Counter in Vauxhall was kind enough to invite us over for a sample of its incredible cooking and marvellous cocktails. William Gadsby Peet was blown away by what the American and French inspired brasserie had to offer in this 5 STAR review.
If you are the sort of short attention-spanned human being who won't make it to the end of this review, let me summarise it for you in seven short words – book a table at Counter right now! This brasserie/cocktail bar/club is the very rarest of finds; a place that manages to be hip without sacrificing quality in the process. We've all been to one of those 'trendy' bar/restaurant spots in Shoreditch where you get served beer in a show, or a deconstructed salad in a traffic cone. More often than not the gimmicky presentation of food and alcohol is a transparent ploy to charge you twice the price for half the quality. This beautiful brasserie is having none of that, they take it back to the old school, with simple dishes that manage to highlight just how much most places miss the point when it comes to food and drink.
You can win a free 3 course meal for 2 at Counter by entering our competition here
I slipped in to the Back Counter Lounge – a separate but attached club/bar/lounge on the other side of the Vauxhall arches to Counter – an hour before my reservation. I like to see how a venue handles customers without knowing they are being reviewed and I had read a lot online about the quality of the lounge cocktails. Oh also it was happy hour, that might have had a slight influence on the decision. The lounge is a really cool, dark, little space with a simplistic industrial-chic decor throughout. Described on the website as Counter's 'gay little brother' it is a brilliant spot to have a few decadent drinks in. Whilst obviously more subdued on a Wednesday evening, it certainly looked like a great venue for a more raucous night like the bar's regular Sassy Saturday's (brilliant name).
For the incredibly reasonable price of £6 per cocktail, myself and my brother (I wasn't drinking alone, honest) got to sample some really interesting twists on classic cocktails. I tried a cinnamon fashioned which I have to admit I wasn't hugely keen on, however I think that says more about me – a man who doesn't like cinnamon but orders a cinnamon cocktail – than it does the quality of the cocktail itself.
Fortunately I was recommended a Godding Fizz by the knowledgable barman which turned out to be absolutely divine. The cocktail uses a cucumber and lavender infused beefeater gin as the alcoholic base, with the bars homemade lavender syrup added before being topped up with Fevertree's bitter lemon to finish. I also had a sip of my brothers chilli infused martini which was – despite a rather sharp kick – also outstanding.
Counter's signature Vauxhall Vespa
Pleasantly tipsy we headed through to the actual Counter restaurant to see what the food had to offer. The first thing that struck me was how good the service was, my waiter Pedro in particular was phenomenal. Before I started chancing my arm at journalism I spent 5 years in the hospitality industry in various waiter/barman roles. It has made me something of a snob when it comes to service and Pedro was (I am ashamed to say) better than I ever was at the same job. He knew the menu inside out and when I asked him what he would recommend, managed to convince me and my brother to entirely change our order based on his suggestions. He wasn't afraid to tell us that some things were better than others and I couldn't have been happier with the meal I ordered based on his recommendations.
To start with, I had the pigeon pastrami and my brother went with the tostada (a sort of corn tortilla, bass fillet and avocado flavour bomb). The pigeon breast was unbelievably tender and succulent, an incredible pinky/purple coloured bit of meat that had so much beautiful and unusual flavour to it. My brothers tostada was immense as well, so fresh and clean – a kind of Mexican twist on a traditional ceviche. I was particularly impressed by how well the fish was cooked, often restaurants err on the side of caution and cook all the flavour out of a piece of fish but this was lightly cooked in it's own juices to perfection.
Whilst the starters were unbelievable, the mains were even better. I went with the lamb rump and my brother went for the fruit de mer (a seafood salad on top of rice with peppers and saffron aioli). What was so striking about these dishes was the simplicity of them, really underlining how much of a difference quality ingredients and cooking makes. The lamb was cooked to exactly the right tenderness – wonderfully pink, a melt-in-the-mouth experience that nearly brought tears to my eyes. Look at the photo below and you will understand what I'm talking about. The Lyonnaise potatoes that it came with may well be the finest form of potato I have ever experienced. You can not understand how big a claim that is for me, a man who would happily eat chips or dauphinoise potatoes for the rest of his life. My brothers fruits de mer was also outstanding – the seafood was so unbelievably fresh and flavoursome – you would not have batted an eyelid if you were told it had been caught that day. The octopus was a particular highlight of joyous juiciness and flavour.
Lamb rump with Lyonnaise potatoes and red wine jus
By this point myself and my brother had pretty much fallen in love with this place and were planning all of the various birthdays we would take our family here for. When Pedro arrived to ask about dessert we just told him to go with whatever he wanted, such was our faith in the man. Pedro if you are reading this, you are my hero. The wonderful waiter had chosen what I can only describe as a religious experience via chocolate to finish with. The amazing chocolate parcel that arrived on the table exploded from it's molten gooey core as soon as we started attacking it with forks. The restaurant manager explained to us afterwards, the kitchen blends it's own chocolate, to get the right balance between the sweetness of light chocolate and the richness of dark chocolate for it's desserts.
Unbelievable food cooked to perfection, the freshest ingredients, artisan cocktails and some of the best service you could ask for – I don't know what more you could want from a dining experience. Maybe I'll see you there, I'll be the guy eating 6 plates worth of the Lyonnaise potatoes.
Did I mention that you can currently win dinner for two at Counter? Enter our competition here
Hey foodies, did you enjoy that review? Why not have a look at some of our other food pieces, like this roundup of some of the wonderful food festivals coming to South West London over spring and summer.
