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Goodman, Mayfair

Whilst Goodman Mayfair may resemble a NY steak joint, I’m wondering how many of those have a steady stream of diners descending to the meat locker to gawp at their wares…  There is so much interest in steak at the moment that steak joints have become destination restaurants – the breeds, the sourcing, the cooking, all to be endlessly poured over.


There are at least three good restaurant groups with dedicated steak houses in London at the moment (including Goodman,  Hawksmoor,  and Wolfgang Puck’s CUT at 45 Park Lane).  With such heavy hitters in the market, and with the prices being charged, Londoners are suddenly taking their meat very, very seriously indeed.

Ordinarily I like my steak grilled on the open fire at the Cheyne Walk Brasserie, but one can’t ignore the trend towards these places.  Having eaten at Burger & Lobster the other day and thoroughly enjoyed it, I though it would be fun to start with Goodman Mayfair.  Booking a table proved rather difficult actually, and on arriving we understood why: the room is pretty big, but was packed to the rafters with noisy diners full of bonhomie…. A quick scan of the room identified that at least 80% of the diners are men, and they all seemed to be having a great time!  The decor is very much that of a NY diner, all wooden floors, wooden tables, lots and lots of wood.  I kept having flashbacks to the Cheers bar, but it feels very authentic, like a London Smith and Wollensky…

Staff are busy and efficient – before you make up your mind, they bring around a platter of raw meat, and explain the various cuts and choices with you.  From US ribeye to Irish grass-fed fillet, the choice is impressive.  In addition to the menu, any special cuts are displayed on The Cut blackboard, and on our day included Chilean wagyu.  I asked about the regulations for cattle rearing in Chile, and this was the only question the staff were unable to answer – I’m guessing not many chaps ask!  Didn’t stop me from ordering it, but as Japan apparently doesn’t export its wagyu, and I think they use Australian at CUT, I was just curious.

To begin I had the pan fried foie gras… Served with roasted dry figs, oyster mushrooms and truffle honey, it was delicately sweet and offset by vinegar in the sauce – the acid is a necessary counterpoint, but here was a little harsh for me. the slice of foie was slim, but perfectly cooked, charred outside, delicate and tender inside.

Himself had the tiger prawn tempura with avocado and mango salsa, and a cajun mayonnaise.  The tempura batter was crisp, and the salsa fresh.  The combination is a pretty common one, but he liked the heat of the sauce and thought it added to the dish, but tasted more curry than cajun.

We both chose the wagyu, but went for different cuts: I had the sirloin, and he the ribeye.  When it came we was completely astonished by the difference in cut.  The steaks both look similar, they were both rested fully, with no apparent leakage of blood, and there the similarity ends.  The sirloin had a tight, dense grain structure, whereas the ribeye was soft, loose, much juicier and tender.  The texture of mine did open little over the next ten minutes, but nothing like that of the ribeye.  My béarnaise wasn’t the best I’ve had, but ten minutes later it still had the same consistency, which certainly can’t be said of all the examples I’ve had.  Hubby had the peppercorn sauce, which was fiery, creamy and delicious.

As sides we ordered salads, greens beans with shallots and truffled chips.  The salad was well dressed, and had good variety of leaves.    The truffled chips are delicious – crusty and crunchy, with a very discernible scent and taste of truffle.  We discovered that if you dipped the chips into the pepper sauce you had a hit of umami on the front of the palate and the heat of the pepper in the back – a very addictive combination.  As Goodman offer to bring you a selection of sauces, do try this for yourself.

Goodman’s wine list is very heavy on red, much to the Hubby’s delight!  Alex, the ‘wine guy’ noted our choices and offered us something we’d not had before, which was delicious.  We had an interesting discussion around different vineyards, and I’m definitely going to be ordering that recommendation – the first red wine I’ll have bought for myself in a decade!

Now for the technical bit: a number of us went down to see the meat room in the kitchen – the manager Nik was like the pied piper leading us into the mountain to meet the head chef, Phil…  I’m going to do this bit in bullet form…

  • The meat comes in to be assessed individually by the chef.  If he’s happy with the offerings, they make it into the locker, if not, they’re turned away, regardless of supplier
  • Meat from this country comes in at around 4 days and is cured in the locker by the staff
  • Meat from the US and Chile comes in vacuum packs, wet cured, and effectively already aged in the pack,  This then needs to be aged for 4-5 days to remove the excess moisture
  • Any meat of particular merit can be aged for up to 45 days, though typically it’s aged for 28 days.  During this ageing process there can be up to 25% wastage
  • Any meat served on the bone is aged for an additional two weeks on site
  • The room is kept at 75% humidity, and is monitored regularly.  The humidity is regulated with a fan, and the room is lined with Himalayan rock salt.
  • In terms of what they look for, we had a quick discussion about the way in which feeds effect the end product, the cut obviously, the level of marbling and fat around the cut… It would be impossible for me to describe this too you as Tim was holding up particular cuts to demonstrate that to us.  Do ask if you can see the locker for yourself.
  • In Mayfair alone, they’re getting through two tonnes of meat a month
  • On average people are eating under 500g, but just sometimes, someone will come in and order a kilo of steak – yes, a kilo of steak!
Out in the kitchen, the staff operate two ridiculously hot Josper charcoal grills!  They are fed twice a day in rotation and take around two hours to come up to temperature… Because of this they are also used in rotation.  The chef explained that the four staff who work this section effectively build the grill to the temperature they require – some like it very hot, others prefer to build the heat more slowly.  The meat is turned constantly once it’s seared, keeping in the meat juices.  At the end of service, the grill fed first is considerably colder than the later one…  It’s insanely hot down there, and as I went in February, one can only imagine what it’s like in the summer.

