1 Michelin Star

May 1, 2012 1 Michelin Star

Alimentum, Cambridge

Based in Cambridge, Alimentum joins the small but growing band of fine dining restaurants in the city. Mark Poynton, the Chef Patron, came from Cambridge’s Michelin starred Midsummer House, before moving to Alimentum as Head Chef in 2008, and becoming the Chef Patron in 2010.

Mark has developed a very steady and loyal local following, as well as an increasing number of visitors keen to try his developing style. I was lucky enough to find myself in Newmarket for the races, and Alimentum went straight onto my list of restaurants to visit. The promise of such culinary riches also tempted along the very talented Paul Winch-Furniss, and it’s his marvellous pictures you see here. We arrive separately, both windswept, but are quickly ushered into the warmth inside. There’s a lobby bar, all very plush and smart, and giving way to the restaurant. By using the same scarlet colour palette, the two spaces are neatly combined, but are also quite distinct – two ends of the same spectrum, and very polished.

In this smart bar we chat, while little treats are put onto highly polished mirrored tables – salt and vinegar popcorn, distinctly vinegary and definitely more pleasant than it sounds, paired with smoked paprika and hummus macaron – the smoked paprika induces that memory of prawn cocktail flavoured crisps, but the hummus grounds it, giving it a more satisfying flavour.

At the table we decide to have a tasting menu, and begin with a pea mousse with cottage cheese, lemon and ham – this is light, vibrant, with the acidity of the cheese balancing the creaminess of the pea mousse. The whole dish is topped with crispy Joselito gran reserva (one of the finest jamón ibérico de bellota).

This is followed by new season asparagus with a hen’s egg: there’s asparagus puree, raw green asparagus, barbecued white asparagus and a confit egg (in rapeseed oil at 62º for those of you who like these details, the same temperature as a water-bath egg, but here more delicate, silky and flavoured by its rapeseed bath). There is also a slice of truffle brioche, a pickled morel, a goats curd ice-cream and grated truffle to top the dish. I have eaten at least two other variations of this dish in recent months, but here the morel and the goats cheese take it in a different direction, adding depth and contrast to the overall composition.

Next sole, with a toast puree and a pickled fennel puree, silky leeks, pickled grapes, semi-dried pickled grapes, and soused fennel topped with a yeast foam. The yeast foam is piquant and lifts the dish, whilst the fennel and grapes add a sweet sharpness to the soft and delicate fish – a perfectly modern elevation of a classical sole Veronique.

This is followed by a crab meat and scallop mousse, encased in a translucent cylinder of pink-grapefruit jelly, with shards of charred spring onion, prink grapefruit, a stack of crabmeat in marie-rose sauce, and a cube of pressed chicken wing. The combination of fish with umami rich chicken is becoming increasingly popular, but here the pink grapefruit with its strong acidity cuts through the dish – I felt it somewhat overwhelmed the delicate mousse – but it’s an interesting combination.

Then pressed duck, together with a stip of succulent barbecued duck breast, beetroot quinoa, turnip and orange puree, little turnips dressed with turnip leaf, a beetroot gravy and roasted beetroot, both red and yellow. Here the menu steps up a notch, with increased flavour and intensity. Though I wouldn’t have described the duck as particularly hitting that umami button, it did certainly fully round out the meal, and the delicacy of the turnip, and the sweetness of the beetroot weren’t drowned out by the savouriness of the meat – a good combination – with the quinoa adding texture and earthiness. (And yes, Mr Poynton is another chef with an enamel grill in his kitchen, though not a certain egg on this occasion.)

Pre-dessert is a passionfruit curd and granita, with a coffee tuille and coffee ice-cream, and a saffron meringue. This was a perfect dish – the light but intense acidity of the passionfruit cuts through the rich and rounded depth of the coffee elements, and the metallic saffron tips the scale in a different direction, so that it’s not simply a contrast between the other two flavours. Texturally it’s a perfect contrast between cold, smooth, zingy, and crisp too.

