Lobster tails

For me, the highlight of my visit to Seattle was the Pike Place Markets. We spent a substantial amount of time there exploring and eating during our two days in Seattle. There are a lot of stands selling cooked food, but its big draw card must surely be the fresh produce on offer. Jumbo prawns and king-kong sized lobster tails that were as fat as my leg (I kid you not) had my mouth watering. If I were to ever go to Seattle again, I’d like to stay in a furnished apartment with a kitchen instead of a hotel so that I could shop, cook and eat my little heart out!

But seeing as we had no kitchen, the next best option was to head out and sample Seattle’s culinary scene. Research on Zagats and local blogs suggested that Restaurant Zoe was one of Seattle’s finest. More of a bistro than a fine dining venue, the restaurant is simply decorated throughout in dark wood.

For our amuse bouche, we were presented with some foie gras parfait crostini with date puree. The parfait was too salty and killed off the flavour of the foie gras. The bread was a homemade focaccia which was soft and well seasoned. The crust wasn’t particularly crispy, but the bread was tasty nonetheless.

The menu is divided between salads, small plates, and fish and meat. From the salads we chose the Dungeness crab ($15.50), a type of crab that is typically found on the west coast of North America. The generous serving of crab meat - all white - was lightly dressed, allowing the natural sweetness of its flesh to sing. The crab was accompanied by brioche croutons, slivers of green asparagus and some scallion puree. The delicate flavours of these ingredients worked well with the crab. This dish was lovely.

Dungeness crab

From the small plates we had the beef tongue with semolina gnocchi and braised morels ($14). The beef tongue was wonderfully tender and flavoursome, and it married beautifully with the accompanying morels, wilted greens and mascarpone. Some lemon helped to cut the richness of this dish. The gnocchi were not the traditional small pieces of gnocchi as we know it, but a mixture of potato and semolina shaped like a cake, and then pan-fried to form the base of this dish. The gnocchi ‘cake’ was light and airy, and all the elements of this dish tasted wonderful together. Its only drawback was that it was a bit cold.

Braised morels & semolina gnocchi

Another small plate of fresh ricotta gnudi ($9.75) was less successful. Gnudi is a cousin of the gnocchi which uses ricotta instead of potato. Its texture was a little dense and overall this dish disappointed. The golden raisin puree in the accompanying sauce made the dish far too sweet. Also in the sauce were some picholine olives for a touch of saltiness, curry oil for some spiciness, and almonds for crunchiness. The combination of all these ingredients created more of an oddity rather than a balanced dish.

Fresh ricotta gnudi

As a pre-main, we were presented with a chilled asparagus soup with creme fraiche, which with its rich asparagus flavour, bore all the trademarks of a good summer soup.

Chilled asparagus soup with crème fraîche

Alaskan halibut ($30) was our fish choice. A beautifully piece of crispy moist fish, it was served with an onion soubise, English pea fourchette (mashed peas), and rhubarb. Each of these individual components were wonderfully cooked. The onions, not so much a soubise (a béchamel based sauce) as caramelised onions, were soft and sweet, and the peas were fresh and summery. But as a complete dish, there was a little too much of the very tart rhubarb, and a little too much of the sweet onion. The flesh of the halibut was quite delicate in flavour, and it wasn’t strong enough to hold up to the amount of tartness and sweetness on the plate. A bit more balance, and this dish could have been wonderful.

Alaskan halibut

Spicy wild boar bolognese with arugula pappardelle ($18.50) was outstanding. The pasta was of the highest order. It was light and airy, and as good as the ones that you might find in the best trattorias in Italy. The wild boar bolognese, which permeated with flavour, was accentuated by the use of some aromatic rosemary, chilli flakes and shaved parmesan. This was a stunning dish.

Spicy wild boar bolognese

To finish, we decided to try the maple bacon ice cream ($6) which was truly unappetising. I am a big fan of the bacon and egg ice cream at The Fat Duck and I generally don’t have any issues with unusual combinations, least of all bacon tasting ice creams. But this was horrid. Small pieces of bacon had been rendered down and incorporated into the maple syrup flavoured ice cream. The latter, on its own, was fine. But the bacon, being cold, albeit not frozen, tasted sickly, and even sicklier when eaten with the ice cream. I enjoy hot, crispy bacon with maple syrup on pancakes, but this was an experiment gone wrong.