I’ll definitely be back to Goodman, it’s loud, it’s boisterous, and the beef is great – a great place to go with a gang of chums.  One tiny bit of advice though: if you’re a girl and you’re looking to impress a chap, bring him here, he’ll utterly love it.  And if you’re a chap looking to impress a girl, and you don’t know her that well, take her for wagyu at the Cheyne Walk Brasserie first.  You can always build her up to Goodman…

Other information:

The pictures of the food are my own, the interior shots are from the Goodman web site.



Goodman on Urbanspoon

 

 
S·T·A·R·T·E·R·S
BEEF CARPACCIO, BASIL CRESS, SHAVED PARMESAN, AGED BALSAMIC AND OLIVE OIL £8 
SWEET HERRING, TRADITIONAL RUSSIAN PRESENTATION, HOT MUSTARD AND CORNICHON £8 
IRISH SMOKED SALMON BY FRANK HEDERMAN, DARK RYE BREAD, ONIONS AND CAPERS £13 
TIGER PRAWN TEMPURA, AVOCADO, MANGO AND CAJUN MAYONNAISE £12 
LOBSTER COCKTAIL, GREENS AND LEMON MAYONNAISE £16 
LOBSTER BISQUE, TARRAGON CRÈME FRAICH E £7.5 
CAESAR SALAD, PARMESAN AND WHITE ANCHOVIES £8.5 
WEDGE SALAD, STILTON, TOMATO AND SMOKED BACON £9 
BURRATA, SPANISH WAGYU BEEF CHORIZO, GRILLED SOURDOUGH £13 
TOMATO, SLICED WITH CRUMBLED STILTON, RED ONIONS AND AGED BALSAMIC £8 
PAN FRIED FOIE GRAS, ROASTED FIG, OYSTER MUSHROOM, TRUFFLE HONEY £15
 
S·T·E·A·K·S
We have teamed up with the finest producers of natural beef in the US and the British Isles.We cut beef every day, please check the blackboards for THE CUT


USDA ANGUS BEEF 150 DAY CORN FED 
PORTERHOUSE & BONE IN RIB-‐EYE page1image29064PER 100G £6.75
page1image29744
T-‐BONE & BONE IN SIRLOIN PER 100G £6.75
GOODMAN RIB-‐EYE (400G) £32 
NEW YORK SIRLOIN (350G) page1image98792£30 
FILLET (250G) page1image100248page1image126048£34
 
SCOTTISH AND IRISH GRASS FED 
FILLET (400G) £45
page1image172088
FILLET (250G) page1image173144£28
 
CHOICE OF ONE SAUCE: BÉARNAISE, PEPPER, STILTON
 
HALF GRILLED LOBSTER TAIL WITH GARLIC BUTTER page1image187104 page1image195504£12.5 
ADD PAN FRIED FOIE GRAS (100G) page1image196592£13
 
M·A·I·N·S
GOODMAN BURGER WITH LETTUCE, PICKLE, TOMATO, ONION AND CHIPS £14
EXTRAS: SAUTÉED MUSHROOMS, CHEDDAR, BACON, FRIED EGG OR FRIED ONIONS
CHICKEN, ROAST BREAST WITH CRUSHED POTATOES AND OYSTER MUSHROOMS £15
FISH OF THE DAY £Market Price
 
S·I·D·E D·I·S·H·E·S
TRUFFLE CHIPS £5 
SPINACH, CREAMED WITH GRUYERE CHEESE £4.5
CARROTS, HONEY AND GINGER GLAZED £3.5 
ROCKET AND PARMESAN SALAD £4 
HAND CUT CHIPS £4.5 
GREEN BEANS, SAUTÉED WITH SHALLOTS £4 
MUSHROOMS WITH GARLIC BUTTER £4.5
MAC AND CHEESE, TRUFFLE SAUCE AND PARMESAN £4 
GREEN SALAD, RED ONIONS AND TOMATOES £4 
CREAMY MASH POTATO £5 
STEAMED SPINACH £4.5 
SPINACH WITH GARLIC AND LEMON £4.5 
ROASTED WHITE ONION £4
LOBSTER MAC & CHEESE £8
 
A discretionary 12.5% service charge will be added to your bill 
 

Italian

Quadrato, Canary Wharf

I may be apart from the majority of people when I say that I consider breakfast to be the most important meal of the day. A good breakfast puts a smile on my face, and helps prepare me for the onslaught of the day.

