The Modern Pantry is an elegant restaurant in Clerkenwell with fuses everyday cooking with modern ingredients. It’s modern European cuisine from a renowned Kiwi chef, so it’s far from the norm.

The Modern Pantry is another one of our Taste of London Festival revelations and after looking through their menu at the festival we were every excited to go for dinner at The Modern Pantry, and even more excited after a bit more research because the restaurant comes with rave reviews.

We booked for a dinner at 18:30 last Thursday and the restaurant was empty, only because everyone wanted to eat outside and enjoy the sun. We were good eating inside 🙂. The décor oozes elegance and simplicity, and everything appears clean.

We were at ground level but there is much more to The Modern Pantry, with two more elegant dining rooms on the first floor and a private dining room on the top floor of the town house. The service was also very attentive and helpful, especially in regards to answering the multitude of questions I always have about the dishes on the menu, which sometimes just annoy Shiima 😆. But hey, it’s not easy to choose because I eat everything! Speaking of…

What we ordered

First, Shiima ordered a virgin rose mojito and I orange and vanilla lemonade. Both drinks were really good and refreshing!

For starters we ordered smoked ricotta & sour cherry fritters, tomato, feta & lemongrass arancini, chorizo scotch quail eggs, and venison. For mains, Shiima orders roast corn fed chicken and I ordered grilled miso marinated onglet steak

The Food

Starters

Shiima ordered the fritters and arancini, and she really enjoyed both of them. I had a bit of both and found both to be delicious as well, especially the rich filling of the fritters. The arancini was simpler in regards to its taste profile, but more creamy.

I loved the chorizo scotch quail eggs. Absolutely loved it. I’m not a fan of boiled egg and I love chorizo, so the balance of this was perfect for me. Tiny boiled and runny quail eggs coated in delicious spicy chorizo sausagemeat and perfectly crunchy breadcrumbs.

The venison was also awesome. I wouldn’t have ordered it cooked this rare, but the taste and texture were supreme!

Mains

Shiima like her corn fed chicken, but wasn’t enamoured by it especially because she was expecting more flavour through the chicken but it was mostly on the skin which she doesn’t eat … but I do devour her chicken skin and so I really loved the corn fed chicken.

My onglet steak was really nice. Melt in your mouth succulent and perfectly seasoned with miso and salsa. 👌🏾

Dessert?

Nah, there wasn’t anything that particularly tickled our fancy.

Verdict

We really enjoyed our dinner at The Modern Pantry. The vibe is elegant yet relaxing, the service is top notch, and the food excellent. We recommend for dates, special occasions, grownup meal with friends and family, terrace dining, and also business meals. Large groups too, because there is a lot of room (several dining rooms and also a private room). The Modern Pantry is relatively expensive, so do consider that as well.

Cuisine: Morden European Fusion
Dress Code: Casual
Shiima’s Star Dish: Tomato, feta & lemongrass arancini
Amen’s Star Dish: Chorizo Scotch Quail Eggs
Price: £30-£40pp
Rating: 4.7 out of 5

The Modern Pantry
47-48 St John’s Square, Clerkenwell
London EC1V 4JJ
Reserve at OpenTable,
Or call 020 7553 9210