I visited Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley this evening - two Michelin meals in the same week is extremely indulgent, I know, but it's the Chinese New Year weekend and a perfect excuse to eat well!
The restaurant offers two tasting menus on Saturday evenings - an 8-course Taste Menu and a slightly larger 10-course Chef's Menu. As the price difference is not that great, I went for the Chef's Menu, which covers just about every seasonal signature dish from this famous establishment. This third visit for me was also to determine if I would return in the long term, given the sporadic hits and misses I'd experienced during my two previous lunch visits (which were admittedly much cheaper, and perhaps one cannot expect too much out of that).
Canapés: (front) potato crisp topped with goat's curd and dried olives, (back) breaded chicken terrine with lime mayonnaise.
Very moreish start to the meal - the rich goat's curd had a refreshing tinge of lemon and was enhanced by the savoury olives, while the chicken terrine was pure comfort food, aptly complemented as well as balanced by the lime mayonnaise.
Amuse bouche: potato soup with chive foam and a topping of chopped shallots and chives.
An otherwise ordinary soup was transformed by the extremely fragrant foam and toppings - the result was simple yet totally delish!
First starter: Orkney scallops with pickled cucumber, potato bread, grape, kaffir lime mayonnaise, alexander and mustard cress.
The scallops were extremely well done, retaining all their natural juices on the inside and a subtle charred taste from the surface searing. The sweet-sour accompaniments were an excellent complement to the scallops - the juicy cucumber and creamy mayonnaise stood out in particular. The leaf garnishes (alexander and mustard cress) added a fragrant and slightly spicy touch to the dish.
Second starter: foie gras mousse with chopped walnuts and walnut bread, milk tuiles, dates and pear sorbe.
An luxurious dish with each of the accompaniments enhancing the rich and creamy foie gras in its own way: the walnuts providing a crunchy and somewhat bitter edge, the crispy milk tuiles complementing the creaminess of the foie gras, while the dates and pear sorbe contributed a sweet and refreshing balance. Very satisfying indeed.
Third starter: raw shredded crab claw with chestnut slices, diced pear and crab roe agnolotti.
The crab claw had a natural sweetness and gelatinous texture that was very well complemented by the crunchy chestnut and soft, juicy pieces of pear. What really stood out, though, was the agnolotti (traditional ravioli of the Piedmont region in Italy) with an excellent salty crab roe filling that imparted a most appealing savoury kick to the dish. I did find the pasta layer a bit too thick for the filling, but that is being picky. Less forgivable, however, were the two pieces of crab shell that I found amidst the shredded claw - I seem to have all the luck with these unwelcome extras!
Fourth starter: sweetbread with cep mushroom, grilled baby carrot, squash purée and caper dressing.
This was amazing - the sweetbread was so rich and velvety that it felt almost like pan-fried foie gras. The caper dressing was extremely effective here in enhancing the savoury depth of the sweetbread. The other accompaniments were fantastic complements to the sweetbread too: the grilled cep with its earthy flavours, and the squash and baby carrot with their natural sweetness.
Fifth starter: Scottish lobster with broccoli variations.
This was both successful and imaginative. Broccoli was featured in three different versions here - poached (very good and consistently soft), dried (the dark green buds in the foreground and underlying dressing - very nice salty crunch which complements the lobster perfectly) and puréed (very creamy yet wholesome). Taken together with the succulent and crunchy lobster pieces, it was as simple and effective as one could envisage.
First main course: halibut with cockles, clementine and fennel variations, and champagne & butter sauce.
The highlight of the evening. The halibut was incredibly fresh (with a delightful pinkish tinge) and well-executed - never thought I'd use 'silky' to describe fish but there you have it! Every mouthful was tender, velvety and succulent. The intrinsic richness of this fish was perfectly complemented by the sauce, and balanced by the use of tangy clementines (in fresh and candied sprinkling versions). Imagination was also seen in the fennel variations (raw, chargrilled and puréed), which provided a healthy touch and subtly enhanced the overall fragrance of the dish.
Second main course: Anjou pigeon (from the Lower Loire in France) in brine with Italian artichoke, celeriac strips, celeriac & hazelnut purée, and radicchio garnish (the Tardivo variety, resembling a flower, exclusively produced in three provinces in the region of Venice, and available only during the winter months).
Excellent dish - the pigeon was done medium rare and remained tender and succulent. The accompanying vegetables were very soft and juicy, but the one element that really stood out was the purée - sweet and nutty, which complemented the gamey flavour of the pigeon really well. The radicchio garnish provided a slightly spicy and bitter edge, while the brine solution enhanced the overall savouriness of the dish.
Pre-desserts: layers of redcurrant and white chocolate cream, topped with fresh redcurrants (as with the Christmas lunch - see the previous review of this restaurant); chocolate and hazelnut cake with toast cream - very small but intense slice, and the cream with a charred flavour was a rich and effective complement.
First dessert: Horlicks ice-cream cylinder coated in sponge, topped with whisky foam, surrounded by honey & whisky cream, whisky jelly and sponge crumbs.
This was actually part of the Taste Menu, not the Chef's Menu, but the kitchen decided to let us have this extra dessert on the house anyway, which was a nice gesture. A dessert with a real kick - the alcoholic element was quite obvious. I'm not a particular fan of whisky, but thought that the bitter edge it provided was a very good contrast to the rich and intense ice-cream, which I loved. The sweet and fluffy bits of sponge somewhat helped to temper the alcoholic bent of this dessert.
Second dessert: apple and cinnamon millefeuille, apple sorbet, fresh apple slices, apple and Calvados jelly, apple purée and sorrel garnish.
An excellent end to the whole meal. Special mention goes to the sourish sorbet, which was like a breath of fresh air after the indulgence of the previous courses - so incredibly light and intensely fruity. The cream filling in the millefeuille was also rather light and not cloyingly sweet, with an appealing aroma of cinnamon.
Chocolate: 70% Cru Virunga dark chocolate (spring water-based ganache, I was informed by the server) - pure cocoa kick with fruity notes, and a touch of luxury as seen by the gold leaf mixed into the top layer.
After the meal, I was invited to tour the kitchen, which had a new counter-top fitting that made it much easier and more hygienic for the chefs to assemble various dishes. It never fails to amaze me how calm and organised everyone is (unlike the Ramsay reality shows where people are shouting and swearing in the kitchens all the time!). I got to watch the chefs at work and witnessed the assembly of a beautiful beef dish for the Chef's Table party right next to the kitchen. Marcus himself wasn't in the kitchen that evening due to family commitments, which was a little disappointing.
This dinner was an impressive experience, with much better service this time, especially from the Greek maitre d' Dmitri and a new French waitress who constantly made sure that I was comfortable and asked whether the dishes were to my taste. Whilst touring the kitchen, I also had a nice chat with the maitre d' on the kitchen operations and my dining experiences in London. I definitely wouldn't mind returning in a few months when they change their tasting menus for the new season!
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