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 The website information is very outdated, by the way - the dishes on the Menu Exceptionnel were completely different this evening, and prices have generally increased as well.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.