Please note, TWID has now closed. Time Out Food editors, November 2018.
Opera-themed restaurant TWID is a picture of old-school opulence. Everywhere you look there are velvet swags and gilt flourishes. Squint and you can imagine it’s the ’80s and that’s Andrew Lloyd Webber in the next booth, taking his latest leading lady for a slap-up dinner. But TWID's nightly opera performances are more than enough to blow any lame retro cobwebs away. The night I visited, a seriously talented soprano was making the restaurant ring to the sounds of everything from to Rossini to jazz standards – even the odd Disney song. Like its star performer, TWID works best when it blends old and new. Generous ‘small plates’ of cod and roasted duck had a French-accented allure that was heightened by their delicately flavoured accompaniments of Jerusalem artichoke and pickled cauliflower. And the hefty plateful of plump, tender scallops was worth starting a fork-fight over, especially with the unlikely but delicious addition of fresh raspberries.
TWID's modish collection of vegan and raw food dishes felt a little less assured. The kimchi was the star of the show, resplendent in two dainty, cabbage-wrapped towers, and bursting with zesty flavour. By comparison, the slightly soggy stuffed mushroom had all the charisma of a diva caught in a rainstorm. And although tarty daubs of raspberry sauce made the raw chocolate cake look just as naughty as the divine salted caramel torte, its wholesome taste was a little frumpy.
Still, it feels ungenerous to carp on about the occasional culinary misfire when you’re enjoying the undeniable fun factor of eating in a candlelit, gilded booth, surrounded by red curtains like some kind of publicity-shy Regency noble. This golden gem is as romantic as they come.