Meeting with a friend from home, over lunch at The Ledbury

A friend of mine was visiting from home and I thought it would be nice to leave her with good food memories from London without burning a huge hole in her pocket. I decided to take her to The Ledbury, which offers very reasonably-priced set lunch and à la carte menus on weekdays, in addition to the tasting menu which I had on my previous visit.

At the time of visiting, The Ledbury had just risen in the St. Pellegrino's rankings by an impressive 20 places (earning The Highest Climber award along the way) to reach 14th position on The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2012 list. Naturally, I arrived with very high expectations that the meal would indeed turn out to be a highlight of my friend's trip.

Canapé: wild asparagus and parmesan tartlette.

This was a bite-sized piece of heaven. The savoury parmesan cream and powder were well complemented by generous, sweet and juicy chunks of poached green asparagus. An  extremely moreish and seasonal combination - if only we could have more than a piece each!

Starter (set lunch): breast of quail with hand rolled macaroni, peas and Riesling. 

This was actually my friend's dish, and it looked extremely similar in concept to the quail starter that I had on my very first visit for Sunday lunch. The roasted quail breast was extremely moist and succulent, and its savoury depth was enhanced by the topping of iberico ham. This was paired with a well-seasoned and somewhat crispier confit of the leg. Subtly sweet pea purée and Riesling sauce completed this unassuming picture of culinary delight.

Starter (à la carte): steamed white asparagus with duck ham, parmesan and mousserons  (a type of mushroom from France with lacy deep gills and very thin stems), cooked in Earl Grey tea.

This was a stunningly varied dish with seemingly disjointed components that actually worked really well together. At the centre of attention was of course the white asparagus, which was incredibly juicy, sweet and tender. I am extremely partial to white asparagus, and fresh ones are in season for only a few weeks each year, making this a real treat. (The Ledbury is also the only fine restaurant in London I've noticed to serve the white variety.) The white asparagus was effectively paired with savoury duck ham, crispy and well-seasoned duck tongue (!) fritters, a touch of parmesan cream, and wonderfully earthy and aromatic mousserons (both sautéed and puréed). This was truly an explosion of flavours which both intrigued and delighted. The only component I really didn't detect at all was the Earl Grey - perhaps overwhelmed by the other competing flavours and aromas? Still, this was a thoroughly enjoyable dish. Shoots of wild green asparagus, carefully plated round the main components, completed the exquisite presentation.

Main course (set lunch): fillet of brill with barley, radishes and a cream of white beer.

This was the highlight of my friend's lunch, according to her. A generous chunk of moist and succulent fish, perfectly roasted with a nice crispy top, sat on a substantial bed of finely-sliced radish and barley grains mixed with mussels. The fresh and intense flavours of the sea were further enhanced by a mildly spicy shellfish consommé (surrounding the fish) that truly stimulated the palette. In fact, the portion was so large that she left some of the grains and vegetables on the plate so that she would have space for dessert. A simple yet delightful experience it must have been.

Main course (à la carte): roast Dover sole with thyme milk skin, mussels and mousserons.

My decision was immediate when I saw this dish on the menu - I had to have it. Seldom does one get the opportunity to enjoy a substantial portion of the most premium sole variety (the Queen's favourite, apparently!). My choice turned out to be utterly amazing - the thick fillet was succulent yet tender, and its delicate flavour was aptly complemented by a layer of mousserons stuffed into a slit made along the middle of the fillet (hidden from view). This was way better than the lemon sole I had last year at RGR (which to my memory now seemed a tad dry and tough), and at least as good as the Dover sole with morels that I had recently as part of the tasting menu at The Waterside Inn.

Cauliflower, a common accompaniment to delicate white fishes, was found here in two forms: as a florid topping of incredibly thin shavings for the fillet, and roasted with a well-seasoned crusted top (both sweet and savoury - delicious). The two mussel fritters were good on their own but didn't add much to the dish. The one standout component that I will remember was the thyme milk skin, so delicate in texture (like Japanese yuba) yet so intense in flavour and aroma; it really lifted the dish to a higher plane amidst all the tried-and-tested combinations on the plate (not that there's anything wrong with that!).