The second dessert is a dark chocolate pavé, with a breadcrumb, maldon salt and olive oil crust, caramelised puff pastry at the base stuffed with popping candy, together with a pear sorbet and pear puree on cocoa nibs. The chocolate mousse was intense and smooth, and the textural elements cut through the density. Little cubes of pear scattered the plate and the pear sorbet refresh the palate in-between.

The petit four were a cassia bark jelly, a coconut and lime truffle, and a ‘seared’ marshmallow. I must admit that I didn’t try any of those, but given that Paul promptly finished them off for me, I’m assuming they were pretty good. I did look though, and the jellies were perfect cubes, the chocolate glossy with its brush of pink lustre, and the marshmallows suitably squidgy.

The service at Alimentum is professional and well-informed, and the proficient sommelier will guide you through the menu with appropriate pairings. It’s a good-looking room, and I’m sure the intense scarlet silk elements look very rich in the evening, though they brought warmth during the lunch service too. Mark’s cooking is accomplished and experimental, and thought has been put into the menu. The dishes change frequently with the season, with the chef always striving to achieve new heights – I think we can expect greater things from Mr Poynton in the future. If you’re coming to Cambridge, Alimentum must be on your list of places to try. Indeed given that Cambridge is a scant 45 minutes from London by train, I’d argue it’s worth popping up for lunch, and for a wander around the ravishing architecture of the old town just a few minutes away.

Alimentum
152-154 Hills Road,
Cambridge
CB2 8PB

April 18, 2012 1 Michelin Star

Alyn WIliams, Mayfair

Alyn has quickly become one of my favourite chefs, but sometimes there isn’t sufficient opportunity to record each dish in great depth – in this instance we had hot-footed our way from the Gaucho Polo Tournament at the O2, and arrived at the Westbury after 10pm, with guests in tow. Alyn had very kindly put together a number of dishes for us, and they were so delicious that I want to record them here, if only visually. For the full Alyn Williams experience you need to head to the Westbury Hotel for yourself, for what I still think is one of the best-valued menus in town at just £55.

Langoustine, grapefruit curd, sea beets, served on hay…

Mackerel, with squid ink craquelure, piquillo red pepper and ricotta

Gull’s egg, with ransom leaf, nettle compote, braised snails, and veal tail cooked in buttermilk

Asparagus, wild hops, salmon and beer

Oxtail, beef, pureed beetroot, mustard foam, ransoms, croutons

Mash

Cheesecake, passion fruit granita, honeycomb

Lemon posset, caramel, caramel malteser and plum jelly

Blush cider sorbet, rhubarb jelly, sorbet, gold leaf

Rhubarb Muffins

Black olive, and pistachio

Alyn Williams at the Westbury
37 Conduit Street
The Westbury Mayfair Hotel
London W1S 2YF

February 21, 2012 1 Michelin Star

The Lanesborough, Belgravia

Breakfast number two of the week and today the venue is the Lanesborough on Hyde Park Corner. An impressive 19th century building which is now a small, but luxurious hotel, in the heart of London. Originally built as a hospital (St. Georges) in the 18C, it was demolished and rebuilt in 1827 by William Wilkins. The hospital itself transferred to Tooting in 1980, and the building fell into disrepair until 1991 when it was refurbished and re-opened, and now is arguably the most expensive hotel in London.

I’ve been here many times before, though I’ve never stayed overnight, and I’ve certainly enjoyed the hospitality of the restaurants and bars – the library bar is a favourite of mine. On entering the hotel I’n directed to Apsleys, the restaurant. Taken over by Heinz Beck in 2009, it is his first restaurant outside of Italy and was awarded a Michelin star in 2010 (the fastest for a London restaurant at the time).

