Happy Mondays (and Sundays) at The Forge

Another restaurant, another meal deal. I mean seriously, if this credit crunch goes on any longer we’re all going to end up like Gavin and Stacey’s James Cordon. And I don’t mean hilarious. So what did The Forge in Covent Garden offer to set it above other restaurants alike?

Well, its £20.09 (see what they’ve done there?) price point shows a soupcon of originality, and the fact the offer is exclusive to Sundays and Mondays worked in The Forge’s favour too; exclusivity making it an appealing offer not a desperate plea to frequent the place. Things were looking good then, and that’s before I’d seen the menu or met up with my date for the evening…

Once part of a church methinks, the combination of exposed brickwork and upholstered furniture the same colour as my ancient, turquoise mini ipod gives The Forge an instantly calming feel to it. And the attentive, but not overly so, staff nicely complimented that. With Andy Barber at the helm, it would be rude not to be slightly presumptuous about the menu not hitting the spot.

He/it duly delivered; crispy duck and pork salad with a honey, sesame and soy dressing to start sounded – and was – right up my street and the classic French onion soup is always a crowd pleaser. With all seven mains annoyingly appealing, a relapse into my previously indecisive self seemed on the cards. But fortunately the slow braised mutton with parsley, caper and shallot gravy grabbed me in the nick of time to ensure indecision stayed put in room 101.

And I chose well; succulent, the mutton sat on a dreamy bed of mash and then you had the short sharpness of the caper in the gravy to snap you out of the revelry. Delectable I’d say. Similar praise was sung of the mushroom and garden herb risotto too from my partner in crime for the evening. With a refreshingly chilled house white helping us along just fine, dessert came and went in a trice. That can only be a good thing. I’d recommend the chocolate marquise with pistachio and, sometimes dubbed a boring choice, the fresh fruit and sorbet comes highly rated.

All in all, thumbs up to The Forge’s flavoursome food all around. To be a two-worded restaurant starting with ‘The’ is pretty daring. Not just Forge, but The Forge. Whilst some may think the inclusion of arguably the most unglamourous word in the English language is inconsequential, I think otherwise. It oozes intent and adds another tick to an already over ticked box in my book.

1* Forgettable
2* Forgive and Forget
3* By no means a Forge
4* all For generous portions
5* Never Forget by er, Take That

5* – Well worth paying the nine pence on top of a 20 note. Here’s a toast to ‘the’ and The Forge.

The Forge
14 Garrick Street
Covent Garden
WC2E 9BJ

Tel: 020 7379 1432