Restaurant Kensington, Lynton

The reinvention of the glamourous steak restaurant has hit Exmoor with the opening of Restaurant Kensington, discovers Jo Rees. Berni Inn, it ain’t

What’s the draw?

Back in the 70s, no dining experience was as sophisticated as a steak restaurant. They suggested the kind of affluent American life we saw on the TV of the time, which came with big cars and beautiful women. No wonder steak diane with a paris goblet of Italian red was the fantasy supper of Brut-wearing British men.

Yet, when tastes changed and aspirational dining moved on, steak restaurants seemed to stay at Berni Inn level. However, the wheel of fashion is ever turning, so it was only a matter of time before quality steak restaurants were reinvented. London’s Hawksmoor introduced a new generation to the pleasures of upscale steak and chips.

And now it’s Lynton’s turn to get in on this reinvention. The opening of Restaurant Kensington has given the Exmoor town a smart new-wave steak restaurant serving beautifully aged, high-quality Exmoor beef in cuts such as tomahawk, T-bone, porterhouse and chateaubriand.

This is more than simply a steak restaurant, as the menu also includes dishes using local lamb, chicken, fish and shellfish, but the stonking steaks and numerous sides are definitely the main event.

Who’s cooking?

Head chef Matthew Rutter is a shareholder in the restaurant, which is great news as it means he’s not likely to disappear over the horizon – a big deal in these times of chef scarcity. The chef is a calm and centred presence in the open kitchen and has crafted a menu that’s both crowd pleasing and finely executed.

What to order?

Obviously you’ve got to go for a big hunk of beef, and there’s plenty on offer. We did juicy rump with bearnaise and sides of chargrilled hispi cabbage with chipotle butter, smoked mash, and a spinach gratin that was as much cheese as spinach.

The quality of the beef served at Restaurant Kensington is exceptional – tender and full of flavour – but the sides are also pretty fabulous. Indeed, there’s such a strong array of sides and sauces that, even if you had steak each time you visited, it would take quite some time to feel you’d fully done the menu.

Everything we ate was first rate, yet rich – something to bear in mind because it would be remiss not to kick off with a beef-shin doughnut or to fail to leave room for pud. The desserts were particularly beautiful and the chocolate delice (pictured) notable for its crisp shard of praline, malty homemade ice cream and suck-it-off-the-spoon-smooth cocoa delice.

Need to know

This is the home of the most pimped affogato we’ve seen anywhere: a joyful amalgam of homemade vanilla gelato, coffee brownie, olive-oil roasted almonds, PX sherry, waste-coffee caramel and coffee Italian meringue. Sometimes more is more.

restaurantkensington.co.uk

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