Recently, I had the chance to visit 12:51 in London and it was a fabulous experience! I’m no stranger to fine dining, I’ve had the opportunity to visit some brilliant Michelin-starred restaurants and I’d say this is on it’s way there! I had the 8 course tasting menu with the drinks pairing and it was such a fab experience!
**Food**
The quality and freshness of the food was exceptional, it was all UK grown produce, and tasted like it came straight from the farm.
I loved the twist on classic British dishes – the mussels in chip shop curry sauce was my favourite dish by far! The mussels were tender and a little sweet and the curry sauce was amazing. I was even lucky enough to meet the chef who wrote me the recipe because I loved it so much!
My second favourite dish had to be the dessert. Usually, I’m not wowed by them but the brown sugar ice-cream was like a delicious cloud and I wanted to eat a whole tub’s worth. I also really enjoyed the snack at the start – the fried chicken and truffle combination was so clever and worked!
All of the courses were innovative and delicious and I liked that they swapped between hot and cold, warm and refreshing – it was a great way to keep my palate on edge. I also thought the portion sizes were reasonable except for the venison which I think was a little small.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of the cheese course but perhaps the taste just wasn’t for me.
**Drinks**
I opted for the pairing and I think they smashed it out the park in terms of choices – all of the drinks were complementary to the food. You also got a complimentary glass of Prosecco upon arrival.
The hashbrown and eel with the grape sour was the perfect mix of savoury, salty and the drink cut through the richness with a refreshing tang. I also liked the Sauvignon Blanc Loire with the mussels in curry sauce, it was rich with a little bitterness that balanced out the sweetness of the mussels.
Though I didn’t enjoy the cheese course, I thought the port was a classic and it worked to balance out the creaminess with a deep, rich flavour. I’m a port fan so I was happy to have it on it’s own and it was the perfect way to end the meal.
The Riesling was forgettable to me as was the dessert wine but I was okay with that because I like my food to be the star of the show.
**Service**
The service is what holds it back from being a Michelin-star restaurant because I found at the start I was being hurried through the first few dishes but then I had an almost 40 minute wait between the scallop and the venison. I think the pacing is uneven and could be improved. I also didn’t like that sometimes I was waiting for my drink to accompany my course or vice versa where I received the drink but not the food.
The staff were lovely and friendly and quick to resolve my issues (when I mentioned that I had been waiting, they got me another complimentary glass of Prosecco and a snack). As a solo diner, I felt like they were attentive but not overwhelming and I appreciate that they didn’t ignore me or put me in a corner which has happened before to me. I had a lovely table in the middle in the comfortable booth.
The complimentary jar of chilli jam at the end was a great touch! I opened it the other day and it’s the perfect blend between sweet and spicy.
**Overall, I had a wonderful experience and would highly recommend it!**
1 Comment
Recently, I had the chance to visit 12:51 in London and it was a fabulous experience! I’m no stranger to fine dining, I’ve had the opportunity to visit some brilliant Michelin-starred restaurants and I’d say this is on it’s way there! I had the 8 course tasting menu with the drinks pairing and it was such a fab experience!
**Food**
The quality and freshness of the food was exceptional, it was all UK grown produce, and tasted like it came straight from the farm.
I loved the twist on classic British dishes – the mussels in chip shop curry sauce was my favourite dish by far! The mussels were tender and a little sweet and the curry sauce was amazing. I was even lucky enough to meet the chef who wrote me the recipe because I loved it so much!
My second favourite dish had to be the dessert. Usually, I’m not wowed by them but the brown sugar ice-cream was like a delicious cloud and I wanted to eat a whole tub’s worth. I also really enjoyed the snack at the start – the fried chicken and truffle combination was so clever and worked!
All of the courses were innovative and delicious and I liked that they swapped between hot and cold, warm and refreshing – it was a great way to keep my palate on edge. I also thought the portion sizes were reasonable except for the venison which I think was a little small.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of the cheese course but perhaps the taste just wasn’t for me.
**Drinks**
I opted for the pairing and I think they smashed it out the park in terms of choices – all of the drinks were complementary to the food. You also got a complimentary glass of Prosecco upon arrival.
The hashbrown and eel with the grape sour was the perfect mix of savoury, salty and the drink cut through the richness with a refreshing tang. I also liked the Sauvignon Blanc Loire with the mussels in curry sauce, it was rich with a little bitterness that balanced out the sweetness of the mussels.
Though I didn’t enjoy the cheese course, I thought the port was a classic and it worked to balance out the creaminess with a deep, rich flavour. I’m a port fan so I was happy to have it on it’s own and it was the perfect way to end the meal.
The Riesling was forgettable to me as was the dessert wine but I was okay with that because I like my food to be the star of the show.
**Service**
The service is what holds it back from being a Michelin-star restaurant because I found at the start I was being hurried through the first few dishes but then I had an almost 40 minute wait between the scallop and the venison. I think the pacing is uneven and could be improved. I also didn’t like that sometimes I was waiting for my drink to accompany my course or vice versa where I received the drink but not the food.
The staff were lovely and friendly and quick to resolve my issues (when I mentioned that I had been waiting, they got me another complimentary glass of Prosecco and a snack). As a solo diner, I felt like they were attentive but not overwhelming and I appreciate that they didn’t ignore me or put me in a corner which has happened before to me. I had a lovely table in the middle in the comfortable booth.
The complimentary jar of chilli jam at the end was a great touch! I opened it the other day and it’s the perfect blend between sweet and spicy.
**Overall, I had a wonderful experience and would highly recommend it!**