Maple bacon ice cream

Service was informed and attentive. The waiting staff were very knowledgeable about the food.

There is definitely some great skill in the cooking at Restaurant Zoe. One needs to look no further than the sublime bolognese and the wonderful beef tongue to see evidence of this. In fact, it was obvious even in the less successful dishes. But what didn’t always work was balance of sweet and savoury in some of the dishes. And the dessert was an absolute disaster. But on balance, I think Restaurant Zoe is a really good choice for dinner in Seattle. You just need to make sure you choose carefully.

Summary information

Food Rating: 7.5/10
Service rating: 7/10

Price range:
About $35 for a small plate, main course and dessert. Excludes drinks, tax and service.

Website: http://www.restaurantzoe.com/

But let’s start with the amuse bouches at this 2009 two star Michelin holder. (If you read my Spago blog post, you will know that the Michelin guide, in a cost cutting measure, stopped reviewing the city of Los Angeles in 2010. Therefore, while Providence had two stars in 2009, it technically doesn’t have any at the moment.) The amuse bouches, from left to right, consisted of gin and tonic jelly; a greyhound (grapefruit and vodka) raviolo; and Tasman sea trout tartare with lemon jelly, rice crackers, four spices and brook trout roe. With the citrus-y elements of each, all three had a nice zing to them.

Amuse bouche

We chose the five course tasting menu which costs a very reasonable $65 (three courses from the a la carte menu would set you back at least $72). The first course, one of the stunning dishes that I alluded to earlier, was Japanese kanpachi with crispy rice crackers, coriander, soy crème fraiche and compressed endives (julienned and then cooked sous vide). The kanpachi was so fresh that it tasted as if it had come straight from the sea. and with the fragrant coriander, the lusciousness of the sweet flesh lingered on your tongue. There was a slight tartness to the crème fraiche which cut the richness of the fish nicely. The rice crackers were a bit redundant to the dish, but nothing could detract from how sublime the fish was.

Japanese kanpachi

The next course was a demonstration in technical excellence and composition. A Bobby’s Block Island (Rhode Island) sea scallop, beautifully seasoned and perfectly cooked to a lovely opaque colour, was perched on a bed of creamy Japanese eggplant (aubergine) puree. Crowning the scallop was a salad of finely julienned daikon, carrot and an explosively aromatic mint. The dish was finished with a sauce made from vadouvan (the highly sought after French-Indian curry) and a reduction of Jurançon dessert wine. Also in the sauce were also some finely chopped rhubarb for a touch of acidity, piquillo peppers for a hint of spiciness, and cashews for crunchiness.

This was a highly complex dish. There were so many flavours that I lost count. Yet, no one taste overwhelmed another. Instead, each ingredient worked well together to create a harmonious balance of sweet, savoury, sour and spicy taste sensations, further rounded off by a multitude of textural contrasts. This was nothing less than perfection on a plate. Simply stunning.

Bobby's Block Island sea scallop

Roasted wild day boat pacific Alaskan halibut was served on a bed of sweet tomato compote surrounded by a ring of olive tapenade. A spring garlic butter sauce with basil oil, finely chopped olives and summer squash worked wonderfully with the fish. On the side was a drizzling of basil crumbs made from a mixture of basil, breadcrumbs and olive oil. For acidity, the fish was topped with some lovely, sweet apricot. This was another very well executed dish, although the dish could have done with more sauce.

Wild day boat pacific sea halibut

Marcho Farms (Pennsylvania) veal tenderloin, which had been slow cooked for two hours at 120F (about 49C), was moist and pink. Curiously, the meat tasted more like ham than veal, and to this end I almost preferred the more traditional flavour of veal. To the accompanying elements of this dish: there were some crunchy almonds which I loved for its added bite. There were also some maitake mushrooms and bacon which bounded with flavour. The dish was garnished with some wonderfully crispy purslane and finished off with some port drops and a beautifully reduced red wine jus. Again the dish could have done with more sauce.

