Fallow’s march towards becoming one of London’s most innovative and exciting restaurants takes another triumphant stride with the launch of FOWL.
The new beak-to-feet dining experience looks to expand on the nose-to-tail cooking already on show at its mother restaurant next door, where duck neck and pig’s head are standard fare, by priming their attention on the humble chicken and making sure that not a morsel goes to waste.
Partnering with the Ethical Butcher and The Rare Breed Meat Company, FOWL focuses on long-life, soy-free and pasture-raised chickens that have lived a good life and (to borrow a Gavin and Staceyism) taste all the better for it.
So proud are they of their stock, in fact, that they get proudly displayed in a fridge next to the bar, where full birds await their culinary transformation.
And what a transformation it is.
The menu is pure chicken. Plain and simple.
Chicken snacks, chicken bites, chicken sides, chicken pies. And yes, the desserts are chicken-based too, but more of that to come.
After feasting on FOWL’s mouthwatering social media content for a week we decided to start out with some cornbread served with chicken and herb butter.
The warm, crumbly loaf has a soft texture that yearns for the butter and crispy bits of chicken skin that get dotted across the top to be generously slathered across its surface.
It is, simply put, a brilliantly conceived plate of food that is executed superbly, leaving you longing for more and dubious about the prospects of anything being brought to the table that can top it.
@jackpeat00 Trying FOWL in St James, London – beak to feet cooking that is absolutely next level. featured: 🐔 Le Grand Coq Pie 🐔 Chicken Leg Corn Dog 🐔 Cornbread and Chicken Butter 🐔 The best Chicken wings I've ever tasted #Chicken #London #FOWL #Chick #Restaurant #food ♬ Calm Down – Leasis
But those concerns were quickly allayed after a box of chicken wings arrived at the table as if to suggest they were breezily cooked-up chicken shop style.
Truth is there’s a heck of a lot more to it here, a prognosis that you’ll arrive at after the first bite.
The wings have a ‘triple crisp’ that comes from being coated in a sriracha marinade, dunked in a ‘dry’ flowery dredge and a ‘wet’ buttermilk dredge before taking a second fry coated in vodka, honey and lager.
The resultant crisp is equal to the chicken in size and produces a wonderful Asian-style fusion of flavours that can be dunked in sriracha mayo but work just as well without it.
The main course was reserved for the showstoppers, which included for us (but are certainly not limited to) a chicken leg corn dog and the ‘Le Grand Coq’ pie.
Both looked the part but only one, in my view, lived up to the seriously high standard of cooking we had experienced so far and that was the pie, which came with the chicken’s head protruding out and a thick, creamy sauce below a layer of golden pastry.
The dish is an absolute triumph and demonstrates how classic cooking has a role in even the most progressive restaurants.
But let’s be honest, you’re not coming here and not ordering the corn dog, are you?
If that doesn’t fill you up (it did us) then you can pick from two chicken-based desserts, including a chicken fat creme caramel and chicken skin profiteroles.
Much like the rest of the menu, both put on show what happens when chefs as talented as these come together and say, “fuck it, we’re going to give it a try”.
Fallow in spirit but FOWL in nature, this is one you’re going to want to visit pretty sharpish. My spidey sense tells me that it might not be around forever.
Related: Bologna-based restaurant chain to bring its famous crescentina to London’s Brick Lane
