Carousel
Carousel is the brainchild of Shuttlecock Inc, the team of cousins who specialise in unforgettable pop-up experiences. With innovative pop-ups including Mile High and Rumble at the Deli being greeted with great success, Carousel is looking to deliver more of the same memorable meals.
Located just to the west of Baker Street, Carousel is quite literally a moving feast – it’s a vast, industrial-style space that provides the perfect setting for a curated line-up of exciting chefs from top restaurants around the world, so you can expect something different (but no less fantastic) on a very regular basis (chefs can come and go after just a few days, or can stay for a couple of weeks).
The interior is simple yet striking – a fairly blank canvas against which the chefs can perform their magic. Two rows of simple wooden tables are flanked by Ercol dining chairs and lit by homespun tin pendant lights with white walls and waxed concrete floors. The kitchen is open, off to one side and dining is communal, supper-club style.Argentinean chef Javier Rodriguez took over the kitchen for the launch back in 2014 (a corn custard and juicy ribeye steak are planted firmly in my memory). There have been several chefs since and, when I visited, it was Tom Ryall’s shift, who lists highly acclaimed St John Bread & Wine and Moro restaurants on his résumé.
Ryalls’ residency was titled ‘The Hunger Gap’, after his fascination with ancient methods of preserving food before refrigerators were readily available. These were times when the annual surfeit of summer produce would be pickled, salted, smoked and confit-ed to last throughout the winter. These methods feature heavily in Ryalls’ menu for his three-week stint at Carousel. With focus on the quality and provenance of his chosen ingredients, and a balance of meat, veg and fish, the six-course set menu is priced at a rather mouth-wateringly reasonable £35.The set menu must be paid for when booking, and booking is essential. Guests can arrive from 7pm, to eat at half past, and the food comes out course by course for everyone all at once.Just after 7.30pm, a selection of bites set the tone: paper-thin slices of ox-tongue pastrami with dill pickles and sesame were delicate and delicious, accompanied by fresh sourdough bread and super salty butter; sage potato cakes wrapped in anchovy were deep-fried and packed with flavour; grilled Hispi cabbage and Coolea cheese tasted fresh and unusual.
Salt brill, blood orange and Jerusalem artichoke were up next – another fine example of novel flavour pairings. The fish was tender and easily flaked off the bone, and I was surprised by how well the citrus fruit and brill combination worked, with artichoke puree adding a further dimension.
We opted in for the optional extra course (for an extra £6.50), which was confit pork belly – how could you possibly say no? The belly melted in the mouth yet was crispy all at once, and the quince, Kohlrabi mustard and thin strips of crackling further added to the experience – I only wished that the portion had been larger.
Bone marrow is seemingly the ingredient du jour, and for the next course it was incorporated into a bread sauce and served with braised Guinea fowl; served off the bone, it was totally delightful.
After what seemed like an eternity, pudding arrived to round off the meal. Trifle ice cream with poached rhubarb, toasted almonds and delicate Lady’s Fingers biscuits. Fruity, sweet (but not overly so) and a fabulous way to finish.
Carousel is ideal for those who want an ever-changing food offering without having to find a new restaurant each time – no need to change venue when the venue periodically changes the chef. And when the choice of chefs is so spot on, you can be sure of an exceptional culinary experience every time.
Service was rather slow on our visit – which is somewhat inexcusable when all guests are eating exactly the same thing at the same time. But since £35 gets you a stellar meal from a highly rated chef in a stunning Marylebone location, you can be sure I’ll be heading back soon.
Tom Ryalls’ residency finished on 14 February, but you can expect the next spin of the carousel to be just as delightful. Keep an eye on Carousel’s What’s On page for future residencies – Daniele Di Grazia, head chef and co-owner of La Cruz (one of Italy’s most spectacular restaurants), will be serving big-hearted, regional home-cooking from 24 February to 7 March.
I was just waiting outside for a friend during my invited lunch tasting at Carousel, and was asked by a service staff if I wanted a seat inside first. I was pleasantly surprised, as initiative in service is something becoming less common in Singapore.
Carousel has always been quite a popular hotel buffet restaurant amongst locals and foreigners, especially since it is halal. It serves a huge variety of cuisines, featuring a variety of sweet treats with not one but three dessert counters. Special mention must be made of its bread & butter pudding and Asian selections.
This time, I saw a new Teriyaki counter where you can have Japanese style fried rice, chicken, seafood and beansprouts on a single plate, all cooked lived in front of you.
Service was also prompt, especially in terms of clearing plates and refilling of water. That is especially important to me when having a buffet.
And to my further surprise, I noticed that the service staff pouring water was also the same one who greeted me at the door. Wait a minute, why is she multi-tasking?
After a chat, I realised that “butlers” at Carousel are trained to be multi-tasked so that they can deliver personalised and seamless one-stop service to enhance guests’ experience. So Lena the butler can also be a coordinator for concierge service, and a bartender for making cocktails!
The butlers at Royal Plaza on Scotts are also trained to be multi-skilled, such as making evening cocktails and various types of egg dishes when requested. Okay, I am kind of sceptical when it comes to this – will this overwork the workers?
Lena told me that she has been working at Royal Plaza on Scotts for more than 20 years, and wasn’t satisfied with knowing how to do just one thing. She likes to learn with the job, doing a variety of tasks keeps her interested and passionate, and she gets to attend trainings to learn new skills.