Marcho Farms veal tenderloin

Dessert was a tantalising yuzu curd which was a textural cross between a mousse and a cheesecake. Yuzu is a fantastic fruit, and this dessert burst forth with both a sharp zingyness and a lovely sweetness. The blackberry sauce and light, airy meringue provided a lovely contrast.

Yuzu curd, meringue & blackberry sorbet

This was an awesome meal. The cooking was precise, elegant, and executed flawlessly. I was completely bowled over by the first two courses – a remarkable statistic considering some Michelin restaurants please, but don’t necessarily enthrall. There was a wonderful creativity in the composition of each of the courses - artistic, innovative, yet balanced at the same time. This is the kind of restaurant that I would happily go back to night after night so that I could try every dish on the menu.

The service was excellent. The waiting staff were very well informed. But there was a formality in the greyish décor that may appear stuffy to some.

But all this is inconsequential. Providence was one of the best meals I have had all year. Sadly this restaurant is not in London otherwise I would be there almost every night.

Summary information

Food Rating: 9.5/10
Service rating: 9/10

Price range:
5 course tasting menu: $65
9 course tasting menu: $110
Mains from $72 to $89
Excludes drinks, about 10% tax and service.

Website: http://www.providencela.com/

Spago

With the help of some of my American readers (thanks to you all – you know who you are) I managed to come up with a fantastic shortlist of restaurants to try. Spago Beverly Hills is the Los Angeles flagship restaurant of Wolfgang Puck, that all-conquering Austrian-born celebrity chef to the superstars, who for the last 16 years has catered at the star-studded post Oscar’s Governor’s Ball. With its guest list being 1,500 long, this is no mean feat. (An interesting fact about the Governor’s Ball which I picked up during a tour of the Kodak Theatre, the home of the Academy Awards ceremony: there is always one item on the menu that it shaped like the Oscar’s statuette. This year it was the hand-cut Oscar croutons in the salmon starter – can you imagine making 1,500 of these?)

Puck’s name is indelibly marked everywhere. His empire extends across the US, and covers a range of eateries (casual to fine dining), catering products, supermarket food ranges, cookware, and of course, cook books. So I was sceptical about Spago. Could it possibly live up to all the hype? Would it really be that good? It held two stars in 2009, but was that based purely on the fame of the chef’s name as sometimes Michelin restaurants tend to be? (Note that in a backwards, cost cutting measure for Michelin, the guide stopped reviewing the city of Los Angeles in 2010. Therefore there are no restaurants in LA with stars (Michelin ones, that is) at the moment). I debated long and hard about whether to go to Spago, especially given my time limitations, but in the end I decided to try it. After all, this restaurant embodies everything that is LA.

And nothing could embody LA more than the valet parking at the front of the restaurant, a common feature in this city. Just about everyone drives here. On the subject of which, driving didn’t turn out to be as bad as what I thought it might be. The Rough Guide suggests that the key to driving in LA is not to PANIC. And once I got used to the idea that you have to sometimes cross seven lanes of high speed traffic on a motorway to take an exit, well, it really wasn’t all that bad

But I digress. Spago is a magnet for the stars, evidenced by both the paparazzi as we were leaving, and Avril Lavigne and Brody Jenner (who are dating – and I only know this because my sister told me) walking through the front door at exactly the same time as us. The presence of Brody Jenner caused my sister to swoon, and me to never hear the end of it.

The dining room is stylish and sophisticated in a glamorous old Hollywood kind of way. There are artworks and jewelled designs dotted throughout, and a garden al fresco dining area for when the weather is nice (but when is the weather not nice in LA?). At the back of the restaurant is the kitchen which is partitioned off from the dining room with a large wall of glass that allows you to see the goings-on of the kitchen staff.