The last time I was here was for dinner before the refurbishment, then, it was a colonial style greenhouse with pastille coloured 80’s styling, with a very loud piano playing in the centre – we expected to find George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley hiding behind the palms with fake tans and shorts. Now it has the feeling of a light, open, Italian venue, with a Titian-esque artwork as a centrepiece. I assume this is to announce the ‘rebirth’ of the restaurant itself (although for some reason the artwork has go-faster stripes).

The menu is extensive and they even encourage you to be creative and go ‘off menu’. Given my recent disappointment, I know I’m going to go down the Eggs Benedict route again. The orange juice is already in the waiters’ hands, so I accept the invitation and give my order.

I assume the go-faster stripes on the centrepiece give the illusion that orders are being handled much more quickly than they are, and we wait what seems to be an age. All three of us have ordered eggs, so I assume only one egg chef is on, or they are out the back squeezing a couple from the chicken. Finally, the dishes arrive. Again the food looks great, though as I found to my cost yesterday, looks can be deceiving. I look more closely…

Two nicely formed poached eggs on top of an abundance of ham, and one half of a largish muffin. A decent, but not overwhelming amount of hollandaise with a pinch of paprika. My knife glides through the egg revealing a medium cooked egg with a yolk that flows down over the ham and muffin, but is not indiscreet enough to damage the texture of either. The ham is a honey roast ham, organically sourced, and full of flavour; and the muffin is nice and fluffy. The hollandaise, is creamy, but could do with just a touch more acidity – but I feel I’m splitting hairs now.

I enjoy the venue, the eggs Benedict were good. The service, other than waiting for too long, was fine and I leave in good humour – joking with the staff as I leave. One tells me his favourite egg joke:

How do Monsters like their eggs cooked – Terri-fried.

Update:

I had breakfast again this morning, and things have definitely deteriorated since my last visit. Eggs were undercooked, the staff kept trying to sell us pastries every five minutes and I had to ask for juice three times. A glass of grapefruit juice finally arrived, but had been watered down. I also had to ask for a cup of coffee twice, and finally got it at the end of the meal. The bill also had to be requested three times! 17/9/12

February 10, 2012 1 Michelin Star

Galvin at Windows, Mayfair

Galvin at Windows is a bit of a favourite in our house, not least because it’s wonderfully friendly and relaxed. Add to that the near 360o views of London from its high perch on the twenty-eighth floor of the Hilton at Hyde Park, and it’s difficult to beat.

The kitchens are run by Head Chef André Garrett, now well-known for his appearances on The Great British Menu, and Chris Galvin is the Chef Patron.

Our 10 year old is a bit of a foodie – I can remember her eating Barolo and gorgonzola risotto at a year, carpaccio at two, and now at ten she eats sashimi, and the like. Each school holiday we like to take her somewhere special, and this time it was the turn of the Galvin team.

The room is divided very cleverly, a large horseshoe of tables extends around the exterior of the room, giving almost everyone a view from the windows. You could sit at the same table several times and the view is never the same twice. On this occasion we were overlooking Buckingham Palace, and she took great delight in trying to orient herself around the darkening landscape. Those views soon gave way to a glittering night-time panorama. The centre of the room is on a slightly raised platform, which also gives a view across London, without compromising the view on the lower level.

As you look over the menu the staff bring you a white pain d’Epi – always beautifully crisp and shaped, you break off your ‘wheat ears’ individually – it’s a good way of providing decent crust and chew in the bread, and is a variety I like very much*.

The amuse is an incredibly scented and flavoured shot of tomato water – incredibly time consuming to make, it’s elegant, refreshing, mouthwatering yet deeply satisfying. I always leave thinking I’m going to make some for myself, and return having failed to set aside the necessary time.

I’ve long favoured the seared foie gras dish, and the 10 year old bravely opted to give it a go. The dish is served in a soup plate, on a bed of chicorino, topped with a large seared piece of foie gras. This is then topped with a crunchy duck pastilla, full of tender shredded duck, redolent of crispy aromatic duck. There is also a piece of confit lemon – tangy, rich, ridiculously moreish, palate cleansing umami… Into the dish is poured the date consommé which is fully flavoured and sweet, but with a savoury depth. It’s simply one of my favourite dishes in London, and I know several other customers who like me, never eat anything else here. We both had this, and though she loved the majority of the dish, she wasn’t so keen on the foie gras – she’s ten – it’s a texture thing.

