The Freak Scene – Scott Hallsworth’s Fulham Restaurant

Last Updated on April 4, 2024

Le Freak –  C’est Chic

I’ve been following ‘pan-Asian cooking pioneer’ Chef Scott Hallsworth around for a number of years. After a stint at Nobu, he was the creative brains behind the successful ‘Rock’n Roll Izakaya’ Kurobuta brand with its neon lighting, flight cases strewn artfully around the space, AC/DC on the turntable and some pretty wild Japanese tapas-style plates. 

Having launched restaurants in Melbourne, St. Tropez, Bodrum, Jeddah, Zermatt, Chamonix, Nairobi, Cape Town and Toronto as well as The Freak Scene pop-ups in Farringdon and Soho, Scott has now opened the 46 cover The Freak Scene as a permanent fixture in Parsons Green; a residential corner of Fulham with convenient street parking as well as Parsons Green tube station very nearby. He has partnered up with Australian comedian and television presenter Adam Hills, from Channel 4’s The Last Leg and Super League rugby coverage.  

The interior is intimate and has the trademark Hallsworth edginess. There is a slatted wooden floor, roughly finished walls with mirrors, wicker shades and wooden banquettes.  Scott’s menus are always worth a careful read, if just to see the balance between new dishes and his classics.

So a pre-prandial drink was the order of the day. The Freaktini is a mint-infused vodka blended with grape liqueur, elderflower liqueur and dry vermouth. It’s sweet and slightly pungent setting the palate up nicely for the big flavours to come.

The menu is divided into snacks, cold, raw & sushi, warm seafood, vegetable, meat, sides and desserts. From the cold, raw & sushi section came a classic; salmon sashimi ‘pizza’ – raw salmon sitting on a crisp base dressed with truffle ponzu and green chilli. It’s a rich, earthy and fiery mouthful with contrasting crunchy and soft textures. Yellowtail sashimi was beautifully dressed and presented with sweet potato tosazu (tosa style vinegar), kaffir lime, pickled chillies and Geraldton wax flower.

We moved on to the easy-drinking melon and citrus notes of a De Chansac Sauvignon Colombard, Cotes de Gascogne – great with the mackerel!- and a Lemony Lemonade for the driver! From the warm seafood list, Thai mackerel mochi toasts seemed more Vietnamese-influenced than Thai to me but I’m just splitting hairs really. The dish mixed up shredded mackerel with coriander, onion and mint for a fresh and vibrant mouth feel.

I loved the sweet fleshed crispy black cod with a hot and sour coconut sauce and Thai herb salad. It came wrapped in shredded pastry which turned the fish into sophisticated finger food.

Another old favourite, Nasu Dengaku, brought together melt-in-the-mouth miso grilled aubergine with sansho pepper and the sweet crunch of caramelised walnuts. I could eat this dish every day, to be honest!

Crisp-skinned and tender Chicken Fried Chicken sat on a base of soy-infused peanuts but maybe needed something acidic to cut through the umami richness.

Our dessert was fabulous – a Purple Passionfruit Pavlova made with soft Italian meringue, a delicious yuzu curd complemented with the crunch toasted almonds. It also had blue colouring which came off on your tongue!