So, given that, it’s only natural that I eat breakfast out on a regular basis, and when I see ‘Breakfast Served at all Times‘ I can’t help myself emulating the comedian Steve Wright and ordering “French toast during the Renaissance”.


Today the venue is Quadrato at the Four Seasons in Canary Wharf.  For well over a decade I’ve eaten in Quadrato and know it extremely well – it has always been a trusted source of a good meal, especially in truffle season. Walking into the restaurant is like walking into a friends house – the doorman welcomes me back, takes my coat and I’m seated immediately with efficiency and charm. The decor is clean, functional, hotel-esque, and hasn’t changed materially in 12 years.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, but what was shiny and modern twelve years ago, is now just a little dull.

The waitress immediately asks if I’d like a juice – there are three on offer: orange; grapefruit; and cranberry.  Usually Quadrato has a juice of the day, but either this has been dropped for the day, or forgotten about. I order a grapefruit juice and a cappuccino.

As you would expect in a Four Seasons Hotel, the breakfast menu is extensive.  As I’m in the furthest enclave of the City, and folklore states that Mr Benedict was a Wall Street investment banker, I decide to honour him and order the Eggs Benedict. I have had it here many times, and it has historically been my favourite. I was surprised this time not to be asked how I’d like my eggs, as this has always been a nice feature of the restaurant.  It demonstrates that they are making the dish for me, personally, and yes, they care how I prefer them.

My grapefruit juice and cappuccino arrive in good order, and my Eggs Benedict arrives a little too fast for comfort. Now, I don’t consider myself an expert, but over the years I’ve eaten this dish in many different restaurants and countries.  Here the presentation looked great, the product looked appetising, and I was looking forward to the dish.

There was quite a lot of Hollandaise.  I began to realise that this was hiding the lack of ham I’d expected between the egg and English muffin. What I did encounter was such a thin slice of ham that it deemed it pointless and tasteless.  However there was a surprisingly and relatively large quantity of very wet and soggy spinach.   Just to be sure, I ask the waitress if this is the correct order and she confirms that this is my Eggs Benedict and not the Florentine (typically with spinach).   I plow on, determined to put my spinach phobia aside.  As I pierce the egg an unreasonable quantity of water is ejected.  Worse still, the egg itself is undercooked, just a small white bag of fluid, adding to my general depression and making the muffin even soggier than the spinach.   I’m left reminiscing about all of my past Eggs Benedict, as if bereaving an absent friend.

Disappointed, I leave half the breakfast untouched, and I’m not asked why.  I pay the bill, my coat and bag arrives with speed and I leave…

In my view a perfect Eggs Benedict should have a muffin which is crisp on top and fluffy throughout. The ham should be of sufficient quantity that you can discern which type of ham it is; and the egg should be fresh and firm.  The egg yolk should have enough oozing viscosity to drip over the ham and muffin, but not to permeate the bread.  It’s important to maintain the various textures of the food.  The hollandaise should be creamy and exhibit a level of acidity which pokes your palate and gets your juices flowing.  And nowhere, other than possibly somewhere in the kitchen drawer, or back in Florence, should there be spinach.

On my way to my next meeting I grab a croissant, and needless to say, I have a bad day.

Update: We were contacted by Four Seasons almost as soon as this piece went onto Urbanspoon, keen to find out where they went wrong.

Quadrato
Four Seasons Hotel

46 Westferry Circus
London
E14 8RS

Quadrato on Urbanspoon

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

Galvin at Windows on Urbanspoon

* 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”
————

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

Alyn Williams at The Westbury on Urbanspoon

Restaurant

Burger and Lobster, Mayfair

Just occasionally a restaurant eschews a fancy name, and says what it serves… Burger & Lobster, part of the Goodman steak chain, does exactly that.  Its menu has proved so popular that the restaurant is now moving nearly two tons of lobster a week – and as the lobsters are roughly a 1kg each, that’s nearly two thousand lobsters every seven days.

In order to ensure a consistent supply, Burger & Lobster are taking delivery twice a week from Nova Scotia into their three tiered holding tank in the basement, holding around 900kg of lobster at any one time*.  It’s the biggest lobster tank in the UK, and they think perhaps Europe…

Charlotte and I decided we had to see this phenomenon for ourselves, so we headed on over to Mayfair in warm clothes, ready for the inevitable wait – Burger Lobster doesn’t take reservations, so service is strictly on a first come first served basis.  It took us about twenty minutes to grab a table, but the waitress did offer us either a low one, or one on the high chairs.  I twisted Charlotte’s arm and headed for the low table.  We had arrived at 1.15 pm, bang in the middle of service, so it’s no surprise it was heaving.  The clientele is an utterly eclectic mix of local hedge fund types, tourists, groovy bohemians etc, and we even had a couple of elderly ladies who lunch who are clearly regulars.