Hubby had the terrine of foie gras, which is served with a bitter-sweet tangy orange purée, spiced salt and toasted brioche. The brioche is always crisp, rich and light.

Just lately three of our children have become beef addicts, and their tastes are for rarer and rarer meat. Spotting a fillet of Scotch beef on the menu, the 10 yo decided to go with that. It is served medium by the kitchen, on top of a disk of rich dense braised ox cheek, and the smoothest mash imaginable. She loved the beef, and the mash, but after taking a couple of mouthfuls of the ox cheek, found that too rich for her. Again – she’s ten – I’d have been slightly surprised if she had eaten it all.

I find myself increasingly hankering for firm fish these days, so had the John Dory. Served with endive braised in orange, a cauliflower purée, curry oil and golden raisins the bitter-sweet endive offsets the purée and the dense fish.

The Hubby plumped for his favourite: poached Cotswold white chicken, a little Borettane onion tart, foie gras, some spring garlic purée, and baby vegetables. Borretane onions are small, firm, mild and slightly sweeter than most onions. Offset with the incredibly densely flavoured garlic purée (much nicer than perhaps it sounds), they provide a counterpoint to the rich savouriness of the chicken. I often have this dish too, and it just proves how far removed good chicken is from most of the insipid fowl that crosses our plates.The 10 year old is rather partial to dessert, and fancied the tarte tartin (I make a plum tarte tartin she likes), but as it’s for two, I said perhaps we could share it. When it duly arrived I doubted an army could share it – but I do know someone who regularly orders a double portion at Claridge’s just for himself. In our case the tarte triumphed over us, and Andrew Sicklin, the restaurant manager, kindly popped it into a doggy bag for to us to take home.

The Hubby had the banana soufflé served with chocolate and peanut – I’ve had this myself in the past, and it’s not my favourite combination. There’s something about warm bananas that I think could divide diners. Served with a good hit of alcohol, of almost any description, I think warm banana works. Without alcohol is reminds me of baby-food – but given how many children I’ve had, perhaps it’s just me. The peanut butter ice-cream is delicious.

Galvin works as a restaurant on many levels. As a couple, you can have a romantic evening, overlooking that glittering view; as a group of chums – there’s a great bar just next door that you can go to before and after you eat. You could just as easily impress you maiden aunt here, as a new conquest, or your boss.

The key to this success is as much about the absolutely perfect service as the excellent food. As this is the home of Fred Sirieix, the renowned creator of The Art of Service, this is really not a surprise. These standards are meticulously maintained by Andrew Sicklin and his team, but with good cheer, hospitality and warmth to boot. The 10 year old floated out of the restaurant declaring it her favourite to date. Now how can you argue with that?

Galvin at Windows

London Hilton
22 Park Lane

London W1K 1BE

* I believe Galvin buy in their bread, like a number of restaurants these days – it is however consistently good.

Starters

Terrine of foie gras, orange purée, spiced salt & toasted brioche.

Seared foie gras, spiced duck pastilla, confit lemon & date consommé.

Cured Loch Duart salmon, Cornish crab, avocado cream & fennel compote.

Salad of crisp organic egg, pickled carrot, yellow beetroot & truffle dressing.

Ballotine of organic pork, crispy trotter, pickled apple & mustard.

Seared Scottish scallops, wild sea vegetables & oyster emulsion.

————

Main Courses

Fillet of wild salmon, ragout of mussels, girolles,
broad beans & borlotti, jus of the earth & sea.

South Coast John Dory, orange braised endive,
cauliflower purée, curry oil & golden raisins.

