SquareMeal Review of 1701
The beautiful synagogue, in whose lee 1701 shelters, was built for London’s Spanish and Portuguese Jews, but the eclectic menu here attests to the tantalising diversity of ‘one of the world’s most nomadic cuisines’. The “superb” and “very modern” kosher food draws widely – on Sephardi, Mizrahi and Ashkenazi, Arabian and Persian roots, in addition to modern Israeli fusion cooking. The resulting dishes embrace the likes of braised lamb-neck pastilla from Morocco, a reworked gefilte fish with wild sea bass mousseline (which has its origins in Germany), and palau Kabuli: a rice dish from the Afghan tradition, with pan-fried duck breast and confit leg. Round off a meal with central European fruit soup or thoroughly Viennese sachertorte. The interesting wine list sources mevushal (kosher) bottles from Israel and elsewhere. Service is “impeccable”; the dining room smart and stylish.