Epicurean

Ladies and gentlemen, Russell Armstrong has left the building. The Inchcolm Hotel that is, where he ran Seasalt at Armstrong's for nearly a decade. Chef Adam Herbert now presides over this new incarnation as well as its sister venue, Cove at South Bank. The menu plays it safe, albeit with a few quirky twists. Take the avocado slaw on the king prawn entree, for example - never seen grated avocado before? There's a reason for that, but textures improve with the gravlax with green apple and dill salad that sported a soft-poached quail egg on top. Milly Hill lamb has great flavour, and is tender, but the vanilla parsnip was too sweet. There's an Australiana/herb garden theme happening with dessert - fennel seeds, lemon thyme foams, candied rosella and thyme-poached apples all make an appearance as does possibly the world's richest Ecuadorian chocolate and olive oil mousse with white choc and tonka bean parfait, a slick of milk chocolate butterscotch and a swipe of pureed passionfruit.