Flat Three

My favourite restaurant in the area - an amazing wine list and imaginative tasting menus. Was great for my vegan friend too.

Here, look at the presentation of our first course from the Chef menu, Loch Duart salmon, bokbunja (Korean fruit wine) smoked lardo, Douglas fir ponzu. Simple, but not when you begin to describe the flavours. Did it work? The citric ponzu sauce was delicious with the fatty salmon. The salmon was right to be served just on it's own. But I have to say that despite growing up eating with chopsticks, I still didn't find it (and could not understand why) easy to eat this dish with the apparatus. hinona kabu, pink radish, shiso + pickled turnip dressing - hinona kabu is a traditional Japanese vegetable usually used for pickling. It is long and thin like with a red top. The colours were so pretty and the pickling flavours were mild with a very good balance of sweet and sour. Delicious and it cleanses the palate after that fatty salmon before our next meat platter. Balmoral venison, fermented elderberry + whipped buttermilk - the Balmoral venison on the plate stood out in its red glory. Each ingredient was plated up separately and then scattered with micro flowers delivered the impression of the venison's wilderness. The meat was so lean and clean. It had strong beefy flavour and together, this dish was were nutty, tangy, fruity and very pretty. hand cut udon, kimchee tomato ragu + black truffle - a plate of really lush noodles and meat. The ragu was rich and a bit too salty for me but the udon had a great texture and consistency. A sprinkle of black truffle, what do you say? Lush.... And the star of the dish for me was followed by this wonderful piece of meat: 28 day aged sirloin, jus with soured cream + honey comb - Like the salmon, it was served on it's own with the subtle honeycomb sweetness. The meat was tender and rich, with a pinkish middle, it was a very accomplished dish. sea buckthorn sorbet + dandelion coffee - a delightfully tangy sorbet which contrasted perfectly with the sweet (but not overly so) coffee. I found it very refreshing. runeberg cake, wild damsons + geranium ice-cream - the purity of the ice-cream, the sexy red from the wild damsons gave a nice contrast in colour. Not only that, the geranium ice-cream was ace, not too floral! The runeberg cake was slightly dry though.

I enjoyed many fantastic restaurants while in London recently, but Flat Three was the winner. I think the maitre de was a bit confused to have a woman dining solo so early (I had the restaurant to myself at 6), but I was too jet lagged to dine at a more appropriate time. I told the wait staff if vegan was at all difficult, I'd be happy to have a veg meal. They said it was no problem at all and the meal was sublime.

Very scandi design, elegant and minimalist. Airy room in the basement on a random corner n Holland Park Ave. Interesting and experimental food, but some dishes were over-thought, confusing and with flavours and textures that weren't always complimentary. Could have a simpler menu and more exciting cocktail list.

Just returned to Flat Three after posting a review in mid-October. If anything, they've perfected near perfection. The food was even more remarkable (we had the seven course chef menu - a good deal for what you end up getting). The ambience is warm and it was great to see that the restaurant has retained - and improved upon - its best features.

This was one of the most remarkable culinary experiences that I've had in a long time. We tried the chef's tasting menu. It had 7 courses, each was a perfect continuation of the previous one, with tastes, textures all complementing each other really well. Wine pairing recommended by staff worked well too