We've Fallen In Love With Next Door, A Seafood Restaurant In Dulwich
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Last Updated 01 November 2019
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Moxon's Next Door is a seafood restaurant in East Dulwich — located literally next door to the fishmongers of the same name. It's a cosy restaurant with wonderful acoustics that ensures diners never have to strain to hear one another, a quality that other venues would do well to adopt.
Diners have two options when it comes to getting their fill of seafood — either go big and take on a sizeable fish to share, or opt for a selection of small plates. We both have our eyes on different fruits de mer, so we opt for the latter and pick a selection of the enticing small plates.
I've never come across sea bass as a sashimi, so am intrigued, but the delicate taste of sea bass just doesn't translate well — the accompanying fruits and herbs overpower it. Thankfully this first dish is only mild turbulence, and it's all plain sailing from here on.
The smoked salmon is thickly sliced giving it a meatier texture that is often lacking in this dish, the prawns are sizeable and the accompanying cavolo nero salted to perfection.
The star turn are the scallops. To call them juicy would be like calling the Atlantic a little wet. Crunch down on them and your mouth is awash with a tidal wave of flavour that you want to savour on your tongue all evening.
A close second is the haddock risotto that arrives covered in cuttlefish ink. The black surface gives a sense of mystery to each bite as it's never clear whether a forkful is fish or rice until it enters my mouth. The smoky taste and the firm texture of the fish ensures that the flavours bring forth all the colour that the dish's appearance is lacking.
The lemon tart has just the right level of zest for anyone who's partial to a sweet treat at the end of a meal, the caramelised surface offering a welcome twist to this traditional dessert. This seafood fan has fallen overboard and in love with the restaurant Next Door.
Moxon's Next Door, 151 Lordship Lane, SE22 8HX. The meal in this review would cost circa £70 for two excluding drinks.
