It is something of a cliche to say I lived off of Vita Coco and Popchips over London Fashion Week, but it is an unfortunate and absolute truth. Running from show to show leaves little to no time for good food, leaving 90% of stylists, journalists, and bloggers ravenous by day five.
Indigo at One Aldwych was the obvious answer to my tummy-rumbling problem. Having stayed in the hotel at the end of Fashion Week, breakfast at Indigo had alluded to the deliciousness that a full-blown dinner would bring.
The relatively small but manicured space overlooks One Aldwych’s stunning lobby bar which – at dinner – is a melting pot of conversation starters. After-work drinkers mingle with all-day drinkers in the luxe bar area while dates, friends, and a lot of Americans (it is a hotel, after all) dissect from above.
Pulled from people-watching by Indigo’s efficient and friendly staff, my dining partner and I chose to start our meal with cured ham from Bayonne and Charentais melon (£10) alongside pepper-crusted yellowfin tuna with green mango, pomello, peanuts and Thai dressing (£13). With a focus on fresh and seasonal ingredients, both starters packed an inculpable punch; the latter being so wonderfully multifaceted that I would chose to eat it as a main. But – like I said – I was Fashion Week-level hungry. Tuna alone wasn’t going to fill that hole.
Though Indigo’s modern European menu tantalised with every line, we eventually settled on a grilled T-bone of Cumbrian lamb, merguez sausage, polenta, anchovies, rosemary and petit lucques (£23) and a breast of corn-fed chicken with boulangère of leg, cauliflower purée and lemon thyme (£19) for the main show. Paired with an excellent wine list (and a passionate sommelier pushing palate-perfect glasses of wine on us that I otherwise wouldn’t have selected), it quickly became evident that Indigo was not messing around with their produce. It was, in fact, the best lamb dish I have had in years.
Pushing ourselves to the brink, we finished with a milk and bitter chocolate mousse with chestnut and popcorn (£7) – a bowl of tricks – as well as warm cinnamon doughnuts and mandarin sorbet (£7) which once shaken to scatter the excess cinnamon, ended the meal with comfort food of the highest order.
See you next Fashion Week (and a million times before then).
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