Restaurant Review: Aster
Where: 150 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 5LB
Price: Mid-High. Starters from £11.00, mains from £16.
Review: Oli Sandler
LondonSwedes visited restaurant Aster, the eclectic addition to London Victoria’s evolving dining scene. Aster’s Nordic-French fusion is inspired by Chef Patron Helena Puolakka’s Finnish heritage and classic culinary training. With 10,000 sq feet, Aster puts a sizeable foot down as one of the newer eateries with a Scandi-touch in London.
What we ate
We tried The delicious Smörgårdsbord Menu even though the restaurant has an A-la-carte menu available 7 days a week.
As soon as you walk into Aster, a sense of hunger grabs you thanks to the wonderful selection of bakery products (kanelbullar!) on view to get your taste buds in the mood. The Smörgåsbord Menu, whilst slightly limited to only seven cold and three hot dishes, is rich in variety with meat, fish and vegetarian options. All dishes are served with wonderfully salty, crispy rye bread which teamed well with the capers in the Potted Salmon to add a salty bite to an otherwise fishy taste. The pickles (which included cauliflower, radish, cherry tomatoes, onions and cucumber) had a distinct vinegar and horseradish flavour, which really caught my attention.
I felt that possibly, the duck, fig and olive chutney didn’t fit in with the rest of the meal as it was overly sweet compared to the restraint of everything else. Nevertheless, it was still delicious! As expected, the Meatballs with Lingonberry were superb and really filling.
By far the standout items were the vibrant Beetroot Hummus and the Salmon Soup. The vibrancy of the hummus stood up to – and complimented – every other item on the board perfectly. With the creamy yet bold taste coating your tongue, it allowed flavours of the ham, rye bread and salmon to come through with ease. However, the real star of the show was the Salmon Soup. Rich and elegant in flavour, colour and texture, the hard crunch of the rye croutons paired excellently with the soft salmon and smooth soup to really deliver the best of all worlds from the encompassing ingredients. My only complaint is that there wasn’t more of it!
Aster is a lovely restaurant, representing the Scandinavian cuisine beautifully. If this is what the smörgåsbord presents, I can’t wait to come back here and try the full menu!
What’s On
Worth noting is that Aster serves a Bottomless Brunch. Brunch is a must if you live in London, Aster offers bottomless bubbles and live DJs on Saturdays and Sundays with their delectable brunch menu: 2 courses for £24 or 3 courses for £29 and bottomless bubbles for an extra £19. There are also launching an Absolute Vegan Brunch from 10th June 2018. Check the website for updates. Come on down!
For further enquiries or to make a reservation contact +44 (0) 20 3875 5555 or email info@aster-restaurant.com.
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