Tasting menu at Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester

After my first reasonably good lunch experience at Alain Ducasse in London, I was ready to give their tasting menu a try this afternoon. Those yummy cheese goujons to start are so addictive!

I love the way they present the butter.

Amuse bouche: spicy crab and broccoletti.

Beneath this foamy crab emulsion lies the most velvety crab royale (made with cream and eggs, like a mousse) and generous bits of crab and broccoletti to provide additional sweetness and textures. An intense starter enhanced by the mildly spicy strip of red paprika atop the foam.

First starter: crispy raw and cooked vegetable tart with fresh herb condiment (the green sauce - includes basil, parsley, touch of parmesan) and tomato reduction (the red sauce).

A very posh take on salad, with a variety of fresh and crunchy raw vegetables on the top layer and cooked ones at the bottom. The rather impressive base is made of very finely diced tomato (very sweet) and Japanese eringi mushroom (almost gelatinous texture - well done!). However, while the presentation was stunning, the overall taste was less spectacular. The dish was extremely refreshing and wholesome, but with the exception of the base it was also somewhat one-dimensional and bland.

Second starter: "sauté gourmand" of lobster on homemade pasta and truffled chicken quenelles (creamed chicken set into an egg shape with bits of black truffle), with sauce made of lobster, dash of cognac and tomato.

Possibly the best hot dish of the meal - the intense lobster sauce worked really well with a hint of truffle, quenelles were creamy and fragrant, enhanced by the eringi mushrooms whose full-bodied woody flavour was now fully unleashed with the warmth of the dish. The two pieces of lobster were reasonably well-cooked (but surely they could spare more than two tiny pieces even for a tasting portion!). Only real sore point was the pasta, which was definitely too al dente for my taste.

First main course: simmered halibut with celeriac, shellfish and squid.

Very well cooked - the halibut was substantial and meaty without being tough, complemented by delightful chewy bits of other seafood and slices of sweet and juicy celeriac (shaped like cooked prawns!). The buttery sauce accompanying this dish was very comforting indeed.

Second main course: saddle of venison, pumpkin (with a chestnut atop), beetroot and quince, with Grand Veneur sauce (veal and venison reduction with redcurrant and a dash of dark chocolate).

Compared to the preceding courses this was the first real disappointment - the meat was a tad overcooked and too substantial a chunk. The sauce, while being appropriately rich, also emphasised the gaminess of the meat a little too heavily. In terms of presentation the vegetable accompaniments seemed to be almost an afterthought, though they provided a much-needed balance (the baby beetroot and quince stood out in particular).

Cheese would have been part of the tasting menu but I wasn't really into them, so the maitre d' suggested this excellent alternative, especially after all the substantial courses that had passed.

First dessert: exotic fruit vacherin - two scoops of sorbet (mango and lime), meringue with toasted coconut, coconut tuiles, candied orange, in a pool of mango, passionfruit and pomegranate sauce. Tropical perfection throughout and a really delightful palate cleanser!

The usual complimentary mignardises before the final dessert, with different macaron flavours this time: liquorice, rose and chocolate. 

Final dessert: chocolate and hazelnut biscuit, with a scoop of hazelnut ice-cream. I shall let the following pictures speak for this magnificent end to the meal!

N.B. This was a newly-designed dessert (on the menu from just about 2 weeks ago) at the time of lunching. 

Not very even chocolate coating, but oh well ...
still tasted great!

Decadent layers of hazelnut praline and biscuit in the
bottom layer!

This is the infusion trolley - selection of fresh herbs for brewing such as rosemary, thyme, sage etc. I didn't take the tea but thought that the whole setup made for a nice photograph.

In summary: some hits and misses for the warm dishes, but particularly lovely desserts (as usual) and definitely the most generous restaurant so far with their mignardises. In terms of service, there was a French waiter who was attending to me most of the time and he was very friendly and patient with my questions; I learnt he would be leaving the restaurant at the end of 2011 to gain experiences in the fine-dining scene in Asia. Not much to say about the rest; no one seemed to remember or have noted somewhere that I was a repeat customer - huge minus for that - all the other restaurants I've visited a second time so far had at least one staff member recognise me immediately after roughly the same time lapse between visits.

Considering that this had been a Toptable offer with a substantial discount off the tasting menu, I would cut the restaurant some slack - but for now the main menu seems unlikely to undergo substantial changes, so I am not in a hurry to return unless something on the weekly-changing lunch menu really catches my fancy. 

(Update 15/01/2012: AD is also the only restaurant I've noticed so far to increase its prices for 2012 on all its menus.)