Weekly Review: MATER1A
Victor Garvey is back with a Japanese-influenced gem where ingredients are literally in the spotlight.
Chef Victor Garvey has had a bad year. After a headline-making opening in St. Pancras which attracted great reviews from critics and diners alike, his Midland Grand restaurant failed after just 6 months. Shortly thereafter, a story in The Times and an exposé in The Londoner spotlighted a series of financial difficulties.
Garvey is undaunted. Indeed, the opposite. “I’ve always wanted to open a 16-seater with a really special experience,” he told me. “Given how tough it has been this year, I thought I should go ahead and do it now.”
The result is Materia.
A reference to Materia Prima — the matter that comprises the fabric of the universe — Garvey wants the new place to spotlight ingredients. Where his Michelin-starred SO|LA is about precision and refinement, he wants Materia to be, “Bold enough to be simple.”
But this is a bit of creative misdirection. Actually, there’s a hint of alchemy in the air, and, by way of confirmation, the restaurant’s logo is a combination of alchemical symbols. Garvey’s dishes bring together notably contrasting elements to create something new.
To deliver his vision, Garvey leans hard on Japanese techniques. “I lived in Japan for two years,” he said during our visit, “And absolutely fell in love with the food.” To supplement his own experience, he has brought Tokyo-native Kaming Pang over from SO|LA to serve as Head Chef.
The vibe at Materia picks up that reverence of Japan. Entering from busy Westbourne Grove, you find yourself in a tiny vestibule. Shedding coats and bags, you pass through a doorway into a quiet, long hallway with the day’s ingredients displayed under lights. The set-up reminded me of the geology exhibit at the Natural History Museum, and aimed to underscore the nature of the ingredients as fabric of the culinary universe.
Materia’s dining room is dark and brooding. There’s a DJ playing long tracks from a position in the corner. There’s a wax-sealed letter waiting at your place when you sit down. You could be in a posh, very stylish corner of Tokyo.
But, honestly, it would be easy to be cynical about the whole thing. I could have written that instead of clearing the way for an exploration of the ingredients as fabric of the universe, the vibe only gets in the way. And rather than a posh corner of Tokyo, it could feel like a hotel in Dubai.
Then the food starts to arrive, and any questions about vibe and authenticity vanish. Garvey and Pang offer a 14 course tasting menu — an even longer version is said to be in the offing — and invite you to lose yourself in your experience. The dishes and Sommelier Christian Vega’s wine and sake pairings make that easy.
The very first course set the tone. Noodles are made from tomato water and agar-agar, then served with a tomato consommé made from Marinda tomatoes and miso. The noodles are the same colour as the sauce, and the visual trick results in flavour alchemy as the two complementary forces come together.
A Colchester oyster is served with a hit of caviar, shiso, and a sea salt granita. Contrary forces brought together again to create a soft boldness with an aggressive delicacy.
“Mr. Tanaka’s Tuna” is a play on sushi. A meringue cracker made with sushi vinegar poses as rice. There’s an “umami pavlova” standing in for nori. And then the tuna itself. Bright and delicious.
Yuba — tofu skin — is made into a clever tart case and filled with epic smoked eel and a bit of pickled apricot, then topped with grated foie gras. Again, bold meets subtle and delicate.
Hiramasa — yellowtail — is served as a play on sashimi. This was on the one slight technical miss of the evening. The fish was slightly too thick, and the green onion paired with mine was a bit too strong. But a topping of “grated soy” was a revelation, giving balance to the whole dish.
Mackerel with caviar and a hint of fermented chilli paste was another winner. The fish carefully prepared to feature its natural oiliness, but to reduce the unpleasant smell.
My favourite two courses came at the end.
“Suckling pig” is a take on classic Japanese street food called Oden. It’s a one pot dish where ingredients like eggs, sprouts, daikon, and ham hock are added to broth that has been bubbling away for hours. Garvey and Pang let the broth cook for 48 hours, then invite you to make your own Oden. They then ask you to finish the broth, as though it’s midnight, you’ve had too much to drink, and your favourite cart is ready to call it a night.
Vega served this course with a Chardonnay / Aligote blend from the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits. Though the region is famous for both grapes, I’ve never experienced them blended, and the wine was a stunning match for the dish.
The final savoury course was duck stuffed with “forbidden rice,” a deep purple grain that’s historically reserved for royalty, plus boudin noir, and a hit of black olives that add a hit of tartness to the dish. This was my favourite of the night.
Then there was an off-menu surprise. A dashi made table-side with lots of bonito flakes then poured over Chawanmushi. It was classic Japan, but bolder.
As a palate cleanser, that crown melon pictured above made an appearance, first on its own, served simply in super-sweet bite-sized pieces. Then in a sorbet with frozen shavings of the fruit. More acidic.
Dessert was a lovely cake made from rice flour and flavoured with bitter chocolate and ginger. It was managed to balance sweet and spicy. A final bit of alchemy for the evening.
We visited just a few days after opening, and there were inevitably a few bumps along the way, but looking past those, the concept of Materia really worked. The food from Garvey and Pang delivered on the promise of culinary alchemy. Elemental ingredients were brought together in new and unexpected ways — many of which shouldn’t really work, but they do.
I appreciate that not everyone will be able to look past Garvey’s bad year and see Materia for what it is and what it wishes to be. I didn’t have a chance to ask the Chef about the reports of financial difficulties. I can only hope that he has resolved things to the satisfaction of employees, partners, and suppliers.
But the London restaurant scene is better with Victor Garvey in a kitchen, and, whether at SO|LA or Materia, I can find room to respect his craft while acknowledging the problems. For me, supporting Garvey’s restaurants also means supporting his team, his partners, and his suppliers.
Which brings us to central question: When London has plenty of restaurants doing high end tasting menus and offering immersive, let-yourself-go experiences, do we really need another one? To which I say: Sure. Why not?
Garvey and Pang are pushing the conversation forward. They are turning their elemental ingredients into culinary gold, and inviting us to join them on the journey. For now, I’m happy to tag along.
Quick hit: Elemental ingredients transformed with culinary alchemy.
Details: Booking essential. Notting Hill. ££££.
Restaurant website. More on Instagram.
Find it on Google Maps. 115 Westbourne Grove, W2 4UP.
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Of all the people to shine a light on
I don't think Garvey's talent has ever been in question, but it's hard to ignore what seems to be a pattern of ripping off suppliers and staff. Given that, I'm not sure that supporting his restaurant does mean supporting his staff and suppliers - history shows that he's happy to leave them out of pocket. I'm yet to see him make any comment to address it, and he's had plenty of opportunity, so I don't see why people should support Materia, regardless of how good it might be.