Mountain, London

The thing that really stayed with me about Mountain was the vegetables. I went in expecting to be most impressed by the meat, which is undeniably very good, but it was the vegetable dishes that were exceptional.

The menu changes regularly, so it’s hard to recommend exact dishes as they might not be there when you go. It’s one of those places where you’re better off leaning into it by ordering a mix, being a bit adventurous, and trusting that they know what they’re doing. The meat dishes tend to stick around more, but the vegetables are where things get interesting.

We started with mushrooms, served in a light, deeply savoury broth with an egg yolk on top. Simple and properly comforting. Then a crudo with chillies and strawberries, which sounds slightly odd but really worked as it was fresh, sharp and had just the right amount of heat. It’s that kind of menu with combinations that don’t quite make sense until you taste them.

Next were these beautiful yellow courgettes with butter, lemon, herbs and parmesan. Soft, bright and exactly the sort of dish you don’t expect to remember but absolutely do.

The one thing you have to order is the smoked potatoes. Crispy on the outside, soft in the middle, with this deep, smoky flavour that makes them completely addictive. Easily the best thing we ate.

We also had the Jersey beef rib, which was very good quality meat cooked well. But even that took a bit of a back seat to the vegetables.

It’s rare to leave a meal like this thinking mostly about the veg, but that’s exactly what happened. Really good produce, cooked simply but with loads of care and paired with sauces that make everything feel a bit more special without being over the top.