With its affordable small plates and classic fish dishes, lunch at Parsons is a real catch
Parsons, 39 Endell Street, London WC2H 9BA (020 3422 0211). Meal for two, including wine and service £60 to £90
It was the chips that sealed it. The croquettes played a part, as did the brown crab pissaladière. Oh, and the clam chowder. We’ll come back to those. But the chips. I only ordered them out of duty and commitment. Parsons is a small fish restaurant, recently opened by the team behind the wine-based bistro 10 Cases. It occupies a tight space on the same street as the mothership in London’s Covent Garden, its walls tiled in utilitarian white with details picked out in Victorian jade. There are square mirrors, dangly globe lights, small tables, high counters and, at the end, a tiny open kitchen. If I didn’t know it was a new fit-out, I might have guessed it was a repurposed pie shop or a retired public convenience. One or the other.
Each potted shrimp croquette is a massive flavour bomb hiding inside a crisp panko breadcrumb shell
The clam chowder is an immense bowlful for £6.50, gently hinged between soup and stew
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