Bistro Mirey is a new restaurant in Fulham that offers French and Japanese-inspired dishes. It is a double act by Gerald Mirey and Ko Ito, who have run several successful supper clubs and residencies, before putting down roots in this quaint little space.

The interior design is clean and bright with cozy little homely touches, bare-brick walls, skylights and light wood. Like their interiors, the menu is minimal too, with a couple of specials thrown in. We decided to stick to the regulars for this one.

From the starters, the Steak Tartare, Edamame, Black Sesame, Quail Egg definitely impressed. The fresh flavours packed a punch and the edamame and black sesame added a fusion-tastic twist to the whole lot.

The Chicken Liver Parfait, Persimon Puree was fragrant and smooth (with an extra ‘ooh’). The crisp and brittle Sesame and Seaweed crackers were a fantastic accompaniment to scoop it all up.

The Hokkaido-Style Pheasant, Root Vegetables in Blueberry Sauce was beautifully composed. The vegetables were nicely cooked and artfully plated, the pheasant meat was soft enough and the blueberry sauce was a revelation. But it was the tiny breaded and deep fried sausage meat that stole the limelight. Dense sausage meat rolled into a ball and encased in crunchy coating; it was almost like a bite-sized scotch egg (without the egg, but meat all the way to the core). So very scrumptious.

The Braised Ox Cheek, Red Wine and Miso ticked all the boxes when it comes to cockle-warming winter food. The meat was tender and fall-apart, proudly sitting over a glistening pool of gravy.  However, it was the mash spiked with wasabi in all its creamy and pungent glory that had us begging for more.

From the desserts, the Yuzu Crème Brûlèe had the right crunch on top and wibbly-wobbly consistency underneath, with sharp flavours unleashed from the yuzu. The Mont-Blanc Cake was indulgently rich and sweet, groaning with chestnut cream.

Here comes the niggles. The young staff were not so clued up on the dishes/ingredients on offer. Little details were forgotten (cutlery, water) and orders mixed up with other tables. But it is still early days and the humility, friendliness and warmth with which they served us helped smooth over these little cracks.

For a place that is tucked away on a side street and only on its third day of opening, it was busy. The food is refined and unfussy, almost all good and ingredients used with care. The vibe is calm and relaxed, offering a sanctuary to lucky locals not wishing to take the trip out to central. This is more than a decent neighbourhood restaurant and it would be interesting to see how their menu evolves over the next few months.

Location: 98 Lillie Road, Hammersmith and Fulham, London, SW6 7SR

More information can be found here.