Dessert (set lunch): whipped ewe's milk yoghurt with strawberries, blueberries, sweet cicely meringues, frozen white chocolate and warm citrus beignets.

Generous dollops of creamy light sheep's milk yoghurt were interpersed with juicy wild Gariguette strawberries and blueberries, two scoops of smooth and light strawberry sorbet, warm sugared citrus donut balls, a sprinkling of white chocolate, and crunchy sheets of meringue with a subtle flavour of anise. A delightful preview of summer, with clean flavours and bright colours throughout the plate.

Dessert (à la carte): millefeuille of mango and vanilla, with kaffir lime ice cream.

This was rather more straightforward and indulgent, with layers of vanilla cream and  mango chunks in a filo pastry, accompanied and balanced by a scoop of lime ice cream. The vanilla cream was thick and intense in flavour, the mango was fresh and juicy, the pastry was delicate and flaky, and the ice cream managed to be refreshing, rich and velvety all at once - this was pure comfort food with a truly delightful mix of textures and flavours.

As a surprise extra we got another dessert to share, the passionfruit soufflé with Sauternes ice-cream that I had tried on my first visit. Every bit as good as the last time, and now I was also able to taste the full-bodied complexity of the Sauternes ice-cream as it had arrived very firm (good!) and did not melt immediately into the soufflé when put into the pierced opening.

Takes true skill and precision
for a soufflé to rise so evenly!

We both agreed that it had been a stellar meal. The only thing that I found missing, given this restaurant's usual generosity, was the lack of an amuse-bouche, but in hindsight we weren't going to complain because we were really full after 3 large courses and an equally huge extra dessert. I certainly don't remember feeling this full after my previous visits! Service was professional and efficient as usual. I will be back soon!

Weekend lunch at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

This afternoon was unusually nice and sunny, and what better way to spend a lazy weekend than with more nice food? I finally made it to Dinner by Heston Blumenthal by calling the restaurant on the morning itself and squeezing myself in for a late lunch slot (advance online reservations, especially on weekends, are impossible - just call and hope for the best). The chef and founder of the famous Fat Duck restaurant needs no introduction, and his London outpost, having only opened at the end of January 2011, has done amazingly well - picking up a Michelin star within 2 months of opening, and then making it to the top of UK restaurants in this year's St. Pellegrino's list of The World's 50 Best Restaurants (double honours of 9th position and the Highest New Entry, to be exact, edging out even The Fat Duck, which has fallen to 13th position).

Despite the restaurant's location in the very posh Mandarin Oriental hotel in Knightsbridge, the atmosphere is surprisingly open and casual. Lots of natural light, amply-spaced tables and no stuffy dress codes. You can see the open kitchen at work from almost anywhere in the restaurant, and if you get a seat by the window you can also witness people picnicking on the grass in the adjacent Hyde Park - doesn't get better than this for a start, I think.

Spacious bar area

Main restaurant area

Look at that wine cellar... oh my god.
Designed to impress, surely!

Live ice-cream making at the table, using one
of those Heston liquid nitrogen machines.

Fun fact for the day - who'd have thought that
whale vomit could be so good?!

Two types of bread - sourdough and ordinary brown. Both warm and
substantial. The butter with sea salt was velvety and utterly luxurious.

On to the food; diners expecting revolutionary cuisine like those at The Fat Duck might be disappointed. Dinner's emphasis is really on recreating historical British recipes with a touch of modern fine-dining sophistication; as such, the food mostly looks more 'normal' than what one might expect, though in true Heston style, certain dishes still manage to intrigue, such as my starter:

Any idea what that really is? :) A further hint - here is what it looks like internally:

Meat Fruit (ca. 1500) - mandarin, chicken liver parfait and grilled bread. The combination of flavours was simple and effective - a generous chunk of the creamiest liver parfait, coated with an outer layer of tart mandarin jelly that balanced its potentially overwhelming richness. The grilled bread with lashings of herb oil was extremely aromatic and a nice base for spreading the luxurious parfait. What really took this dish to a higher level, though, was its clever presentation - the 'mandarin' was utterly lifelike in size and shape, and even the naturally uneven surface of the rind was so convincingly executed, that one would not have been able to guess what it really was, without being given some hints. Very delightful start to the meal.