There are only three choices on the menu, and I’m sure you’ve already worked most of those out.  You can have a beef burger in a brioche bun; a whole lobster either steamed, or steamed and finished on a chargrill; or a lobster roll, which is a brioche roll, large piece of lobster and mayonnaise.  Everything costs £20 regardless of your choice, and comes with salad and chips.

While we made our choices we had a Mint Tom Collins, which though incredibly potent, actually came in a much smaller measure than it looks.  This isn’t a complaint, merely an observation – if you’re used to drinking water with your meal, your going to go through these drinks in record time.

We were slightly anxious about having a whole lobster as there seemed to be a lot of claw cracking implements flying around the room.  The waitress assured us the kitchen sent out the claws already cracked and joked that this was as much about diners feeling they needed the right equipment as anything else.  Suitably calmed, we both ordered the grilled lobster with garlic butter sauce.  Our instruments duly arrived, along with some Hellman’s mayonnaise, Heinz tomato ketchup, a couple of bibs displaying the house logo and some hand-wipes.

I’m not usually a bib wearing type, but Charlotte has much better trans-Atlantic sensibilities than me and promptly donned hers – she was right – I’m glad we did!

Our lobsters arrived hot off the grill, with a little silvered pot of chips, the butter and the salad.  The plate is a serving tray lined with paper, and is slightly unwieldy – but then it is two halves of lobster and a couple of claws.  Then the waitress rushed back up, was one of  us missing a claw?  It appeared I was, though I would never have known under the weight of lobster.  Said claw was duly returned to the rest of his body. (And I knew it was a boy, because boys have one claw larger than the other, as discussed previously…).
I always go for the salad first, absolute habit of a lifetime.  It had a little rose of dressed red onion rings, chopped red and yellow pepper, a few different varieties of tomato, and micro red chard leaves – all well dressed – and a far cry from the salads usually served alongside burgers. The leaves hadn’t been dressed too far in advance either and were still crisp.
Moving on the the lobster, the tail piece came out of its carapace in one giant meaty forkful.  The lobster was tender, the chargrill just adding the right amount of smokey depth to the meat without giving it that characteristic rubberiness you find so often with lobster.
The meat was sweet, still very succulent and perfectly cooked. This is an impressive feat judging by the never-ending flow of lobsters that streamed past our table. The claws were cracked as promised, and once we’d broken them up (thank goodness we wore our bibs), the claw-meat came straight out of the pincer with a plop. The butter dressing was nice, but a bit superfluous for me – the meat tasted delicious as it was.
However those chips were far from superfluous!  I try to make a point of not eating chips in restaurants as they’re usually so disappointing, and therefore a complete waste of calories!  These were delicious.  I’m not entirely sure what they were cooked in, but they appeared to be French fries rather than potato chips, so I’d suggest that the golden colour was achieved as much by caramelisation.  And they were properly salted.  As you can see – they didn’t stand a chance.
We were offered a dessert of either chocolate or lime mousse – I couldn’t eat dessert when I’d eaten a whole lobster, all the salad AND all the chips.  We were left with a mound of carcasses on the table and a happy smile on our faces.
By the time Charlotte and I made it out onto the street again it was 2.30, and the room had gone from cacophony to a harmonious hum.  If you want to guarantee getting a table, I’d recommend you pop in around then.  Next time I shall emulate the ladies who lunch, and have a lobster roll.  Then I won’t feel so guilty about munching my way through those golden chips…
* I’d like to commend the kitchen for their use of a Crustastun – one of the only ethically approved method of dispatching lobsters in commercial kitchens.  All commercial kitchens serving lobster should be using a Crustastun.

Burger & Lobster
29 Clarges Street

Mayfair
London W1J 8EF
Burger & Lobster on Urbanspoon

Restaurant

Revisits Roganic, Early 2012

Roganic is one of the few restaurants where I really, really want to see what’s new on the menu, and regret it when someone tries a dish that I didn’t have… Simon, Ben and the team have an incredibly sensitive palate and a very inventive use of seasonal and foraged ingredients.  Last time I was at Roganic they were still using all of the glorious summer produce, with delicate herbs, edible flowers and the freshest ingredients.  A winter menu is much more challenging for the kitchen – to truly stay seasonal, with a very limited range of produce, a kitchen has to be particularly inventive.

It was lovely to come back into the restaurant – the staff are so friendly and so enthusiastic that it was great to catch up with them again.  Most of the original front of house team are still here, with Jon Cannon, Sandia Chang and Jack Settle still providing their usual warm cheer…  Sandia has also taken on the duties of sommelier.