We went for the five-course tasting menu ($90) which seemed the best option for both variety and price (mains on the a la carte menu range from $37 to $110). The tasting is a surprise, so we had no idea what we would be getting. To start were the amuse bouches, the first of which was a tuna tartare in a miso sesame cone. The tuna was tasty and fresh, but there was a little too much wasabi in the mix which slightly overwhelmed the tuna. The cone was crunchy and aromatic from the sesame.

Tuna tartare

Next was a bacon confit en croute, bacon cooked in its own fat and wrapped in puff pastry. The bacon was extremely tasty, but being bacon, was naturally a little salty. The pastry was lovely and light. This was followed by a smoked salmon blini (smoked salmon, crème fraiche, chives and dill), which, for all its simplicity, was absolutely delicious. A foie gras parfait with apple and pear compote sandwiched between rye crispbread was a touch peppery. But the foie gras itself was lovely and creamy, and the acidity of the compote worked well to cut the richness of the parfait. Overall, the amuses were good, but not amazing.

Bacon, salmon, foie gras

Salmon blini

The palate cleanser was a Japanese cucumber sorbet with a finely chopped cucumber and shiso ragu, finished with a drizzling of oolong tea. Truth be told, the sorbet was an oddity and I didn’t understand the purpose of it. I have never been a fan of cucumber as a sorbet or dessert ingredient as I usually find it bland (flashback to the cucumber pre-dessert from Noma which was not very appealing). Also, the use of shiso in this instance (one of my favourite ingredients in Japanese cooking) overwhelmed the sorbet making it slightly unpleasant.

Cucumber sorbet

The first course was sautéed veal sweatbreads ($21*) with wild morel mushrooms, confit bacon and pearl onions. The sweatbreads were firm in texture and tasty. It worked well with the meatiness of the mushrooms, and the earthy rich flavour of the bacon which was simply to die for. A fresh purslane salad gave the dish some crunchiness. The dish was nicely finished with a huckleberry reduction which had both a touch of tartness and sweetness to it.

Sweatbreads

Roasted Maryland crab stuffed Maine skate wings ($38*), a combination of beautiful sweet crab and meaty fish, resembled a protein-rich crab cake. Browned to give it a crispy exterior, the only downside to it was that it was over seasoned. The accompanying elements in the dish included some squash blossums in tempura batter, deep fried to a crunchy light perfection, some astoundingly delicious confit cherry tomatoes which were sweet and soft, a pleasant baby zucchini puree, and a pleasing shellfish reduction.

Maryland crab stuffed Maine skate wings

Handmade agnolotti with sweet corn and marscarpone, finished with summer truffles ($34) was simply, simply wonderful. The pasta itself, cooked to an al dente perfection, was excellent, and the wonderful filling of a light and creamy marscapone with soft sweet corn was magical. The final flourishes of a buttery, sage and sweet corn sauce, and shavings of summer truffles capped off this excellent dish.

Agnolotti

The meat course had me gasping. I couldn’t believe it when the Lone Mountain 100% full blood New York Wagyu turned up in front of me. This is normally priced at $110 for 8 ounces. I think our two slices probably came in at about 4 ounces, so a half serving, but I was still suitably impressed that we were served this dish as part of a $90 menu. Value for money indeed! The wagyu was wonderful, I relished each fatty little bite, which was accompanied by a rich reduction of red wine Bordelaise sauce, Piedmontese cannelloni with mushroom sauce, and some creamed chanterelle mushrooms. The only thing that let this dish down was that the food was slightly cold.

Wagyu beef

Dessert was a boysenberry tart which consisted of a few pieces of sweet boysenberry on some flaky puff pastry. It was served with meringue, vanilla ice cream and vanilla tuille. The dessert was pleasant but unremarkable. It really didn’t showcase the talents of pastry chef Sherry Yard.

Boysenberry tart

To the service. I must confess to having reservations about what this would be like before going to Spago. Given some of their usual high end clientele, I was worried that it might be snobbish and stiff. But actually, it was wonderful. I felt like I was being fawned over the entire evening and that we were ‘important’ people. It was truly hospitable, charming and professional, and I was blown away by the fact that we were served the wagyu, which I am convinced is not usually part of the tasting menu.

