In our first night in London, we were wandering around Notting Hill and stumbled into Wild without a reservation. The restaurant is large enough that they had ample room to take in strays like us. It ended up being one of the best meals we had in the city.
We started with a fresh artichoke salad, an artfully arranged pyramid of shaved, raw artichoke, parmesan cheese, and pine nuts. It was earthy and I liked the texture of the raw artichoke. From there, our group shared several entrees, including the duck breast with fig, grilled endive, and foie gras sauce and the linguine with shrimp, both on the regular menu. We also added a special of tuna belly steak and rounded out the meal with tender stem broccoli and chips.
The duck breast was phenomenal, paired with the sweet and bitter elements on the plate. The sauce was deep and savory and we dredged each piece of duck, and any straw crisps, into it. My family enjoyed the tuna belly just as much, though it felt less like a composed dish and was rich, so hard to eat in large quantities. The linguine with shrimp featured toothsome homemade pasta, large prawns, and a very intense, savory tomato/seafood sauce. The crisps were perfectly roasted and the brocollini was generous and well-cooked. read more