Steve Groves

This is my second visit to Roux Parliament Square in as many months. Last time we ate here we were dining with chums, and we wanted to come back on our own to try the latest seasonal menu. I also wanted to make a trip up to the fabulous bar, as it had somehow passed me by before!

Upstairs we had a lovely glass of fizz, and some little bar snacks including some excellent gordal olives, some honeyed cashew nuts, and a home-made seed mixture with fennel and pumpkin seeds – it smelt absolutely amazing.

Beef Consommé
with Chervil Gnocchi

We also had our appetisers in the bar – a little pork rillette with mustard, and some lemongrass and cured salmon.

Heading downstairs into the main restaurant, we began with a beef consommé. The broth was packed full of meaty umami flavours, and the chervil gnocchi introduced a punchy anise flavour into the mix.

Gulls Egg, Wye Valley Asparagus, and Morels

I’ve recently developed a passion for gull’s egg having been initiated into their mystery at Alyn Willliam’s restaurant. Gulls eggs are a little like duck eggs – rich and absolutely full of flavour – but in a much neater and more manageable package. They’re absolutely delicious! Here the egg was cooked in a water bath at 62ºC and served with new season asparagus tips, stems, and ribbons, with a risotto, morels, pea tendrils and mushroom foam. Incredibly intense flavours, the egg was beautifully cooked, still luscious and almost curd like – forming an integral part of the sauce.

Torchon of foie gras, orange puree, coca

Hubby went for the foie gras, and said it was very good. He passed me on of those orange segments, and they’re actually dehydrated satsuma segments. Packed full of citrus flavour they compliment the foie gras without making the dish soggy. The brioche is served with a milk brioche.

Sea trout with Jersey royals, asparagus, sea vegetables, with a shellfish jus

Next, sea trout with fabulously crispy skin. Served with white asparagus, compressed cucumber, green asparagus, brown shrimp, razor clam, mussel, samphire, sea kale and roe, the dish is finished with a light and delicate shellfish jus. The fish comes on a bed of crushed new season Jersey royal potatoes. Very clean and light, which lots of complimentary flavours, it’s the perfect spring main course.

Poached loin of monkfish, confit chicken wing, roasted violet artichokes and morels

We also tried the monkfish as we’d been torn between both dishes. This was a little less successful for me, but purely because the fish had been cooked sous vide. There’s a fine balance, particularly with fish, with cooking sous vide – it’s a problem I frequently have at home. Raise the temperature too high and you alter the proteins, keep it slightly cooler and you run the risk that the texture of the flesh seems undercooked (despite it being perfectly safe). As someone who loves ceviche, and sashimi, it wasn’t the notion of the raw texture that put me off, but actually the slightly in-between state. Having said that, the rest of the dish was full of flavour, the morels working well with the artichokes and the chicken.

Wild strawberry, strawberry jelly, champagne granita

The pre-dessert of wild strawberries and champagne granita is a refreshing palate cleanser. The wild strawberry jelly was erring on the side of medicinal, but this is the thing with fresh seasonal produce – what you gain in seasonality can sometimes result in a slight loss in consistency. I would still rather have had this than imported giant strawberries from Spain.

Rhubarb and custard

I think we all know how I feel about this dessert, as I raved about it so much last time. Just as perfect, the soufflé was a delicious combination of textures and flavours. I shall be incredibly disappointed when it goes off the menu, but again Yorkshire rhubarb and blood oranges are seasonal products. I hope to see it again next year.

We finished the menu with little macaron and pâtes de fruits. Again we really enjoyed our meal. The food is well executed, and the flavours generally well balanced. There were more diners in the restaurant this time, and this added to the atmosphere. I really liked the bar too, and have been recommending that to people who just want a drink with a good bar menu – some very interesting options on there, and a very comfortable room. I look forward to my next visit, knowing that the growing season will be in full swing, and that there will be even more on offer.

Roux at Parliament Square
12 Great George Street
London
SW1P 3AD

We all know the Roux family – you’d have to be living in a culinary vacuum not to have heard of Le Gavroche and the Waterside Inn – but how often do you hear people talking about Roux at Parliament Square? Unlike Le Gavroche, which I find far too twee, in terms of decor, Parliament Square has a clean, modern interior, and the food is a balance of fine French cooking and modern molecular techniques. The Head Chef, Toby Stuart, has worked in some great kitchens, including Cliveden, Orrery, The Square, Richard Neat (in Cannes), and Galvin at Windows. Toby is joined by Steve Groves, the winner of Masterchef: The Professionals in 2009. I’d originally booked a table for two, but at the last minute we were joined by Kristen and Alan who live in New York and are very keen diners themselves.