Next, my main course: roast turbot (ca. 1830) with leaf chicory and cockle ketchup. The side of Jersey Royal new potatoes baked in herb butter is an extra order - it should be noted that the mains in this restaurant don't typically come with any side garnishes. If you're not too keen on paying Michelin prices for very ordinary sides (choice of peas, fries, mashed or baked potato and I forget what else), save your money and stomach space for an extra dessert order at the end of the meal. The potatoes were nice and a good portion, but they were just potatoes.

I can't even begin to describe how good the fish was - expensive, yes, but worth every penny for this generous chunk. It had retained all its natural juices, which oozed out appealingly with every slice of the knife and bite in the mouth. The flesh itself was smooth, meaty and tender, with a nice, slightly crispy top from roasting. The fresh and delicate flavours of the fish were aptly complemented by the cockle 'ketchup', basically a sort of vinaigrette with cockles, pickled capers and gherkins, as well as a bed of incredibly aromatic chicory leaves sautéed in crushed garlic. This dish was a picture of understated perfection.

Finally, sweet endings to the meal: upon my server's recommendation, I ordered the Tipsy Cake (ca. 1810) with spit-roasted pineapple. 

A posh take on traditional bread pudding, this was essentially a large brioche baked with generous lashings of sugar, brandy and Sauternes (hence the 'Tipsy' name), which resulted in a thick, custardy / condensed milk-like coating surrounding the warm and fluffy brioche. It was all at once aromatic, sweet, and full-bodied from the liquors used - absolutely delightful. The juicy and lightly caramelised strip of pineapple was a good balance to this rich dessert, with its mild acidity.

I was still feeling peckish after the first dessert so I ordered another light one to finish the meal. This is poached rhubarb (ca. 1590) with rosehip jam and rhubarb sorbet.

What an appealing colour and
perfectly quenelled shape!

This was a really refreshing end to the very rich lunch (more like a palate cleanser than a dessert!) and a delightful experiment in the possibilities of rhubarb: juicy poached strips in campari topped with freeze-dried bits of rhubarb and sugared films with rhubarb powder; on the other side, a perfectly smooth and shaped rhubarb sorbet with a candied rhubarb strip, sitting on a bed of sweet rosehip jam infused with orange, freeze-dried caramel bits, and rich vanilla cream for balance. There was a lot of rhubarb on the plate, but the execution of each component was spot-on and the balance of flavours and textures was very well planned, so that on the whole the dish did not feel overwhelmingly one-dimensional and/or acidic on the palate. I should also mention that the presentation was incredibly pretty!

Petit fours: dark chocolate ganache infused with Earl Grey, and caramel shortbread with caraway seeds. The chocolate itself was extremely rich and velvety but I would have liked a stronger hint of bergamot to complement the intensity of the chocolate; on the other hand, the shortbread was excellent and the unmistakable fresh aroma of caraway seeds was an unusual yet completely apt balance to the buttery richness of the biscuit.

More views of the restaurant as I was leaving (and you can see the open kitchen taking centrestage):

Lovely ambience, good service, and so many more dishes on the à la carte menu left to try - I will have to return soon!

Dinner at Le Gavroche (Menu Exceptionnel)

The venerable Le Gavroche was opened in 1967 as the UK's first fine-dining establishment by the Roux brothers, who were pioneers in the field of gastronomy in this country. They ran the restaurant together until 1990, when Michel Roux Sr. left for Bray to concentrate on the other family restaurant, The Waterside Inn (see previous reviews). Today, the restaurant is helmed by Albert's son, Michel Roux Jr., and remains one of the most respected addresses in British gastronomy, with a string of accolades to its name including 2 Michelin stars. It moved to its current location in Upper Brook Street, Mayfair, in the 1980s. The restaurant is (rather ironically due to its posh and formal ambience) named after a street urchin in the famous Victor Hugo play Les Misérables.

