With a wine list longer than your arm, the original Naughty Piglets in Brixton is as much a chichi vino bar as a small plates joint. So it goes with this second location, on the upper floor of the Other Palace theatre in Victoria, which is owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber – though there was no sign of the harmonious homunculus when I popped in.
Everything on the menu is meant to be shared and it’s all very good. The opener was a burrata so creamy it might have come straight from the cow, served with a nutty pesto and sweet sliced courgettes. Next up, a champion dish of salty black pudding served with slippery, vinegar-steeped cuttlefish and capers; it was rich, earthy and very, very sophisticated. A fillet of brill fell to bits on the fork and came with a powerful mussel sauce; while roast lamb was lean and lovely, served with sweet turnip tops and a slightly pointless, flavour-light confit chicken croquette.
Desserts aren’t this piggy’s strongest suit. Rhubarb and custard was lukewarm and underwhelming. Happily, honeycomb with chocolate mousse was rich and sticky-sweet, like the world’s classiest Crunchie bar.
I could have done without the whiff of wine snobbery – the waiter implying that I ought to have explored beyond the affordable house white. Still, the food was good enough to drive away any lingering doubts. For black pudding enthusiasts and theatre-minded diners, this is hard to beat.