We were greeted with a glass of Chapel Down sparkling wine from Kent (very good) and a couple of amuse.  There was a squid ink crouton with smoked cream cheese and celery cress, and a beef coquette with corned beef, apple, cress, carrot and grain mustard mayo.  Both were delicious – the beef dense and chewy, and the richness offset by the crisp apple.  Smoked cream cheese is also a revelation – the really tangy sourness cutting through the umami /iodine flavour of the crouton.

Roganic’s bread is always a joy, and considering the tiny space they have downstairs in the kitchen(s), is an amazing testament to their commitment.  Today’s offerings included the famous pumpernickel, Irish sodabread, buttermilk, and a sweet chestnut and thyme parchment.  These are served with freshly churned butter.

We left ourselves in the hands of the staff and settled in for the tasting menu.  First came the millet pudding with grains, burnt red pear, tangy rich Devon blue cheese and honey cress.  This is a beautiful dish, sitting in its green pool – the burnt edge to the pear adding an extra dimension to a familiar cheese pear combination.  The grains were chewy but soft and yielding and topped with sea kale, not too much iron intensity.

Roganic likes to play with water-bath egg yolks, and this winter it’s a smoked Braddock White duck egg with pickled roots, wild chervil and salt beef.  The dish is served under a cloche filled with cherrywood smoke.  The yolk becomes a dense, buttery globe of golden goo, offset by delicately soused grapes, which cut through the richness.  Under the yolk a little stack of salt beef and something not unlike granola provide a depth of texture.  The smell of cherrywood pervades the dish and the chervil adds a gently aniseed kick.

Taking mushrooms to an art form, the poached and grilled king oyster mushroom is served with dehydrated powdered mushroom soil, Douglas fir pine, red and yellow beetroot.  Intense umami flavours are achieved by roasting off the tomato in a mixture of Lea & Perrins, tomato and barbecue sauces – a deeply satisfying sweet and sour flavour.

And how can you transform the humble leek?  Brought to the the table on a bed of rosemary spiced soil is a leek wrapped in a clay casing.  Broken open and then plated, it’s dressed with a layer of 72° grated chocolate.  The King Richard leek is first intensified through sous vide in a water bath for several hours, before being baked in its clay coat.  Served with beautifully scented sorrel, rosemary, puffed rice, shallots and bacon cream, the shallot is intact but yielding, intense in its meaty sauce, yet preserving the integral taste of the leek.

One of the kitchen’s real endeavours is to introduce us to unusual varieties of vegetables, and Mr Little’s Yetholm Gypsies are a Scottish variety of potato with a red white and blue colouration.  Cooked in chicken fat, with snow peas, mussel juice and a little goat curd, it was full of flavour and packed a punch but presented in a beautifully delicate way.

Plaice poached in fennel stock, sea beet, and sprout leaves tastes very meaty.  With Morecambe shrimp and preserved leek fondant, it worked well with the other dishes.
Then Gressingham duck, carrot, mayweed and smoked redcurrants.  The smoked redcurrants are a revelation – tiny little bombs of intensity which sing happily with the roast salsify and rich duck.  The smooth smoky tomato sauce provides a kick and the meat just falls apart.
For dessert, a pool of warm salted chocolate is poured for you at the table, with toasted almonds and sloe sorbet.  It’s dressed with sweetly aniseed flavoured atsina cress and tiny diced zinging pear – a dense but refreshing combination.

We finish with a fir milkshake and cupcakes spiked with rosehip and popping candy – the depth and warmth of the warm milk feel like a bedtime treat, leaving you relaxed and complete.

I must admit to initially feeling a little disappointed with the menu, but it quickly became apparent that even more effort had gone into these dishes than those in the summer.  It’s much easier to arrange fabulous fresh ingredients at the height of the summer – working a little bit of magic on the humble winter leek is much more difficult, and actually shows the lengths that Roganic will go to stay true to their seasonal and local credentials.  Personally I like all those amazing raw summer ingredients, but the Hubby preferred the rich intensity of the winter menu.  This is the point of Roganic, to suggest that it makes you think about your food would do it a disservice – this is food you can just eat because it tastes delicious.  But personally I like to think about my food, to question my attitudes, and I came away from Roganic even more impressed by their repertoire.  Hurry up Spring, I want to see what’s coming next…

The Current Menu
10 Course Lunch / Dinner Menu £80
Millet pudding with grains, burnt pear and Devon blue
Smoked Braddock White, pickled roots, wild chervil and salt beef
Roasted Looe scallops, purple sprouting and chokeberry vinaigrette
Poached and grilled king oyster, pine, beetroot and coastal sea leaves
Caramelised cauliflower, sour cream, raisin, roasted lettuce and pennywort
Mr Little’s Yetholm Gypies cooked in chicken fat, snow peas and mussel juice
Plaice poached in fennel stock, sea beet, preserved leek and sprout leaves
Gressingham duck, carrot, mayweed and smoked redcurrants
Warm salted chocolate, toasted almonds and sloe sorbet
Yorkshire rhubarb, dried caramel, natural yoghurt and iced lemon thyme
All of these gorgeous photos were taken by Paul Winch-Furness for Roganic 
and are reproduced here with his kind permission…  
For more examples of Paul’s work go to www.paulwf.co.uk 
Follow Paul on twitter as @paulwf

 

Roganic on Urbanspoon

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
Seven Park Place by William Drabble on Urbanspoon





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.