I finally got to visit this evening, having booked nearly two months before (I was unsuccessful at several previous attempts), and was quite excited to see what would be on offer. The website information is very outdated, by the way - the dishes on the Menu Exceptionnel were completely different this evening, and prices have generally increased as well.

Discreet façade on Upper Brook Street

View of the classic and elegant dining room from my seat.
There is a mandatory jacket dress code for men.

Very arty and whimsical decorative plate and cutlery.

Nice pellets of salted butter (bread was unspectacular though!)

Amuse-bouches: chicken tartlette, lobster baillotine on toast.

These canapés were well executed but rather underwhelming for a restaurant of this level in terms of taste and presentation. The tartlette consisted simply of diced chicken marinated in a tomato-based sauce with no apparent depth or complexity in flavour; the lobster fared much better with its naturally fresh flavours and use of aromatic herbs.

First course: soufflé suissesse (Swiss-style cheese soufflé).

This humble-looking dish made of a mixture of cheddar and Gruyère cheese is in fact one of the signature items of the restaurant. If you love Swiss cheese fondue you'll love this too! One might have reservations starting a tasting menu with such an apparently rich first course, but in fact this was amazingly light; the interior of the soufflé was so fluffy and airy, like a delicate mousse. Topped with a crust of melted cheese and sitting in a bubbling warm pool of the same, this was an incredibly well-balanced and aromatic dish that set a promising tone for the meal ahead.

Second course: marinated var salmon with lemon aigre-doux (sweet-sour sauce) and vodka jelly.

A posh take on smoked salmon salad, this was a refreshing contrast to the luxuriousness of the first course. The salmon was well-seasoned and not too salty, with a nice piece of crispy skin and fresh salad on the side for an additional crunch. The lemon and vodka jelly were effective palate cleansers with their acidity and slight bitterness. My main reservation was with the somewhat meagre salmon-to-lemon proportion: whilst individual components were of very high quality, the overall acidity of the dish threatened to overwhelm all the other flavours present on the plate.

Third course: stone bass fillet and pastilla (the crispy roll in the background), scented with Arabian spices, fennel, red rice from Camargue and meat jus.

The fish was excellent - fresh and moist. Its subtle flavour was complemented by fennel (a classic addition) as well as interesting aromas from the use of exotic spices. The meat jus provided a savoury depth to the dish. The pastilla was pure comfort food - delightfully crispy and filled with substantial chunks of fish. The only component I didn't quite get was the rice - while it was well-cooked, with individual grains still maintaining a firm bite, it felt somewhat 'tacked on' the dish as an afterthought; surely at a restaurant of this level, one could expect the rice (not an insubstantial amount relative to the size of the fillet, by the way) to contribute in more creative ways than being a bland staple and stomach filler?

Fourth course: grilled scallop on a bed of white bean purée, with clam minestrone scented with garlic, topped with diced vegetables.

This was one of the highlights of the evening. The garlic aroma was immediately intoxicating, and yet somehow did not overpower the fresh, natural flavours of the shellfish. The scallop was cooked just right such that it had preserved all its natural juices and had a really succulent, even velvety mouthfeel. The clam soup was intense in flavour and had little bits of clam which were tender and very easy to chew through, not the inferior rubbery examples that one often gets in lesser establishments. The bean and vegetable accompaniments provided a delightful sweet crunch that subtly enhanced the delicate flavours of the shellfish. An absolute winner.

Fifth course: black pudding, crumbed egg, crackling, asparagus salad and spicy tomato chutney. 

You might think - what is black pudding doing on a fine-dining menu? Yet, I must say this dish was brilliant in its own way - unfussy, flavourful and comforting. The black pudding was very well seasoned and tasty, especially when paired with the sweet and spicy tomato chutney. The rest of the dish had a most delicious crunch to it - from the slightly salty crackling, to the scotch egg with a perfectly runny centre, to the fresh slithers of asparagus. One of the standout components in this dish for me was the slice of (iberico?) ham which was smooth, velvety with hints of olive and pine nuts - heavenly. Strangely enough, this last item had been left out in the menu's description!

