with scales tipped slightly towards bliss, so all is well set for the next seven years. The landmark demanded a trip to our favourite restaurant in the whole world and the setting of most of our anniversary dinners over the years. Actually, whenever we have something to celebrate or are feeling wealthy (sadly, neither a regular occurrence) that is the place we most want to go.
We love everything about J Sheekey's restaurant. The softly toned light reflecting off the warm wood of the walls in the restaurant and the burnished zinc in the bar. The acoustics which are just right; a busy, friendly bumble, not too loud but loud enough so that you can, if you wish, do a spot of eavesdropping. (Jude and I are shameless eavesdroppers. We have been known to spend entire evenings utterly absorbed in someone else’s conversation.) The restaurant gives the feeling that it has been there forever and will be there for centuries to come – a bubble of timelessness in an arena too full of places that come and go like the tide. The service is always, without exception, impeccable and the food is deliciously simple and superbly executed. If I won the lottery, I would eat there at least once a week. At least.
We were in the bar on Tuesday, partly because it is so intimate. You can practically sit on each others laps, if you want. We were there also due to a period of hostility last week (caused by the number shower – see last week’s blog), so I didn’t book till quite late. The bar was a particularly good choice on this occasion since a peace conference on Saturday meant that by Tuesday we wanted to practically sit on each other’s laps.
We decided to start the evening off with a glass of champagne each – Theophile Roederer which is a very fine, all-round house champagne. I am becoming increasingly disinterested in anything but the spectacularly good biodynamic, small grower champagnes we stock, so just about anything else feels like a bit of a let-down but this, for a mainstream champagne, is good.
If we have one complaint about Sheekeys (and it is a small one), it is that the list is not, we feel, up to the standard of the rest of the place. Measured against most restaurants it is not bad at all and there are a few real gems surrounded by those which are solid and more or less reliable, but the truly thrilling wines are a bit sparse and certainly, under £30, there is very little which is really worthwhile.
Given this, we decided to stick with champagne and had two glasses each over dinner. The wine list is a minor quibble from most certainly The Fussiest Woman in the World when it comes to a wine list, but if they fine-tuned it a bit more we would probably chain ourselves to the bar and never leave. Mind you, I can’t imagine that is much of an incentive from their point of view.
The food was excellent. 6 Fines de Claire oysters to start, of which I had two. An unfortunate incident at the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station in New York just before Jude and I got married rather spoiled oysters for me and I can’t manage more than that now. Yet these were wonderful – a proper iodine hit. Eyes closed, it was easy to imagine the sensation of taking a breath and ducking under an on-coming wave.
We then shared the mixed Grilled fish platter with chips and salad on the side. This was a fishy extravaganza – lemon sole, salmon, bream, skate and John Dory with the latter emerging as the favourite although it was all good. Fresh and tasty with just a lick of butter enriching the clean flavours of the fish. The chips, as always, were textbook perfect – crunchy outside and buttery inside.
Jude managed an Apricot Pavlova for dessert which he had with a glass of Pol Roger Demi Sec. A perfect match – the tartness of the Apricot was beautifully picked up by the wine (though a bit too sweet for my taste) that was not bad as demi sec champagnes go. In the end, not a cheap night out but a truly enjoyable one.
I am still hankering after the John Dory and we are hoping for another celebration-worthy occasion to soon give us an excuse to go back. Once we have topped up the entertainment account, that is.
Some wines we would be very happy to drink at Sheekeys :-
If our numbers don’t come up (and they sadly never do)
Domaine Felines Jourdan Picpoul de Pinet - £23.50
If prospects brighten, however, we would indulge in :-
2004 Dirler Caude Pinot Gris Grand Cru ‘Kessler’, Alsace , France
Rhone France - £73
Sicily , Italy
Gassac Red , Languedoc , France
del Duero , Spain
We decided to start the evening off with a glass of champagne each – Theophile Roederer which is a very fine, all-round house champagne. I am becoming increasingly disinterested in anything but the spectacularly good biodynamic, small grower champagnes we stock, so just about anything else feels like a bit of a let-down but this, for a mainstream champagne, is good.
Given this, we decided to stick with champagne and had two glasses each over dinner.
I am still hankering after the John Dory and we are hoping for another celebration-worthy occasion to soon give us an excuse to go back. Once we have topped up the entertainment account, that is.