 

Restaurant

Mishkin’s, Covent Garden

LawrenceofArb and I wanted to grab lunch – the kind of lunch where you can talk loudly, have a quick drink – and shoot the breeze.  None of my usual haunts then.   As I was coming straight from a meeting at No. 1 Aldwych, LoA suggested Mishkin’s, the latest offering from Russell Norman and the Polpo team.  Mishkin’s serves (non-kosher) Jewish deli food and also cocktails – a perfect choice.
The room is bare-bricked, with banquette’s, kitsch fittings, and Norman’s trademark horseshoe bar where you can grab food, or have a drink while you wait.  Now getting a table at Mishkin’s is actually somewhat more complicated though – I was of course late – and poor LoA spent some time trying to organise a table.  By the time I finally arrived, the queue was out of the door and the staff were turning business away.  We made a reservation for 1:45 and retreated next door to the Opera Tavern for a quick catchup.  Returning a little later, we were quickly shown to a table, and given glasses of tap water and the menu.

LoA has spent time in NewYork, so was drawn nostalgically to a number of dishes – should he have the Reuben? Look, there was meatloaf! And saltbeef…  Having grown up in Germany, the menu evoked equal feelings of nostalgia in me – there was sauerkraut, pickles and matzo balls…  We debated our order – I knew the portions would be too big for me, so we traded combinations – if I had the Reuben Lawrence could have half of mine, then he could order something else…  This went on for a surprising amount of time, which is testimony to the varied offerings.

Ultimately LoA chose the Reuben, and I had a pastrami with salad.  I ordered some sauerkraut and onion rings as a side.  Going with the flow we also both chose a cocktail: I had the Cucumber Martini and Lawence The Last Word.  Now I should have paid a little more attention to that list, as my cucumber martini was actually just Hendricks gin (which is flavoured with cucumber), with a garnish of a long wound strip of cucumber balanced inside the old fashioned glass.  The first taste was of pure alcohol, but as it sat there for some time, the cucumber did soften the flavour somewhat (or the Hendricks worked its magic on my tastebuds).  The Last Word on the other hand contained gin, lime, green chartreuse and maraschino liqueur.  It tasted amazing, with a very tiny herby/spicy kick in it that we couldn’t quite identify – presumably from the chartreuse.

Our onion rings arrived – they were hot, crisp in a tempura style batter, but a little undercooked for my personal taste – they were good, just a tiny bit too pale.  The sauerkraut arrived, crisp, soused and a finely shredded variety.

Our sandwiches arrived very promptly too – my pastrami had an amazing nutmeg kick – the cure on the outside of the meat transported me right back to Germany, and I found myself in the second conversation of the day on German lebkuchen*, with their spicy warm gingerbread flavour.  This added enormously to the sandwich.  There were sliced dill pickles to the side which were crisp and tangy.  Lawrence’s Reuben went down well too and was soon finished off.
I love Mishkin’s – it’s loud, it’s packed and every time a dish goes past you you wonder what that amazing scent is.  The staff were very attentive and very friendly – having seen that I drink water like a fish, one young chap made a point of topping me up frequently.  The entire bill came to £40 – perhaps some will consider £10 a sandwich expensive, but these were sandwiches I’d cross town for.  If you know what a good pastrami sandwich is, you’ll know the price of nostalgia.  My only recommendation would be to book your table – it’s a very vibrant, happy and popular haunt, and I can’t see it quietening down any time soon.
* I ended up discussing gingerbread and lebkuchen three times in one day –  and my later review of 7 Park Place will include a dessert completely reminiscent of German gingerbread.
The gorgeous photos were taken by Paul Winch-Furness for Mishkin’s… 
For more examples of Paul’s work go to www.paulwf.co.uk
Menu
Sandwiches 
Brick Lane Salt beef with Colman’s mustard & pickles 9
Reuben on rye with pastrami, sauerkraut, Russian dressing & Swiss cheese 9
Severn & Wye lox beigel with house schmear 6
Chopped chicken liver with schmaltzed radish 6
All pork Big Apple dog, dragged through the garden, (more info at www.bigapplehotdogs.com) 9
3oz steamed beef patty with onions & Swiss cheese 5Meatballs, Choose from:Lamb & pistachio
Ground beef & green peppercorn
Chickpea, spinach & ricotta
Naked (3 balls) 6
In a bap (1 ball) 3
3 balls & 2 sides 12

