Tom Aikens

Tom Aikens Review

Is so-called wonderchef Tom Aikens the real thing? Indeed. The flame-haired, former kitchen bad boy was always popping up in the gossip columns for having bust-ups with his staff, winning awards, hobnobbing with the gentry, or flirting with bankrupcy. Nonetheless, he's stripped all the ancien régime flummery away and it's now all freed up, colorful, joyous technique-and-ingredient-driven fireworks on the plate at his starkly revamped Nordic-style gastro-lair in tony Chelsea..and everyone's impressed. You'll bliss out over his marinated hand-dived scallops with apple vinegar, his new-found vegetable numbers—like baked celeriac, a jumbled-up raw turnip salad, or braised leeks with whey and marjoram—and his mains kick are even better: try the braised beef short rib with bone marrow and melting tendons, or herb-coated sea bass with clams and brown shrimps to encounter a grandmaster at work.