Restaurant review - Caravan, Exmouth Market

One of my lifelong passions is theatre. Having started dancing when I was just 3, and continuing right up until I could no longer juggle work, uni and training about 17 years later, theatre has always been a huge part of my life. So as huge film (and Tim Burton) fans, Will and I figured that we simply had to see Matthew Bourne's ballet, Edward Scissorhands. If you can get a ticket, GO! It's an absolutely magical production which had me in pieces. But I digress... one of my absolute favourite things about theatre trips? Pre-theatre meals!

We plumped for Caravan - a short walk away in foodie hotspot Exmouth Market, and serving modern tapas style sharing plates inspired by a range of global cuisines. I'd wanted to try it for a while since a foodie friend of a friend (which said friend very kindly sat me next to at his wedding) raved about it, and it did not disappoint.

Me with my new buddy, Horatio

We were eating early - 17.30 - but the restaurant still had quite a few diners and a decent buzz. It's quite sparsely decked out, with clean white walls, but enough wood (and taxidermy) to give it some real character. We were sat next to Horatio, a rather fine peacock, and ordered a bottle of Tempranillo - the cheapest wine on the menu, but mostly selected as it was suitably light and juicy for pre-theatre so we didn't snooze through the ballet. 

The menu is updated daily, using the best seasonal produce, and designed to be shared - with both small tapas style plates, and larger, main course style plates - but whatever you order it all comes as and when it's ready. This might not be for everyone, but suited us just fine - though we did go for a traditional one small and one large plate each. 

Mullet, curried granola, mint & apple yoghurt, cucumber

Salt pork belly, taro, beansprouts, shrimp dressing

I started with the mullet, which was beautifully cooked, though the skin could have been a tad crispier and the granola wasn't as strongly curried as I expected. But it really was a delight - sweet with hazelnuts, tender flesh, on a bed of fresh apple and cucumber, tzatziki style. Will went for the salt pork belly. I could only get him to spare a tiny taste for me, but it was packed with flavour, rich and salty, with a delicious crunch from the beansprouts. I couldn't have eaten much of it, but Will devoured it and my little bite had me salivating.  

Chermoula grilled Welsh lamb, butternut hummus, green beans, broad beans, dukkah

Will's not a huge fan of lamb, so I often pick it in restaurants, and this was some of the best I've had in recent memory. Gloriously pink and delicately spiced, with a crunch from the dukkah, on a soft, sweet hummus which complemented it perfectly. The greens were cooked just right to retain some texture, and there was a little surprise of goats cheese through the greens - great for me, but I know a few people who wouldn't have been so happy with that as it wasn't on the menu. 

Jerk pork chop, coconut & plantain slaw, crispy shallots 

Will went for yet more pork (ironically after having ruled out a pork-only restaurant earlier that same evening...) and it was good enough he'd only let me have a tiny taste again. I'd say the jerk seasoning could have done with more of a kick, but I'm a bit of a chilli fiend. And the slaw and shallots gave a lovely crunch. 

Chestnut cake, milk chocolate ice cream, bitter orange syrup

Dark chocolate mousse, mint sorbet, pistachio nuts

The food was very generous, but we couldn't stop ourselves from trying a couple of the desserts - a dark chocolate mousse with a creamy sorbet and pistachios for me, and a moist chestnut cake (though could have been a tiny bit lighter) with a sweet milk chocolate ice cream and zingy orange for Will.

As for the little extras, fresh tap water was topped up regularly, and proper salt and pepper grinders were on every table - hurrah! Not that the food needed any additional seasoning, but there's nothing like freshly cracked black pepper and sea salt - the powdered stuff just isn't the same, and more chefs wouldn't cook with it, so why let us mere diners add it to our food?

Total bill for wine, three courses, a side dish (deliciously buttery kale with almonds) and tip was around £46 a head - not bad for central London, and given you can easily spend a similar amount on one of the many high street chain restaurants, it's a small price to pay to try something genuinely interesting.

Food: 4/5

Service: 5/5

Value: 4/5
Would I return? Absolutely.

What do you think? Have you been? Where else would you recommend for pre-theatre?

Ax