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If caviar bumps were for the 2000s, what of the sunken caviar chest, filled with various small pastries on which to put a full kilogram of prized fish eggs? Mayfair is soon to find out, when former Zuma chef Toby Burrowes opens Miro on Burlington Street and puts the aforementioned chest on the menu, for the small price of £3,000 and one’s integrity for ever more.
There are as yet no photos of such a hype dish, because putting 1000 grams of roe into a vessel lined with accompaniments and condiments just to take a photo of it and have diners dig in, partly for the caviar, partly for the vibe, would be a wasteful enterprise.
It will be joined, as Burrowes promised in an interview with Code, by what he deems to be “sexy and delicious. Expect king crab, tacos, sashimi, ‘fish and chips with a twist’, lobster, scallop ceviche, steaks.” The king crab goes into croquettes where it will be somewhat indistinguishable; the other dishes involve caviar (on linguine) and caviar (on the fish and chips with a twist.) The twist involves confit potato — the essential preparation for any upwardly mobile kitchen — topped with fatty tuna, mayonnaise and those sturgeon pearls.
The chef is at least aware of the faint ridiculousness of all this, and indeed it’s precisely the point; whether or not that awareness extends to the monetary excess on show is less clear. The drinks list is similarly exuberant, with a £5,000 French 75 made with 1970 Dom Perignon, and a martini served with albino caviar — one of the rarest in the world, so scarce that less scrupulous retailers often introduce a yellower, much less expensive alternative to sate demand. A 30g tin of the real roe retails for £200.
“I don’t really think anyone’s doing crazy international cuisine, other than dodgy hotel buffets. It will be luxurious, and a bit gimmicky and ready for Instagram, but that’s cool with me,” he said.
Miro forms part of the Cream Group, which also operates floral swankathon Restaurant Ours in Knightsbridge, the recently relaunched The Windmill, in Soho, and vegan fast-casual juggernaut Neat Burger; Burrowes is now executive chef for the group. The Mayfair template of raw fish, expensive ingredients, and tins of fish eggs is alive and well.