There were some amazing aspects to this five course menu. And despite the odd errors such as the over seasoning and the slightly cold food, etc, on the whole I enjoyed this meal immensely, especially the fantastic pasta and wagyu beef. But what really sets this place alight is its bewitching charisma – a combination of overall good cooking in a charming setting, accompanied by the type of service that makes you feel like you are someone special. I loved Spago. Despite all my initial doubts about this place, I was delighted that I went. It totally encapsulated that Hollywood magic. No wonder Puck is chef to the stars…Wow.

(*the price from the à la carte menu).

Summary information

Food Rating: 8/10
Service rating: 10/10

Price range:
Tasting menu: $90
Mains from $37 to $110
Excludes drinks, about 10% tax and service.

For a two star restaurant, The Ledbury has one of the best value Sunday lunch menus around. Three courses from the a la carte menu costs only £40, with a similar menu in the evening being priced at £65. However, the only drawback of dining on Sundays (and Saturdays) is that Brett typically doesn’t cook during the weekends. Although, not having the head chef in action should, in principle, not make a difference.

Amuse bouche was a pomegranate macaroon with foie gras parfait and ginger crumbs. The parfait was creamy with the richness of the foie gras, and it married beautifully with the lightness of the macaroon. The touch of ginger added a nice zing to the combination.

Pomegranate macaroon with foie gras

We started with flame grilled mackerel with cucumber, Celtic mustard and shiso dressing. The mackerel was delightful and heady with the succulent deliciousness of the fish. The cucumber came in the form of a jelly wrapped around some unctuous smoked eel. The beautifully aromatic Shiso dressing and the touch of mustard completed the dish succinctly. This was a stunning course.

Grilled mackerel

Another starter of celeriac baked in ash with wood sorrel, thyme, rosemary and sage was presented to the table in its uncut form before plating, ie, wrapped in the dough encasing the ash and herbs in which it was baked.

Celeriac baked in ash

Celeriac cut open

Cooked beautifully, the celeriac was melt-in-your-mouth tender, but still firm in texture. The herbs lightly tinged the root vegetable with a fragrant aroma. It was served with a wild boar kromeski (braised, crumbed and deep fried) which was moist and tender. The dish was finished with truffle cream, some hazelnuts which added a lovely crunch, and a jus gras.

Celeriac & wild boar kromeski

A main of Sika deer baked in hay with beetroot was incredibly succulent and tender. This was a fantastic cut of meat, stunning also for its intensity of flavour. It was accompanied by some malt puree, deer sausage and a wonderfully reduced deer jus which worked a magic.

Sika deer

Best end of lamb and a 24-hour slow cooked lamb shoulder, garnished with some olive crumbs and chive flowers, were also very tasty. However it did not quite match the flavour sensation of the deer. A side of aubergine, caramelised to a delicate sweetness with black sugar and miso, was fantastic. A shame then, that our plates on both the mains were not quite hot enough, which meant our main courses were a little cooler than they should have been.

Best & shoulder of lamb

Bread choices included wholegrain, which was hard and crusty, and an onion and bacon brioche which was to die for. The flavour of the bacon and onion permeated sweetly throughout the buttery brioche.

To desserts, and a date and vanilla tart came with a sweet pastry of the highest order. The tart was filled with a thin layer of date puree, and then set with a vanilla custard which was ever so slightly eggy. But otherwise, the contrast between the custard and the puree worked well together. The accompanying cardamom and orange ice cream was also a nice fixture.

Date and vanilla tart

A caramelised banana galette consisted of sliced bananas perched on some crispy puff pastry. A wonderfully crunchy caramel coated the bananas. The galette was served with salted caramel, and peanut ice cream, a combination which is always irresistible.

Banana galette

I enjoyed both these desserts - they were nice - but they didn’t excite me. I remember being far more enthralled with the desserts that I had the last time I came to The Ledbury for Sunday lunch (pre-blog). I found those far more complex and innovative, and at that point, the restaurant still only had one star. But this doesn’t take away from the fact that these desserts, on their own merit, were still very good.

