Tom Aikens: Tom's Kitchen

Tom's Kitchen, Chelsea
TA is widely acclaimed as one of London's top Chefs so we jumped when an opportunity arose to dine at the Kitchen during the March London Restaurant Festival.  The Festival menu was a bargain £15 for two courses, though less of a bargain at £25 for 3 - that's a big jump for dessert - and it was limited to two choices of appetisers and entrees.  It was a chilly day, so we both opted for the soup - Beans with duck confit sounded suitably heart-warming.  Unusually the soup was a puree and the confit had sunk to the bottom, not making an appearance until halfway through - it was tasty, but not quite as expected. 
The entree choices were fish and chips or cottage pie, so one of each please.  The pie came in its own Staub pot, and a crisp cheesy topping.  Comfort food given the haute cuisine treatment.  The fish - pollock, the darling of the sustainable lobby - was cooked well, but the batter was a huge disappointment. Although appearing crisp it was heavy and soggy to the point of being inedible.  The chips were so-so - certainly not as good as others tasted recently.  No comment was made by staff when gathering the plate full of batter, a mistake as they could have avoided other such disasters coming out of the kitchen.  We chose not to take the upcharge on dessert.
We were expecting more from Tom's Kitchen and I got the distinct feeling that it was cruising on its association with its more famous sibling down the road. A treat turned into nothing more than an average meal.
http://www.tomskitchen.co.uk/