Sixth course: roast suckling pig with crackling, potato mash, shallot confit, peppered roasting juices with golden raisins soaked in Marc d'Alsace (a type of pomace brandy). The picture that comes before the dish shows the two friendly gentlemen who took care of me throughout the meal, carving up and plating the meat, apparently a very traditional French table practice.

This was the other highlight of the evening. The chunks of pork were thick, but incredibly tender and succulent. The crackling was light, crispy and salty, while the shallots and mildly spicy roasting juices effectively enhanced the aromatic and savoury dimensions of the dish. What really made me sit up, though, were the huge and juicy brandy-soaked raisins, with their rich flavour imparting an astonishing 'kick' to the palette, as well as a touch of luxury to a well-executed but otherwise commonplace dish.

Seventh course: a selection of British and French farmhouse cheeses. Look at that trolley! (such variety is matched possibly only by RGR@Royal Hospital Road)

Yes, that's Chef Patron Michel Roux Jr. going round to every table to chat;
famously known, of course, as one of the two judges on BBC's Masterchef series.

Not much to comment as I'm no expert on cheese; I stuck mostly to cheeses that I've already tried before (Beaufort, Fourme d'Ambert, Brillat-Savarin) and took one goat's cheese (forgot the name) upon my waiter's recommendation. The light accompaniments to balance the cheeses were given in extremely generous portions: celery sticks, quince jelly (my favourite, with just the right balance of sweetness and acidity), walnut toast and spicy prune chutney (very delectable as well).

It was around this time that Michel Roux Jr came round to each table to greet diners; having read from other reviews that he was quite game for photographs, I asked a server to relay my request to him. Unfortunately when Michel Roux Jr came to my table, for some strange reasons I didn't get the photograph I was hoping for; I remember him mentioning that flash (which I wasn't using so far anyway) could be disturbing, and that he also had to move on to other tables. Shortly thereafter, I noticed flashlights going off from other tables round the corner. Hmmm. He did offer to autograph my menu though, which I politely declined.

Eighth course: dessert of raspberry and gianduja (a hazelnut praline & chocolate paste, similar to Nutella) millefeuille.

By now I was really quite full, so this small but luxurious dessert portion was just right for me. I particularly loved the smooth and velvety gianduja (but I'm partial to anything involving hazelnuts anyway!). Simple, well-balanced and elegantly presented, this was a fitting conclusion to a classic French tasting menu.

Petit fours: [first picture] sesame and poppyseed biscuit, candied physalis, pistachio macaron, and chocolate hazelnut cake with (cherry?) jam; [second picture] almond & pistachio nougat, soft caramel coated in chocolate with a sprinkling of sea salt. 

All of them were excellent and truly reflective of the Roux family's particular strengths in desserts and pastries. It was too much for me to finish on the spot so I got my waiter to do a takeaway, which arrived in an elegant paper box [third picture].

Some pictures of the plush and cosy country-style bar area as I was leaving the restaurant. Notice the striking similarity in set-up with the other Roux family restaurant, The Waterside Inn:

Le Gavroche felt rather more formal compared to its younger cousin The Waterside Inn, no doubt due to its posh central London location, but beyond the seemingly stiff surface lay genuine warmth and professionalism from the staff. The food is unashamedly classic French, precise but very old-school and understated; it almost looks as if a reasonably good home cook might be able to reproduce some of those dishes, so if you're looking out for innovation (or at least reasonable complexity) and the 'wow' factor, you would have left slightly disappointed. In hindsight, I also found the apparent lack of seasonality (apart from the few strips of asparagus in the black pudding dish) in this tasting menu somewhat unsatisfying.

It is very tempting to compare the two Roux restaurants, and I have to admit that I still prefer The Waterside Inn, for the more casual atmosphere, the truly exquisite presentation of dishes, and the more sophisticated and thoughtful use of ingredients (it does hold one more Michelin star for very good reasons!). Nonetheless, Le Gavroche is an extremely solid establishment to which I might return (for its extensive à la carte menu) at some point during my stint in London.