Petit fours consisted of a choice of white chocolate with apricot, Earl Grey macaroons, passion fruit jelly and marshmallows, all of which were nicely done.

Petit fours

The service was fantastic and laid back. Our waiter was particularly charming and a little cheeky. It was nice to see some personality in a waiter at a two star restaurant!

The food was wonderful, with the mackerel and the deer dishes being particularly inspiring. For £40, Sunday lunch at The Ledbury really is fantastic value, even if Brett isn’t usually there on Sundays. But knowing that he doesn’t typically work weekends means that if I were to go for dinner, I would rather go during the week – even though, in principle, it shouldn’t make a difference.

Summary information

Food Rating: 9/10
Service rating: 9/10

Price range:
À la carte menu - £65
Sunday lunch - £40
Set lunch menu - £22.50 for two courses and £27.50 for three courses.
Excludes drinks and service.

Website: http://www.theledbury.com/

Charcuterie

I know I’ve only just been to Bar Boulud. And it’s not often that I go back to a restaurant so soon, but I couldn’t help myself. I was dying for a taste of that fabulous charcuterie again, and it really was remiss of me not to have tried the Boulud hamburgers that New Yorkers rave about last time. And beside, I thought I’d give dinner a go. My repeat visit was also rewarded with the presence of Boulud himself who was working that huge dining room and hobnobbing with the Knightsbridge set.

I couldn’t get a table booking for dinner, but you can turn up without a reservation to see if you can secure a seat at the charcuterie bar, the drinks bar or the lounge. At night, the restaurant feels more up market and less ‘Holiday Inn’ – the dimmer lights help - so I liked the décor more during dinner. I went for the charcuterie bar which places you in full view of the kitchen. Sitting here turned out to be an interesting experience as I hadn’t expected to see what I got to see. It seems that one of the chefs has a habit of licking the spoon he uses to plate food with. This would be alright if he washed the spoon after each use, but he didn’t, so some of the dishes had an added ingredient known as chef’s saliva. I watched him with great interest for at least 30 minutes, and in that time frame that same spoon made it into his mouth countless times but only got washed once. Ick! Hopefully this practice will be eliminated for we quietly mentioned this to management…

Thankfully the above mentioned chef had no hand (or saliva) in the food that we ordered. The charcuterie platter (£14 for small) was again excellent. We had some repeats from my last visit, but also some newbies, including tagine d’agneau (terrine of slow cooked spiced leg of lamb, aubergine and sweet potato) (extreme left), which was meltingly tender, and pâté grand-mère (fine country pâté of chicken liver, pork and cognac) (bottom centre), which was good, but not as flavoursome as the pâté grand-père. We also sampled the lomo Ibérico (Spanish cured pork loin) which sizzled with flavour and melted on your tongue.

A Beaujolaise sausage (£8.50) of pork, mushroom, onion, bacon and red wine with pommes Lyonnaise called out to me as well. There was really good flavour in the meat, but it was a touch heavy on the salt and very peppery. The Lyonnaise potatoes were lovely and matched wonderfully with the red wine jus.

Beaujolaise sausage

Now for the hamburgers which are an American institution. If you ever speak to an American foodie, they will extol the virtues of a good burger. On the menu are a couple of DBGB burgers which also feature on Boulud’s DBGB Kitchen & Bar menu in New York. These burgers, which stand for Daniel Boulud’s Good Burgers, are so named, I suspect, as a play on acronym of CBGB, that famous underground rock venue that is situated a few blocks down from DBGB Kitchen and Bar.

To help me taste the DBGB Yankee burger (grilled beef patty, iceberg lettuce, tomato, sweet onion, sesame bun, pickles and pommes frites) (£12), I enlisted the help of an American girlfriend. I went for the Frenchie burger (grilled beef patty, confit pork belly, rocket, tomato-onion compote, Morbier cheese, peppered brioche bun and pommes frites) (£13.50). Visually, the burgers are quite small, but they were more than enough after our charcuterie and sausage meat fest. Both the meat patties were great. Thick and juicy, with the flavour of fat running through it, its only drawback was that it was under seasoned.