Braised turbot, cucumber, oyster, linguini, wasabi & oyster velouté.

Pithivier of hay baked celeriac, kohlrabi, carrot purée,
trompette & Champagne vinaigrette.

Cornish spring lamb, baby artichoke, anchovy &
caper condiment & shepherd’s pie.

Poached Cotswold white chicken, Borettane onion tart, foie gras,
spring garlic purée, English baby summer vegetables & hazelnut jus gras.

Slow cooked fillet of Scotch beef, cooked medium,
braised ox cheek, pomme purée & red wine jus

————

Desserts

Wild strawberries, rosewater jelly, fontainebleau & jus de fraise

Caramelised Royal Gala apple tarte tatin, Tahitian vanilla ice cream & caramel sauce (for 2)

Manjari chocolate ganache, hazelnut & salted caramel

Coffee crème brulée, Marsala mascarpone, Lady fingers & cacao ice cream

Baba au rhum, crème Chantilly

Hot soufflé of banana, chocolate & caramelised peanut

Selection of seasonal cheeses by Maître affineur “La Fromagerie”

————

February 9, 2012 1 Michelin Star

Alyn Williams, Mayfair

Alyn Williams is a chef’s chef. I know this, because when I ask a Tony Fleming where I should be eating, he pointed me in Alyn’s direction and said what a great chap he was.

Formerly head chef at Marcus Wareing’s restaurant in the Berkeley, Alyn’s pedigree also extends to time at Royal Hospital Road – so two of our favourites under his belt, but here with his own menu and flair.

The restaurant only has 11 tables, but they’re well spaced and comfortable. The room feels like a hotel dining room, with deep wood veneers on the wall, and a glittery carpet that I am positive I’ve seen before. Not often one has deja vu over a carpet. Off to one side of the room, and between the kitchen and the diners, are a number of terrarium where the staff are growing herbs, wild grasses and even an ash and an oak in their own micro-climates – fascinating. They turn on a growing light each night to prevent the plants from turning towards the lights in the restaurant. In the corners of the room are a number of discreet banquettes for larger groups, and set off from the centre is a private dining room with a pretty impressive collection of wine. Indeed this is one of the few places in ages that I’ve been able to get a glass of Krug as my apéritif.

Menu in hand I tucked in to a very lovely gougere, which is made with Fourme d’Ambert, it was very light, rich cheesy tang, very good. There were also prawn crackers with a tiny dot of mayonnaise and a cube of prawn; really excellent truffled arincini; and a tiny pissaladière, here with a shard of barbecue flavoured salmon – delicious. Influences may have come from all around the globe, but they sat very happily together.

We decided to go for the tasting menu (good value at £55 a head), and were given some bread, and two kinds of butter. As well as the usual offering, the kitchen serves butter whipped with caraway. It turns the butter a rich golden colour and adds an incredibly moreish edge to whatever you’ve put it on – one idea I’m definitely going to steal!

Then we were brought an onion soup consommé – in the bottom of a cocktail glass light delicate crab, topped with a disk of aspic (nice that), and beef cheek. The consommé is then poured into the glass. This is served with a side order of cheese squares – crisp wafers sandwiched with cream cheese and chives.

Perigord truffle soldiers, with smoked egg and celeriac came as tiny disks of crisp refreshing apple, a poached hens egg (which apparently took the kitchen weeks to perfect), and truffles layered between rich buttery toast. The yolk forms the dressing for the dish, and worked very well with the celeriac cylinders and coated the disks of truffle in the dish – all very good.

Next we had the semi-fredo foie gras: cylinders of chilled foie gras served with frozen yoghurt (which had been salted – delicious!), a lime puree and scattered with a lime and liquorice powder (this is made with liquorice oil, tapioca, lime and ground liquorice root). At the bottom of the dish sat a layer of deep and earthy liquorice which was echoed in the coriander cress. The dish ate best when we combined the liquorice and lime together, especially with that salted frozen yoghurt. An amazing combination of flavours.

