Review: Patriot-X

Patriot-X has a mission. They want to prove to you that Czech cuisine is more than just pub food – that, if done correctly, it can rise to the world-class level of, say, gourmet French gastronomy.

Regardless of their cultural origins, most of the dishes are accomplished well, and even, in some cases, exceptionally so. A foie gras starter oozes subtle flavor, its heady butteriness and deep cinnamon aroma making this foie almost more of a dessert than an appetizer. A roast breast of pheasant is magnificent when accompanied by a thick, brilliant green sweetpea puree, with a touch of bacon providing a satisfying smokiness.

Admirable, too – though not quite perfect – is the aforementioned svíčková. This well-known Czech dish is frequently bastardized by pubs, who tend to use runny, cream-heavy sauces and beef that most certainly isn´t sirloin. Patriot-X does svíčková the way it was meant to be: tender, well-marinated beef sirloin (unfortunately, a touch too well-done) in a dense, mustard-yellow sauce rich with carrot and celery root. The essential cranberry accompaniment is tucked away inside the dumplings – a fine idea, but one which dulls the berries´ intensity just a little too much for my taste. The sauce, though, is simply fabulous, and enough reason on its own to try the dish.

The goat cheese salad is more original than most versions, too – it´s dotted with caramelized walnuts, and the lightly fried cheese, which apparently hails from an organic farm, is exceptional. But the walnut oil dressing is just that: walnut oil, with no apparent vinegar for counter-balance, making for a waste of an otherwise fine salad. A chocolate mousse and marzipan dessert is disappointing, too, with the mousse low on flavour and the marzipan almost too tough to eat. But a pleasant surprise comes in the form of a red wine sorbet, a refreshing ender to a cream- and meat-heavy meal.

Were food the only criteria, I´d recommend Patriot-X heartily. But service and atmosphere count for something too, and here, unfortunately, they don´t add many points at all. The restaurant´s interior is completely without concept or consistency: garish red walls and unattractive wood paneling clash with vaulted stone ceilings, and a bizarre selection of lamps – some old-fashioned, some in modern IKEA style – illuminate the dining area. The artwork, a graphic series depicting caricatures of famous artists, would look better in a jazz club. And then there are some real oddities – a fishless fish tank filled with shells, two enormous, hideous air conditioning units in plain sight, indoor palm trees. It´s eclectic, but not charming. Throw in a waiter who managed to clear every one of our plates separately but disappeared when it was time for the check, and you´ve got a fairly wearying dining experience on your hands.

In the midst of all this, I almost feel sorry for the food. The menu isn´t going to vault Czech cuisine up to the gastronomic stratosphere, but in some instances at least, it´s a little something different, and delicious too. The food deserves more – and so does the customer.