Moxon’s Next Door, Dulwich
Location: 151 Lordship Lane, East Dulwich, London SE22 8HX
Website: https://www.moxonsnextdoor.com
I have been to enough restaurants at this stage to spot a great one within two minutes of walking in the door. Moxon‘s Next Door was one such restaurant, the staff were smiling, courteous, immediately took us to our table and had ice cold water poured in our glasses as soon as we had taken our seats, I knew we were in for a treat!
Moxon‘s Next door is a seafood restaurant in East Dulwich which started life as a fishmonger, the fishmonger is still there but they have added a restaurant in the next building and this is where the restaurant gets its name.
While going through the menu we ordered sourdough bread and olives, the sourdough was flavoursome and crusty and the olives were fat and juicy. There was also some very good butter with a sprinkling of salt over the top which is always a nice touch.
We decided to go for a few small plates to start, first came the Tuna Tataki, some of the finest tuna I have had, it was fresh and barely seared on the outside. It was complimented with the usual pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce. Next came the scallops with chilli, seaweed butter and coriander. They did not spare on the the butter! The scallops were perfectly cooked and the generous soaking of seaweed butter really made them melt in the mouth. The roast cauliflower with harissa lentils was also incredibly tasty, it’s always great to see a restaurant doing a wonderful standalone veggie dish, rather than as a side. Next came the crab, anchovies and asparagus which again was cooked to perfection. For the main we decided to go for a whole Turbot to share with beurre blanc sauce (butter sauce). This fish was a monster of a catch, cooked just right with the meat smooth and velvety, the sauce complimented it wonderfully, a really subtle addition that didn’t detract from the flavour of the fish. We had a number of tasty sides including : jersey royal baby potatoes, tomato onion salad and griddled broccoli. We finished off with a delightful lemon tart. All of the food was perfect.
They have an extensive wine list which is interesting and varied and it was here that I had my first taste of English wine. (despite living in London for a decade!) We went for the Stopham Estate Pinot Gris from Sussex and it was definitely one of the top wines I have had the pleasure of drinking.
The space itself is intimate, unpretentious and modern. A mixture of tiles, timber and good lighting, the restaurant itself is effortlessly classy.
Price-wise it was actually quite reasonable for what you get, it worked out at £55 a head including tip for 4 people, and that included a £45 bottle of wine!
We thoroughly enjoyed our experience at next door and we will definitely be returning again soon.