All day brunch Duck hash, fried egg & liquor 9
Latkes, smoked eel, apple sauce & soured cream 8
Roast figs, cashews, goat curd & spiced honey 7
Egg & chips 6

All day supper Whitefish & spinach knish with parsley liquor 8
Pickled herring, beets tartar 7
Meat loaf 8
Cod cheek popcorn 7
Oxtail cholent with barley, beer & beans 9
Macaroni cheese, to share 9
Chicken matzo ball soup 5

Salads & sides & extras Cauliflower & caraway slaw 5
Fried green tomatoes 4
Chips 3
Fried onion rings 4
Half & half 4
Mash 4
Market greens 5
Baby gem & walnut salad 4
Dill pickles 2

Half sours 2,
Sauerkraut 2
Fried egg 2,
Schmaltzed radish 11
Jalapenos 1
Duck or parsley liquor 1
Russian dressing 1

Puddings Bananas Foster 5
Apple & honey blintz 6
Warm choc chip cookie & ice cream 5
Nancy Newman’s soggy lemon drizzle cake 5
Malted milkshake 4

Mishkin's on Urbanspoon

2 Michelin Stars

The Square, Mayfair

I adore the Square – the staff are warm but the service impeccable; the food excellent; and I’m assured of a good evening. I haven’t written about the Square before, but conscious of my posts on poorer experiences recently, I really wanted to share the restaurants I love.  It was lovely to return to familiar surroundings, to see Cesar the charming manager, and Reynaud, the sommelier.

The room itself is spacious, with well placed tables, and walls hung with artwork.  The tables are always beautifully laid, and you’re offered a lovely selection of warm bread on arrival.  I tried the raisin bread – good crust and crumb, and very good aroma.

Your drinks chosen, the beautifully presented amuse arrive in three parts.  A squid ink gougère filled with soured cream alongside a salt-cod beignet; some squid-ink rice crackers with taramasalata; and a tiny cornetto of foie gras mousse in a crisp shell, topped with hazelnuts.  The flavours are zingy and strong but fitting – with your aperitif, they have enough flavour to hold your appetite whilst you peruse the menu. 

And that choice is especially difficult – there were so many delicious things I would have happily ordered. On the specials menu was a new dish Cesar wanted us to try: sautéed Scottish langoustine tails with barbecued pork ribs, grapefruit, lardo di Colonnata, honey and soy.  A tender cube of pork (not overly fatty either), grapefruit confit, delicate pieces of plump barely cooked langoustine, beautifully succulent leeks and the whole dish topped with two delicate shallot rings.  The grapefruit provides a sweet and sour counterpoint to the pork, and lingers cleanly on the palate.  Light and delicate, yet very satisfying, it’s a lovely addition.

For our actual starters the Hubby and I had both chosen the lasagne of Dorset and Alaskan crab.  With a cappuccino of shellfish and champagne foam,  I’m furious to say that this looked so amazing I’d completely forgotten to take a picture until I’d finished the dish!  A delicate and creamy soup is plated with tiny circular disks of verdant parslane pasta, sandwiched with luscious crab.  The whole dish is then topped with the champagne foam.  I ate mine in layers, revealing each perfect stack in turn.  The dish is light, delicate and effortless to eat.  I shall need to return for the opportunity to photograph it again.

I’d mentioned to Cesar that I was going to have the foie gras, until I’d spotted the lasagne, and he kindly brought us some to try.  A variation on one of their most popular dishes, the pan fried foie gras is served with new season rhubarb and burnt orange purée.  The syrupy raisin purée is contrasted by the sharp rhubarb one, and the foie gras is topped with jewell-like raisins, puffed rice and tiny shards of honeycomb.  The foie melts on your tongue, while the flavours dance around it.  The honeycomb offers a sweet crunchy contrast to the soaked raisins.

After an appropriate gap, we moved to the roast fillet of turbot with celeriac milk purée, winter truffle, parmesan and hazelnuts.  I love the meaty texture of turbot, and here it was perfectly and expertly cooked.  On a bed of cabbage and celeriac, texture was added via a coating of roasted hazelnuts.  The Parmesan delicately stated its presence too, without overpowering the flavour of the dish.

As is so often the case, we never made it to desserts, but the team made sure we finished our meal on a sweet high: the petit fours included a blackcurrant jelly, a tiny rolled passion fruit cake, a grapefruit confit, pineapple poached in hibiscus, and a ball of apple poached in cider. There were also salted caramel truffles – the crisp shell gave way to melting chocolate – and the salt very much a secondary flavour on the palate.