Frenchie burger

The buns were fresh and soft, a prerequisite to a good burger, and the Morbier, with its slightly bitter aftertaste, provided a nice twist on the meat. I did get a huge hit of mustard at one point with the Frenchie, which suggested that the mustard had not been evenly spread. But the highlight of the burgers was the chips. Boy, were they good. Golden and perfectly crunchy on the outside, they were soft and tasty in the middle.

Second visit and I am no less enthralled by the charcuterie. With the sausage and the hamburger, my opinion remains the same. The food is mixed. There are elements of the excellent about it, but what lets it down are the mistakes, eg, the over seasoning, the overcooking of the salmon from my last visit, etc. All these are easily rectifiable errors, and in my humble opinion, relate to a slight carelessness and not an inability to cook. A tighter ship and this place could deliver truly great bistro food. I still like it though. The prices are good.

Summary information

Food Rating: 7/10
Charcuterie rating: 9/10
Service rating: 7/10

Price range: Prix fixe menu £20. Three courses ranges from £19 to £43. Excludes drinks and service.

Website: http://www.barboulud.com/barbouludLondon.html

COCKTAIL Sleekster

Cocktails and chocolates are two ‘C’ words that I can never say no to. So when Hotel Chocolat asked if I would product review their new COCKTAIL Sleekster range, (yes chocolate cocktails!!), I found it impossible to say no, even if it meant a step back in my attempts to gain a bikini figure.

Before I touch on the chocolates, I have to say that I was pretty impressed with the packaging (no I didn’t eat the box). It’s long and slender, and very glamorous, perfect as a birthday gift. Or if you would rather eat them yourself, then you could do just that, say, by bringing them out and sharing them with girlfriends during a girlie night in over SATC and cosmopolitans.

You need to chill the chocolates for an hour before you can eat them. So if, like me, you have a habit of shoving chocolate into your mouth as soon as you lay your hands on some, this can turn out to be an exercise in patience. The wait is not helped by the fact that you can smell the chocolates through the box, which made them incredibly tempting. But chilled, the chocolate cocktail concoctions of martinis, mojitos, margaritas, cosmopolitans and Indian summers provide a good strong kick of alcohol, soothed by the creaminess of rich smooth chocolate. I won’t allude to my favourite cocktail sleekster - you will probably have your own - but seeing as I’m a bit of a cosmo girl…

This is a paid for product review.

Try as I might, I couldn’t warm to the decor at Bar Boulud. Where Bistro Moderne, which I have been to, has the feel of understated chic, Bar Boulud only looks slightly more glamorous than a high end Holiday Inn. Given that the designer is Adam Tihany (think Sketch and Apsleys), and that the restaurant is part of the 5-star Mandarin Oriental, I found this rather surprising. I know money must have been spent on this set-up - anything with Tihany’s name behind it is expensive. But try as I might, I couldn’t see where the ‘French bistro inspiration’ mentioned on the restaurant’s website comes from. Don’t get me wrong, the place is pleasant and comfortable. But when you think Tihany and Mandarin Oriental, you don’t really expect high end motel. This is a place I would have no problems coming to for lunch, but I would be less sure about for dinner.

So lunch it was. I am surprised at how reasonably priced the menu is. The most expensive main is £23 and there are a number of sausage and hamburger choices which will only set you back £11-13. But in the end we decided to go for a 3 course prix fixe lunch menu for £20. I am not always sold on set menus such as these, but as some of the options in the prix fixe can also be found on the à la carte menu, I thought the prix fixe a good bet. We also decided to supplement the prix fixe menu with a small charcuterie degustation board (£14).