To begin there’s a celebration of spring: a tomato jelly, with goats cheese mousse and a green tomato vinaigrette. This amuse it both clean, but also has the right mouth-feel to pique your interest.

Tomato jelly, with goats cheese
mousse and a green tomato vinaigrette

Kristen and I discussed the menu – when we think of Roux, we think about the way they handle seasonal ingredients. So, whilst it may seem strange to follow the previous dish with one quite like it, for me it was an obvious choice. So, a minestrone of new season vegetables: a bed of parmesan custard hides at the bottom of the dish, with French beans, broad beans, courgette, asparagus, canellini beans, peas, pea shoots, courgettes, baby Jersey royal potatoes and freshly made pasta. The vegetables are dressed in pesto, topped with two perfectly cooked quail’s eggs and delicate pea tendrils – at the last moment the vegetable consommé is poured at the table. The broth is very refreshing and clean, and the custard kicks in with a richer, fuller intensity. The joy of the quail’s eggs is that you can create your own dressing in the bowl – delightful.

Minestrone of new season vegetables,
with parmesan custard, and a soft poached quails eggs

We follow this with a squid consommé, with mackerel, brown shrimp and toast. The consommé itself immediately hits that umami button, but follows through with a liquorice intensity, with a salty kick from the samphire and sea astor.

Squid consommé, with mackerel,
brown shrimp and toast

For my main I chose the Altlantic brill with a ‘baked potato’ crust, a ragu of chanterelles, white onions, brown shrimp and a shellfish jus gras. Under the fish sits braised lettuce, with roasted salsify, and salsify crisps. The sweetness of the salsify crisps offset the rich crust, as does the lettuce under the fish. The shellfish jus gras was split with shellfish oil and parsley cress. The brill was perfectly cooked, I love it because its such a meaty fish, and here the flavours are gutsy enough to match the dense texture.

Altlantic brill with a baked crust, a ragout of chanterelles,
white onions, brown shrimp and a shellfish jus gras

As I said before, when we think about Roux, Kristen and I think about the way they handle new seasonal produce, so she went for the caramelised onion polenta with spring vegetables and homemade ricotta cheese. That day the dish had a carrot puree, but I understand it varies according to what’s good on the day. Dusted and toasted polenta is plated with seasonal vegetables, the ricotta (made in-house with rennet and cow’s milk – I must see that in action!), and is topped with crispy fried spring onions, edible flowers, and frozen garlic leaf butter, which melts over the dish.

Caramelised onion polenta with spring
vegetables and homemade ricotta cheese

As a pre-dessert there was an amazing coconut panna cotta, with a passionfruit jelly, and a lime granita. So refreshing, such zingy flavours, we all loved it. Kristen and I want to make this ourselves, so we asked Steve about the jelly, and they do set it directly into the glass on top of the panna cotta. It’s a great pre-dessert because as you can see from the photo, the custard to granita ratio is so slight, so it’s completely refreshing.

Coconut panna cotta,
passionfruit jelly, and lime granita

Next, for me the reason I was here – the soufflé – rhubarb and crumble! We all know I’m a soufflé obsessive, but wow, really, goes straight into my top 3, with the MPW raspberry, and Pierre Koffman pistachio soufflés. Perfectly cooked of course, but that’s not it – the flavour was amazing. The Yorkshire rhubarb and blood orange compote provided acidity, the custard ice-cream smooth cold and creamy, and the scattering of oat flakes gave an additional textural dimension. My chum Alan is completely addicted to the Gordon Ramsay tarte-tatin, and always orders a whole one to himself – it’s been his favourite dessert for years. He had this soufflé and immediately declared it his new favourite – he loved it so much that a few days later in a 2 starred restaurant he actually turned to Kristen and asked if they could skip dessert and head over to Parliament Square for a soufflé.

Rhubarb and crumble souffle

If soufflés are not your thing, perhaps chocolate is? On a bed of chocolate soil, we have a chocolate cremosa, sea salt and caramelised peanut parfait, coriander and Kaffir lime. The dish is lightly dressed with a banana espuma. Kristen loved this dish, and it is apparently one of Toby’s signature dishes…. Tempting, but that soufflé is exceptional.

Chocolate cremosa, sea salt and
caramelised peanut parfait, coriander and Kaffir lime

I’ve read some very strange reviews of RPS, but all I can tell you is that I’ll be going regularly. The ingredients shine through, and are treated with respect – this is very grown-up cooking. One chef I spoke to said that he didn’t really understand why people want to eat what he considered boring, un-innovative food… Well. Enormous skill goes into turning out food of this quality night after night – the flavours are clean and make the absolute best of the produce – all the food I ate was delicious, the service was friendly but very professional, and I look forward to my next visit.

Roux at Parliament Square
12 Great George Street
London
SW1P 3AD