The fish course is cod served with sea beets, purslane, rock samphire, scurvy grass, and sea astor – topped with gutweed butter. It was creamy without overpowering the delicate and translucent fish. I love foraged greens and the dish was balanced, creamy without any apparent cream sauce, and yet delicate and scented.

Cotswold chicken is served with chargrilled leeks, a deep rich leek puree, girolle mushrooms, and another smoked egg. This was our choice I should point out, as I didn’t have the scallop dish with the oysters, and actually I rather like smoked eggs. The skin on the chicken was crisp, rich with umami flavours and the mushrooms perfect with the smoked yolk. The tempura style root added another dimension to the dish and the chargrilled leeks were smoky and sweet.

Alyn was concerned that we’d had two egg yolks, and so sent us a dish of beef, braised beef, quenelles of turnip and tiny, tiny croutons. The beef was rich and deep and the jus smooth and glossy. The potatoes were almost miniature fondant potatoes, and I was grateful for their size. The beef was a Devon Ruby Red, not a breed I’m was familiar with, and supplied by Phillip Warren in Launceston who is a butcher for the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

The pre-dessert was a little bowl of crema catalana but topped with pear granita. The crema had non of the burnt edge of a typical Catalan cream, but the granita provided a very light and vibrant palate cleanser. The dish was topped with pine sugar, adding further texture to the granita.

Dessert was described to us a being like a Twix, but I thought it tasted much more like a Marathon. Not a Snickers mind you, an old fashioned and much saltier Marathon from the good old days. The chocolate finger did have a caramal layer on top of the biscuit, but one mouthful of the peanut butter icecream transports you straight back to your childhood. I had supposed the pâtissier was using peanut brittle rather than peanut butter, but I’m assured it’s Skippy, favourite as most of us know of Nigella. Amazing depth and flavour!

One of the joys of such a small room is that over the course of the evening everyone begins to relax, chat a bit more, speak to the staff about where they like to eat, what they like to drink. We spent some time talking to the enthusiastic Danish sommelier, and to Gian Carlo the restaurant manager. The staff were all charming, and went out of their way to show people the wine room and introduce each table to the kitchen, if they wished.

Personally I love a good nose around a professional kitchen, and the Hubby dutifully tagged along – but Alyn is so charming and such good fun that we were soon laughing, and trying to pocket the gorgeous bianchetti Alyn had stashed in his drawer. I’d never come across bianchetti before, and had no idea that any white truffles were still available at this time of the year. Alyn was going to preserve them in Sauternes, and this thought alone guaranteed I’d already made my next reservation before I even wrote this piece!

Do get along to see Alyn before the best value tasting menu in town is booked solid. Try not to get too heavily stuck into the wine list though – some wines are still being sold at their original cost and represent great bargains – others were subject to usual hotel markup.

Alyn Williams at the Westbury

37 Conduit Street
The Westbury Mayfair Hotel
London W1S 2YF

February 5, 2012 1 Michelin Star

Seven Park Place, St James’s

The St James Hotel and Club is hidden away in right in the heart of St James, and despite knowing the area well, I was surprised to discover the gated courtyard hidden at the end of Park Place. The hotel is discreet and eminently well-placed, and I can imagine would appeal enormously to wealthier tourists. The hotel’s restaurant, Seven Park Place, is run by Christophe Thuilot, formerly at Capital and William Drabble, previously at Aubergine is the Executive Chef. Excellent credentials then, and as we were attending a viewing of the Impressionist sale at Christies in King Street, it seemed a very convenient choice for dinner.

Racing the short distance up St James Street in the biting cold, we poured into the hotel and were shown straight into the restaurant by the staff. The tables are distributed around a number of alcoves, with guests are discreetly dispersed to ensure privacy. Despite being there at 8.30, we were among the first diners. The decoration is somewhat eclectic, with contrasting carpet, upholstery and wallpaper, and contemporary art on the walls. Some have described it as a jewell-box, the Hubby called it a car crash. It will definitely not appeal to everyone.

