The Brave - Review - Islington - London - The Infatuation

"The Brave is a pub-British restaurant that teeters on the edge of being great. But it doesn’t quite reach its full potential. Some over-seasoning here and a lack of welcome there makes for a frustrating meal at this Islington spot, but only because it could be so good. photo credit: The Brave It’s very handsome, albeit a bit generic, but because the restaurant is so separate from the pub—through a doorway in a different room—it lacks atmosphere. The large room needs to be fuller to have that pleasant hum of chatter, so ask for the seats opposite the open kitchen to add an immediate injection of energy into your night. The menu is impressive at times, like the feasting spread of venison that wouldn’t look out of place on an episode of Wolf Hall. But dishes can be overwhelmingly salty. It’s a smart, sleek place but if you’re after a lively atmosphere, or a meal that’s not sodium-sponsored, we’d go elsewhere. Food Rundown Whipped Chicken Liver Parfait The expensive face cream we were ad-bombed into buying isn’t as velvety smooth as this parfait. Luckily it’s not as intensely chickeny either. Rich and buttery, it sits inside a thin, crisp pastry basket that shatters the moment your teeth connect with it. It’s one of the best things on the menu. photo credit: The Brave Homemade Soda Bread Call us purists, but soda bread belongs with salted butter. For a bread that already has a malty flavour all of its own, we found it overwhelming paired with this Marmite butter. To be clear, the Marmite butter is excellent, smooth, light, and comfortingly savoury. We just don’t prefer these two things together. photo credit: The Brave Roast Haunch Of Aynhoe Venison Another dish of two halves. Perfectly cooked, soft venison and hash browns with structural integrity and layers that would make Kevin McCloud proud are a big yes. But the XO sauce is so salty that we couldn’t manage more than a spoon of it. photo credit: The Brave Mangalitza Brawn By this point in the meal we seized upon the gem lettuce on this dish as something refreshing and crisp to give us relief from the merry-go-round of savoury and salty flavours from the parfait and XO sauce. But no, the anchovy-heavy dressing is very salty too. The mangalitza is fantastic, though. The tender shredded meat is encased in a battered, breadcrumb cube which is crunchy and decadent. photo credit: The Brave" - Sinéad Cranna