Piece by Kate Antoni, FG Central Correspondent
Romantic Night
Last night man friend and I were treated to the most joyous evening. A romantic meal for two just off of the King’s Road in London’s Chelsea. Adam Handling has opened a new pop up, Ugly Butterfly, which aims to reduce, reuse and recycle where possible. Reducing unnecessary emissions by sourcing locally and using bicycles instead of cars, when fetching ingredients. Reusing, where possible, the offcuts and waste products from his other restaurants.
Innovative Concepts
Something of an innovator, Handling has always had his finger in many pies. I remember Adam from his Fairmont days, in the wilds of Scotland. We were both much younger, fitter, bright eyed and bushy tailed with a zeal for life that comes with being under 25. That period in time when you don’t get tired and when nights in seem wasted. I was studying Theology at St Andrews and Handling was, shaking up the industry, having moved back to Scotland to become the Fairmont Group’s youngest ever head chef – previously trained at Gleneagles.
His achievements belie his age and I have been following his career ever since. We’re the same age and yet Handling feels like a ‘real adult’ whilst the rest of us are muddling along pretending. I spied Ugly Butterfly a few weeks ago, the candlelight interior caught my eye as I leaned into the white wooden door frame. I had a glass of wine and left, hopping on the bus towards my final destination. Note to self. Must return.
Date Night
I returned with man friend and we ordered. So. Much. On entering, the space is divided into two. The right sees high tables and bar stools. The left showcases painted wooden tables with metal chairs and butterfly cushion covers. A fusion between the highest end restaurant and my mother’s farmhouse table. Most people, it seems, live between these two paradoxes.
Warm and Friendly
The atmosphere is warm and friendly, efficient but reflective of the ethos. Embracing something new, open to entertaining new ideas, new people. It’s refreshing to feel so comfortable on a Tuesday night in the middle of south west London. We’re offered a glass of English Sparkling, which I couldn’t wait to try and set about deciding what to eat, everything looked simply divine.
The Menu
The menu comprises of four sections nibbles, snacks, small plates and desserts. The idea is to order a few bits and share. Or not. We started with nibbles, aptly named “skins.” Now. I love skins, the best part of a roast is the skin. Or the meat fat. Thinking about it has me dribbling. The skins on offer were salted chicken, fish and pork. The chicken was my favourite – salty, crispy goodness. The fish wasn’t overpowering and instead satiating with great mouthfeel. The pork was immense, so puffy. So crunchy. Just brilliant. The kind of bar snack every single bar should employ. Next up, no waste croquettes, black pudding scotch egg, corns ribs, devilled eggs and the circle of life caviar tart.
Snacks
Croquettes are somewhat of a sore point for me. My first experience was of a cold salted fish croquette in Madrid when 17 years ago. After I had mistakenly told my Spanish exchange that I fancied her dad. I digress. Made using leftover mashed potatoes and offcuts of fish and topped with a kimchi emulsion. Light crispy and perfectly seasoned. I began to reevaluate my feelings.
The latter is black pudding scotch egg, made with feast fairly eggs, those deemed too small to be sold which means that they’re usually discarded). This notion blows my mind and I’m elated that Handling has started a trend. So much so that we order devilled eggs, even though I don’t like devilled eggs but it’s ok because manfried inhales both and smiles gleefully as he munches.
Next up, corn ribs. I first ate corn ribs at Ottolenghi’s Rovi. These are different, juicy and saucy. The sweetness of the corn juxtaposed with sour lime juice and rich crushed peanut. They’re fun, they taste good, though they aren’t the showstopper for me.
Finally, the circle of life caviar tart. Two expensive little bites but worth it. One bite that showcases every life stage of the sturgeon fish. One bite that reminds you how much effort real food, done well, takes. Why it’s so important to source it responsibly and how beautiful it can be when we do. The bite comprises of a thin buttery little tart, filled with creamy mouse, smoked fish chunks and topped with caviar. It’s magnificent. Now, it’s time for the mains.
Small Plates
The small plates round consisted of an ox cheek and cheese toastie, beef and bone marrow cottage pie and burrata with smashed avocado and pickled courgette. The ox cheek and cheese are reused components from handling’s other ventures. Cheese that has been left over from the cheese board – too small or awkward to serve.
The cottage pie is fantastic, it’s beautiful and showcases my favourite ingredient; bone marrow. I often buy bones from my local butcher and only, now, have they stopped asking me if it is for my dog. No dog here. Just a woman that really likes the smooth, buttery jelly like consistency spread thickly on toasted sourdough and topped with salsa Verde. Here the bone marrow is woven through a rich meaty base and topped with mashed potatoes.
Manfriend, who refuses to accept this sharing concept business, asked why we couldn’t return and order one each. Finally, the burrata sourced from borough market lay splayed atop repurposed crushed avocado and topped with pickled courgette. I’m a big fan of the three components of this dish and really enjoyed each mouthful. The pickles balanced the creamy deliciousness. At this point we were full but not too full to order dessert.
Desserts
All the puddings sounded insanely good, but on recommendation we ordered the two that stood out. The coffee grounds mousse, served on a bed of coffee syrup-soaked shortbread and crowned by a perfectly crisp and beautifully whipped meringue, made using the eggs that are usually thrown out. It tasted like a textured tiramisu with more substance. Nothing cloyingly sweet, just perfectly balanced and beautifully presented.
The latter dessert was introduced that day, it was so new the manager hadn’t even tried it. A little pot of dense orange chocolate cream smothered in a homemade orange marmalade and garnished with edible petals and thin lime flavoured meringue shards. It was the perfect ending to a perfect evening. It was so perfect that on finishing this review I am going to pop back into the same restaurant and eat another dessert. Possibly two. Waste not want not.
Ugly Butterfly 55 King’s Road, London, SW3 4ND Tel: 0207 730 7161 Tuesday to Saturday: 11.30am to 10pm/Monday & Sunday: Closed