We were offered drinks and the menu, and settled in to make our choices. The bread offerings were white, brown, and caraway seed. I’m very fond of caraway, so I chose that – it was soft, dense, rather pale but beautifully perfumed and with a soft crust – a lifetime away from my sourdough caraway, but lovely all the same.

The amuse was some kind of escabeche, sardine I think, with blood orange and baby carrots – the fish was firm but delicately soused, and the blood orange acidity cut through the rich fish well. I’m not entirely sure what function the carrots played.

For my starter, I had a large piece of seared foie gras with casserole of white beans, onion and bacon. I thought this sounded good, but it’s definitely not the best combination I’ve had with foie. Firstly the foie was overcooked and soggy. There was very little colour on it, so it hadn’t been over-seared, but had been left sitting in its own juices for too long. The white bean casserole would have been delicious on its own but when combined with the foie gras was too rich, and too oily.

The Hubby had seared scallops with gratin of salsify and truffle jus – the scallops were large and meaty, but were also overcooked. The rest of the dish lacked flavour.

I moved on to a roast fillet of turbot with a horseradish and oyster beignet. The turbot was beautifully cooked, crisp on the outside, delicate in the middle. I only ate half of the beignet, but it was both crisp and moist inside.

The Hubby had the veal cheek slow cooked in Madeira, with bone marrow mash and grain mustard sauce – the veal cheek was dense, unctuous and full of flavour, but the bone marrow flavour was lacking in the mash.

We weren’t particularly impressed by this stage. I rarely make it to dessert and I thought we really ought to try one, so we decided to share the milk chocolate dessert between us. The milk chocolate, gingerbread and salted caramel ice-cream seemed particularly appropriate given my earlier conversations about lebkuchen.

The gingerbread comes in tiny cubes, spiced like lebkuchen*, interspersed with little dots of clementine jam. There are piped stripes of chocolate running in parallel lines down the length of the plate, with a quenelle of salted caramel ice-cream at one end and a stack of chocolate strips layered with piped chocolate mousse at the other. The chocolate was crisp – perfect ‘snap’, very well tempered, glossy and good. The mousse inside it was good, but the ice-cream was fabulous. Fabulous. Combined with the warm gingerbread and the acidic clementine, the salted nut worked perfectly. It’s an amazing dessert and the Hubby told me off as I began to change my tune, suddenly finding merit in the earlier dishes. But this is how good meals work – one dish can transform your whole experience.

We were offered the usual treats, on this occasion from a lovely adapted humidor with rows and stacks of truffles, jellies, candied delights etc. All very good.

The staff are very professional, and I note they spoke Italian to the Italians, etc, in the way that good hotel restaurants do. However the meal worked out at about the same price as a visit to Scotts, or perhaps a better comparison in terms of aesthetics, Le Gavroche. Having calculated the meal back out, more than half of the cost came down to the alcohol, which was subject to hotel markups.

The restaurant is in a good location, and I can imagine returning if we wanted a secret hideaway. We’ll definitely pop into bar for either lunch, or a postprandial drink – the bar actually looked rather good. However with so many excellent restaurants on the doorstep (Petrus, Greenhouse, L’Oranger, Galvin at Windows, Cecconi’s, Alain Ducasse, le Caprice, The Square etc), I shan’t be racing back for dinner.

7-8 Park Place,

St James’s Hotel and Club

London SW1A 1LP

Lebkuchen*: Having grown up in Germany, lebkuchen are very much a part of my childhood. At Christmas street fairs, stalls are packed high with lebkuchen and scented with glühwein.

Unlike British gingerbread recipes which are usually made with cinnamon, ginger, cloves and treacle, lebkuchen are made with honey and include a number of additional spices which add warmth and depth to the flavour. They’re much closer in flavour to the French pain d’épices, than our gingerbread with aniseed, coriander, cardamom, and allspice. Often grated zest, or the flavour of candied peel are included too, adding a level of fruitiness and acidity.

