Petchi Review

I always thought that Number 10, opened by Chef Joe Baker on Bond Street in St Helier, was the only truly “challenging” restaurant in Jersey. I don’t mean that in the negative sense of the word, I love eating food that challenges my tastes, using ingredients that normally you’d think have no business on plate, or paired with other ingredients in a seemingly haphazard way that strike a harmonious chord that you’d never experienced.

So I was a bit gutted when I heard it was closing, but then excited to see what was next.

I’ve been to Petchi 3 times now since it’s been open, so I’m by no means a regular, but I am extremely happy to say that every time I’ve been it’s been better.

The first time I went, I went with my wife to try this new offering from the Chef who ran our previous fave. It was a little like Number 10 plus, or Number 10 turned up to 11, with new offerings and some old faves. We liked it very much, but it was early days and dare I say they were working out their new identity.

But since then the menu has changed and expanded and evolved in some amazing ways, which brings me to my latest visit where I sat on my own at the Chef’s Counter. Here you get to experience the team cooking over open flame / coals, cooking flatbreads in a lovely pizza/bread oven, you can really feel the heat and the practice and hard-work, and of course, you also get to eat the food.

I went on a Tuesday night, and it was typically packed.

A young couple next to me seemed to be on an early date (well played whoever booked that) and there was a big table of people behind us having a great time. This is a place that caters for everyone whatever occasion you have, because whatever reason you’ve gone their for, really we’re all there for the same reason. Whatever wonder Chef Baker has dreamed up this time.

Small plates along with larger plates for “sharing” are the name of the game (unless you’re on your own and a person of large appetite such as myself), and it’s one of those menus that tells you both exactly what you’re getting and nothing about what you’re getting.

I started with the flatbread with lardo and anchovy, dough separated and rolled, sprayed with a little water, and cooked in the bread oven (which is also used to cook a number of the other dishes if they’re not directly on the fire of course). Fluffy in the right places, crispy in the right places, intense salinity of the anchovy, no don’t eat all of it we might need bread for the other courses!

This was followed by both types of oysters, the first fresh with rhubarb, dill and horseradish. Refreshing, sharp, salty, decadent, legit Jersey. The second roasted in the bread oven, with chicken fat butter (RIGHT?!) and homemade hot sauce. Now we’re talking! Fatty, smoky, a little heat (it’s just me but they should offer the hot sauce for sale when they come and collect your plate, who’s not buying that?!), what balance!

Then we had what is possibly the best thing I’ve eaten this year. Chickpea pannise with smoke cods row. Think the world’s lightest, fluffiest, crispest chip, the smokiest taramasalata with incredible depth of flavour and you’re there. Two in a portion is more than enough, as rich as it was, but give me an oxi wine or a sherry and I’ll sit in the sun and eat those all Summer long.

Sea bass crudo was next, though they had to sub for bream which was more than ok. Citrusy, light and vibrant, another dish not just of seasonal ingredients but a dish of the season. I’ll come back to that later when it will hopefully make more sense.

And now it was time for the Main Event; Iberico Pork Pluma, Fennel & Brioche Sauce

I mean look at that.

Damn, that was good. And I’d saved bread for that sauce because this is in fact not my first sauce rodeo. Perfectly cooked and rested (check out the all the resting wonders in the photos below), the hazelnuts added texture and complimented the sauce so well, it was so comforting, rich and luxurious, with the fennel bringing some bite and sharpness that cut through in just the right way.

And then I was done, or so I thought. Employing their best Monty Python impression I was coerced into dessert. Which is a reference I hope you get, as Mr Creosote meant nothing to the team there (how am I old?). They really brought out the big guns to convince me, asking me once if I wanted dessert, then saying “nah you can handle it” when I feared I was too full.

Now I am not a dessert person. I don’t really a sweet tooth. To quote the venerable John Hodgman I have more of an Alcohol Molar. However.

I was brought the unsuspecting dessert out, Buttermilk ice cream, candied pine cone and raspberry syrup.

Didn’t look like much, but boy was I wrong. It was at once sharp, tart, fresh and sweet. It was like the best Greek yoghurt and honey you’ve ever hard, it was also like the best icecream and raspberry sauce from when you were a kid. Decadent, light, nostalgic, and its got A CANDIED PINE CONE IN IT. What kind of highbrow Wonka sorcery (saucery, not sorry) was this?! Anyway I like desserts now, or at least this one.

Joe Baker has talked about how Petchi is “inspired by the seascapes of the Channel Islands with a nod towards the Basque Country” – He has very much succeeded, and I am very pleased he’s invited us along on this trip to eat chips & tara and drink wine in the sun with him. Because that’s what it feels like to eat there, Summer nights with good food.

This is the first review I’ve written so thanks for making it this far if you’ve made it. I was planning on having a verdict section at the end but I think it would be moot at this point given my preceding words. I promised myself that this blog wouldn’t be another Jersey foodie person raving about everything positively and I’d give honest reviews, but if Chef Baker and team continue the way they’re going, I’m very happy to nod along.