Base by name, but not by food

This review was first published in October 1999

Chef Pierre Khodja possesses, as it were, an inbuilt theme. His French-Algerian heritage informs his cooking, a factor which was encouraged when he worked with Bruno Loubet who - before he became Italian in order soon to mastermind the kitchens of Oliver Peyton's Italian restaurant Isola - explored a fascination with the spicing of the Maghreb.

Since this summer, Khodja has been chef/proprietor of BASE in Hampstead. I visited twice recently to see if Khodja holds the key to cracking the curse of Hampstead restaurants. Neither at a Thursday lunch nor a Friday dinner was the room as busy as his cooking deserves but a good proportion of empty tables in a deep, narrow room - the inescapable shape of most Hampstead premises - are only to the benefit of the customers present.

Dishes which exemplify Khodja's particular approach most successfully include first courses of pan-fried prawns with a vivid ragout of white beans; a warm lamb salad of rare meat partnered with tabbouleh and puréed aubergine; quail with a crisp coating of spices served with a resonant wild mushroom risotto and an unexpected garnish of foie gras.

In the main course, roast veal cutlet had subtle sweet/spicy juices but a celeriac mash with seemingly too high a proportion of potato; duck breast was served with leg meat incorporated into a pastry confection similar to Moroccan b'stilla; lobster tagine with chestnut and anis, served in the eponymous pottery dish, had a haunting broth which cried out for some grain - couscous, maybe - to soak it up.

Khodja's enthusiasm seems to run out in the dessert course which was fine since, on both occasions, so had our appetite. The sweet demeanour of the front-of-house staff suggests that the chef must be a nice chap to work for. The taped music is well chosen, which is another positive sign. More locals should make this restaurant their base.

Base Restaurant
Hampstead High Street, London, NW3 1QP