Lebkuchen are traditionally glazed with dark chocolate, or a citrus sugar glaze, which scents the outside of the biscuit before you bite into the warm spice. This is why William’s dessert worked so well for me – a deconstructed lebkuchen with chocolate and salted caramel – perfect.

June 29, 2011 1 Michelin Star

Galvin at Windows, Mayfair

Just a quickie today :0) And be warned – the word fabulous is going to appear rather a lot!

Last night I had dinner at Galvin’s on Park Lane. We’d been at the Serpentine Party, and for once I was actually ravenous when we arrived at the restaurant.

Depending on your sensibilities, Galvin either has a fabulous location, way up in the Hilton and with breathtaking views over London, or perhaps has dizzying effects on your stomach as you peer over the edge. The restaurant itself is very nicely laid out, and with a multi-tier effect, you don’t feel the space so much. I assume it was laid out in this way to afford everyone a decent view out of the window…

The waiting staff were very attentive – the sommelier remembered having a little ‘discussion’ on burgundies with the Hubby the last time he’d been in – and the waitress brought us some piping hot bread straight out of the oven – yummy!

Now. Before I really begin – I really ought to remind you that I was RAVENOUS when we sat down, and that may have affected my use of so many superlatives – that and the gallon of champagne we’d had at the Serpentine!

The amuse was a tomato water – just fabulous…. Fabulous, fabulous – I’m definitely going to make the effort to make it having previously considered it too time-consuming.

I began with the pan-seared foie gras, spiced duck pastilla, confit lemon and date consommé. The foie gras was, yes, you’ve guessed it – fabulous. But actually the date consommé was even more incredible – I was spooning down to the last drop as the staff tried to take my plate. If I could have a flask of the stuff, I could climb Everest.

The Hubby had the terrine of foie gras, orange purée, spiced salt and toasted brioche. Now the Hubby is renowned in his search for a decent foie gras terrine – he’s had it everywhere and is usually disappointed. Here he thought the flavour excellent, he loved the texture (it looked very smooth), he loved the orange, and even the brioche looked crisper and more robust than the usual offerings. I didn’t even get a look in!

I then had the slow cooked fillet of beef, braised ox cheek, pomme purée and red wine jus. The ox cheek was deep and earthy, packed with flavour and a great contrast to the fillet. The mash was as smooth and silky as you’d expect, and the jus rich to the point of obsession. A proper ‘you can wipe your finger across it’ richness. And I did.

The Hubby had the real highlight though, Cotswold white chicken, tortellini, broad bean, wild garlic and jus gras. It looked stunningly pretty. The small amount I was allowed to steal was loaded with the garlic jus which tasted intensely of roasted garlic purée – smooth, delicious, full of flavour.

By this stage it was too late for pud, though they all looked delicious. We were brought some of the marshmallows, and the strawberry one’s were particularly tasty, without doubt the best marshmallow I’ve eaten. I did also buy a bag of tea (!) – there were some amazing combinations, and I went for one with fennel seed, which aids digestion. I thought it might be a decent Kümmel substitute.

So. If you find yourself in need of a really flavoursome dinner, I’d definitely try Galvin! It has a very cute bar which fills up quite late (I noticed that they shut the doors between the bar and the restaurant when it started to fill). If you like heights the view is sensational. Also, the atmosphere is very relaxed – you could come here with friends and enjoy dinner without feeling as though your disturbing everyone else – a definite plus in this calibre of dining. It’s going on my favourite’s list.

[I couldn’t possibly steal her pics, but unlike me, @ValerieFerman did manage to photo most of the dishes we ate! Here> Valerie’s pics of her meal at Galvin]

Galvin at Windows also participates in Galvin’s Chance – an employment programme for 18-24 year olds – have a look. Galvin’s Chance Brochure