Many food bloggers and journalists think that fine dining is over, others that the steak and the burger reign supreme.  Now, I’m as partial as the next gal to a good lobster burger, but there are times when a really good shellfish dish calls, and when you’d rather sit in a comfortable room drinking Puligny Montrachet.  I rather suspect that the stuffy restaurants they refer to lack the warmth and charm of the Square.  But ultimately with restaurants of this calibre, it’s only by returning several times that you develop this level of engagement with the front of house – it’s not something you can always develop when reviewing on an isolated basis.  The Square remains on speed-dial, and I look forward to returning there soon.
10 Bruton Street
London W1J 6PU
Square on Urbanspoon
—- Starters —-
Winter Minestrone with Snails, Turnip Oil
and Smoked Bone Marrow Crostini
Lasagne of Dorset Crab and Alaskan Crab with a Cappuccino
of Shellfish and Champagne Foam (£10.00 Supplement)
Tasting of Cornish Mackerel with Native Oysters and Caviar
Terrine of Chicken, Foie Gras and Truffle with 
Madeira Jelly, Jerusalem Artichokes and Leeks
Slow Cooked Truffled Egg with Baked Celeriac, 
Garnish Paysanne, Wagyu Ham and Red Wine
Salad of Cornish Skate, Smoked Eel and Mussels with a
Red Wine, Anchovy and Garlic Dressing
Cured Fillet of Aged Beef with Tête de Moine, Tardivo, 
Grilled Potatoes, Scorched Onion and Truffle
Sauté of Scottish Langoustine Tails with Barbecued Pork Ribs,
Grapefruit, Lardo di Colonnata, Honey and Soy
—- Main Course —-
Roast Fillet of Zander with Pot Roasted Root Vegetables,
Lentil Purée and Pheasant Juices
Roast Fillet of Turbot with Celeriac Milk Purée,
Winter Truffle, Parmesan and Hazelnuts
Ragout of Doversole, Scallops and Oysters with Sea Kale,
Leeks and Chives
Fillet of Red Mullet with Pumpkin Gnocchi, Chanterelles,
Salsify and Parmesan
Roast Saddle of Hare with Port Glazed Endive and a
Tarte Fine of Celeriac and Pear
Sauté of Calves Sweetbreads with Scorched Onion,
Mimolette, cauliflower and Almonds
Daube of Ox Cheek with Creamed Potato, Smoked Onions
and Winter Vegetables
Assiette of Pyrenean Lamb with Ewes Curd Ravioli, New Season’s
Olive Oil, Pine Nuts and Raisins
—- Desserts —-
Cheese
(£10.00 Supplement, 
£15.00 As An Extra Course)
OR 
Warm Roasted Pear with a Praline Macaroon 
and Sherry Vinegar Ice Cream 
Brillat-Savarin Cheesecake with Passionfruit and Lime
Crème Caramel with Candied Winter Fruit and 
Warm Seville Orange Brioche Roulade
Banana Soufflé with Rum and Raisin Ice Cream
New Season’s Yorkshire Rhubarb, Mascarpone 
Jellies with Rhubarb Juice and Sauternes
Bitter Chocolate Pavé, Mascarpone and Burnt Orange
A Selection of Sorbets

Book Review

Couture Chocolate… by William Curley

Author’s Bio:

William has worked in many illustrious kitchens, including Gleneagles, La Tante Claire (and Pierre writes the forward for the book), in Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saison, L’Esperance, and The Savoy.  At The Savoy he met his wife Suzue, and together they have gone on to win numerous awards, including the Pastry Chef of the Year, British Dessert of the Year and four Best British Chocolatier accolades.

They have two established chocolate shops, one with a chocolate making school downstairs.

The book is broken down into:
An Approach to Chocolate   |  Chocolate Essentials | Truffles  |  Couture Chocolates  | Bars & Bites |  Bouchees  |  Cakes and Biscuits  |  Patisserie  |  Ice Cream, Sauces & Drinks

 

The Concept:This book aims to teach both newcomers to chocolate making, and advances amateur chocolate makers, providing inspiration, tips, unusual ingredients and refreshing combinations.  William also shares some of his most popular recipes from the shop, and from chocolate competitions, showing how to achieve the best results.

I have several chocolate books, but I think this is my current favourite.  William breaks everything down into step by step guides, showing you exactly how to achieve good results for tempering your chocolate (without a tempering machine).  William then shows you how to combine various ingredients into hand-made chocolates, moulded chocolates, bars, lollipops, even cakes, brioche, macaron and drinks.  The book is clear, and most interesting from my point of view, actually makes you consider different flavour combinations for yourself.  Perhaps I’m just at this stage of my chocolate making, but I found my mind wandering off into all manner of flavour variations.  If you’re an experience chocolate maker, I can’t imagine it changing your technique management much, but I think it’s worth seeing his flavour combinations first hand.  William also does show layering techniques, which I don’t think is covered in as much detail in some of my other chocolate books.

Overall, it would make a very good first chocolate book, and is certainly worth considering for those who already own a few books.

You can buy William’s book from Amazon >