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londonnet.co.uk
Shish's Mediterranean Seasonal Menu
brings solace from heat and heavy food
The Mediterranean Seasonal Menu at Shish
was launched under the surprising high
temperatures of a sunny day streak, and
the array of gentler, heat-diminishing
dishes prove a brilliant way to stave
off hot pavement and swells of stale
Tube air.
Shish gets its name from one of the
Silk Road's main delicacies, with the
rest of the menu circulating around the
cuisines of Asia, Eastern Europe, the
Mediterranean and the Middle East, and
varying by way of modern preparation,
dressing and combination. This summer's
Mediterranean menu is meant to inspire
'azure skies [and] deep blue seas,' a
strange objective made unexpectedly viable
as the London clouds began to part, earlier
this month.
It boasts both hot and cold Mezze, including
cold cannelloni stuffed with beans, garlic
and green chilli, and beef cigares coupled
with a Sumak garlic yoghurt sauce. The
classic menu's Tabbouleh, however, is
still brightly authentic and worth a
summer test: a right combination of chopped
tomato, cucumber, mint, parsley, spring
onion and Bulgar wheat, and tossed with
lemon juice. A little instruction key,
for Shish newcomers, fittingly suggests
ordering Mezze before Shish, testing
the small-portioned Mezze before picking
the main course.
For its summer Shish, the menu favours
selective mixes of Mediterranean seasonal
fare, slinging around the warm coastal
breeze with a Chicken, made succulent
with its prune and olive marinade, and
served with tangy Sumak garlic yoghurt
sauce. The menu also offers a grilled
Sea Bass and a vegetarian mozzarella
and tomato risotto, both lighter in weight
but uncompromising in flavour.
The Pannacotta with fresh raspberries
varies from the slew of ice creams and
heavier pastries offered in for the classic
desert. It tips off the Mezze and Shish
with a smooth, vanilla finale, and parts
by sending a cooler, sated diner back
into the cramped air of the Tube.
Meal for 2, with 2 Mezze, bottle of
wine & desert: £50 (including
12% service charge)
(Megan M. Retka)
Shish, Old Street location: 313 - 319
Old Street, EC1V 9LE (t) 020 7749 0090,
Tube: Old Street; Willesden Green location:
2 - 6 Station Parade, NW2 4NH (t) 020
8208 9290, Tube: Willesden Green
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