Frog by Adam Handling

Frog by Adam Handling is a revelation of cooking in the heart of Covent Garden.

I actually met Chef Handling a few years ago when I attended an interview for a role that he was advertising. Although I wasn’t hired, I did keep my eyes peels on the restaurant because of what Chef Handling believed in when it comes to sustainability in the culinary industry. Fast forward to 2020 at the Hotel, Restaurant, and Catering Show, I had the chance to hear his perspective on food wastage, watched him do a live demonstration, AND I got to take a photo with him ☺️

As before, he was down to Earth and super passionate. So it was a ‘no brainer’ for me to visit his flagship restaurant (and to make further reservations at a later date).

What’s It About?

Adam was Young Scottish Chef of the Year back in 2013, followed by being a finalist in Masterchef 2014. Since then, his entrepreneurial spirit and innovative food has placed him beautifully as one of the top London chefs. Make no mistake, his cooking is British through and through – but it’s what he does with it to create contemporary cuisine, using sustainable produce that appears on your plate with perfection. Every plate of food is pure artistry at its highest level, a magical canvas created by a Chef Patron at the top of his game.

If you want to test drive Frog, it’s located in Covent Garden (info at the end of the post). Whether you choose a la carte or the tasting menus with some of Adam’s signature dishes, you will not be disappointed, he is a chef in perpetual ascendance…

What’s Inside?

There is nothing quite like walking into a restaurant when the weather is bleak outside. When we visited, Storm Ciara had hit the UK with a vengeance, so the airy but welcoming interior washed the blues away. The interior is somewhat understated opulence – marble counters separating the omnipresent chef’s station, but by no means intrusive. From every angle, you can see the accomplished chefs at work, but without needing to say, some tables give more of a bird’s eye view. We loved the atmosphere and camaraderie that exists amongst the excellent staff.

What’s The Menu Like?

We chose from the a la carte menu to enable us to sample a selection of the dishes on offer. Next time, we would choose the tasting menus, as the a la carte was totally sumptuous, so there is no way that any tasting menu would not delight the palate. The tasting menus give you the opportunity of choosing five or eight dishes.

What We Ordered?

So, what did we eat? So difficult to choose, but we did! But before telling you about our gastronomic journey, Eve’s Bar really deserves a mention. The subterranean bar really is a clever box of tricks from Adam Handling, who has recruited one of the finest mixologists in the country, Sam Orrock, to head up the innovative list of cocktails. Downstairs, the bar is cool and chic, subtly decorated but with an air of temptation not to leave. Try it, you will see exactly what we mean.

Bread

I love a good roast chicken lunch or dinner and the warm bread that arrived at our table made me think of that, as the flavour was quite amazing. What a combination – warm bread topped with chicken butter, crispy chicken skin and chicken jus, the latter of which had been beautifully reduced to give a deep and unctuous flavour.

Snack – Potato, Egg, Caviar, Hay

The presentation of the starter was quite spectacular, as clouds billowed out and I felt I was being wrapped in warm cotton wool. The description of the dish – Potato, Egg, Caviar and Hay – really doesn’t do it justice. Inside the eggshell was fluffy potato and caviar, not a food marriage I had heard of before, but totally delicious. There was no battle between the potato and caviar, they blended well, so much so I could have eaten another one!

To see this dish in action, visit my Instagram account where I uploaded the spectacular action.

Starter – Mushroom Agnolotti

Next came Mushroom Agnolotti, lovely and comfy little pillows of pasta that unveiled themselves as I dived into the pot. Again, black garlic can be a little overwhelming, but this addition to the agnolotti simply enhanced it with an umami-rich flavour that gave you a lovely warm glow as the silken pasta slipped down.

Starter – Crab, Blood Orange, Cauliflower

Moving on to seafood, the crab dish was generous, and mixed with cauliflower shreds and zesty blood orange made it a very refreshing salad. Once again presentation was immaculate, using the crab shell itself.

Mains – A5 Wagyu Beef, Horseradish, Black Mustard

If you are a meat lover at heart, the next course could not fail to impress and satisfy you. A5 Wagyu Beef cooked to perfection and treated the way this delicacy should be. From the first bite, my taste buds were tantalised as it melted in my mouth, full of rich flavour and soft and juicy. Accompanied by parsnip and black mustard, this was a perfect combination.

Mains – Lobster, Spiced Carrot, Lemongrass

As I enjoy seafood so much, I chose the Lobster, Spiced Carrot and Lemongrass. I was a little hesitant as I am not a huge fan of lemongrass, but I just couldn’t resist the lobster. As it turned out, the lemongrass was so subtle, it didn’t spoil the lobster at all, which remained fresh and flavoursome. I also liked the presentation with the lobster claw pointing up from my plate.

Dessert – Miso, Truffle, Yuzu
Incorrect Dessert – Rhubard, Rose, Saffron

Even though there was a slight mix up with my dessert, the staff handled the situation perfectly. I wasn’t sure what the dessert would be like you don’t often read the three ingredients “Miso, Truffle, Yuzu” in the same dish, however, there were a couple of surprising twists to the dish. It appeared that the dessert had been deep fried, as there was a very thin layer of batter around it, and the cream came in what seemed to be a filo pastry wrapper. It was very tasty, and certainly the addition of some pastry prevented it from being a little on the sickly side.

Whilst I have just described the dessert I ordered, what appeared first (the wrong dessert) was a rhubarb, rose and saffron combination with shards of white chocolate. It was creamy and quite tasty, but I am not a fan of saffron, which I felt was a bit too strong on the palate, but not enough to put me off eating it! This dessert by the way, was given to us free of charge to make up for the mistake (Thank You)!

Feeling full after a night of indulgence and with so many different textures and flavours, we were presented with a tray of petit fours. More chocolate, and, (excuse me if I am wrong) fudge and what I think was nougat, all hand made.

Let’s Go

Check out Frog by Adam Handling when you can, it’s near perfect food for a perfect occasion.

📍34-35 Southampton St, London WC2E 7HF

💰What I paid: 💸💸

🖥️ https://www.adamhandling.co.uk/