Charcuterie

Well, I was totally blown away by how good the charcuterie was. The terrines, pâtés, hams, sauccissons, etc, are supplied by Gilles Verot, one of the most famous charcutiers in France, and with each mouthful, we knew we were eating quality stuff. Our selection included (in a clockwise direction from the top) lapin de garrigue (Provençal pulled rabbit, carrot, courgette and herbs), compote de joue de boeuf (shredded slow-braised beef cheek, onion confit and pistachio), Gilles Verot’s award-winning specialty, Fromage de Tête Gilles Verot (head cheese terrine), tourte de canard (duck, foie gras, figs, pastry crust), pâté grand-père (coarse country pâté of foie gras, truffle juice and port), rosette de Lyon (dry cured french sausage), and jambon de Bayonne (Basque cured ham). The charcuterie was served with crusty brown bread, pickles and mustard. Each morsel was delightfully refined and wonderfully rich with flavour. How the three of us didn’t end up fighting over the platter was a mystery to me.

An even bigger mystery was how it was only £14. Each charcuterie selection alone is priced at around £8, and to have this much variety, at this quality, for so little money was really quite impressive. My personal favourites included the lapin de garrigue, which boasted of meltingly tender rabbit, and the pâté grand-père, a luxurious concoction of foie gras and truffle, delicately heightened by the sweetness of the port.

From the prix fixe menu, we sampled the soupe glacée de petits pois, a chilled pea soup with baby carrot, rosemary cream and toasted croutons. The soup was wonderfully creamy, and delightfully crispy with the flavour of summery peas.

Chilled pea soup

A second starter of chop-chop salad (romaine lettuce, ginger-soy vinaigrette, pickled mushrooms, cashews and sesame crisps) was pleasant and fresh, but unspectacular. The cashews and crisps provided crunchiness to the salad, but the vinaigrette lacked a depth of flavour. I also selected the lobster supplement (an additional £7.50) which wasn’t really worthwhile. The lobster tail meat turned out to be a very small, and the lobster claw was a bit grainy.

Chop-chop salad with lobster

Volaille à l’ail printanier, roasted chicken breast with wild garlic, fingerling potatoes and artichokes was deliciously moist. It came with a nicely done jus that highlighted the sweetness of the flesh.

Roasted chicken breast

Saumon d’Ecosse, escalope of Scottish salmon, summer vegetables and shellfish veloute was disappointing. Despite the fact that I had requested medium rare, the salmon was overcooked and very dry. Otherwise, this would have made for a nice dish as the sauce and vegetables were quite tasty.

Escalope of Scottish salmon

A dessert of coupe de fruits exotiques, tropical fruit sundae with ginger mascarpone foam, coconut and passion fruit sorbet proved unusual. The passion fruit sorbet was lovely and zingy, and the fruit salad that lined the bottom of the cocktail glass was very refreshing. But the mascarpone cream had very little flavour, and the accompanying coconut balls were a little chewy. On balance, this dessert did not really work.

Tropical fruit sundae

The restaurant also kindly offered us, on the house, some freshly baked madeleines (normally £4) and macaroons (normally £5). The madeleines were lovely and warm as they had come straight from the oven. And the macaroons (strawberry and pistachio) oozed with delicious goodness.

Madeleines

The service was very efficient and timely, if slightly pushy at times. But otherwise, the staff oozed warmth and attentiveness.

Four of the items that we had from the prix fixe menu are also on the à la carte menu, so it was a pretty good indication of the quality of cooking in the latter. It was a mixed bag really, ranging from average to good. This was fine for a reasonably priced £20 menu, but had the salmon dish itself been £20, I would have been less than impressed. However the restaurant still managed to win me over because the charcuterie simply blew me away. It was amazingly good, so good in fact that it was hard to believe that it was only £14. I would go to Bar Boulud again and again just for it because it was worth every mouthwatering bite.

Summary information

Food Rating: 7/10
Charcuterie rating: 9/10
Service rating: 7/10

Price range: Prix fixe menu £20. Three courses ranges from £19 to £43. Excludes drinks and service.

Website: http://www.barboulud.com/barbouludLondon.html

Well it was no surprise that he would get fawned over - he is a huge celebrity after all. But what was surprising was just how useless our assigned waiter was. He took his time to come and take our order. And when he did come, he didn’t have a pen, so he walked off to get one, and then for some reason forgot to come back. What kind of waiter doesn’t have a pen? He also took his time delivering our bread. But that said, some of the other waiters who also served us during the evening were lovely and attentive, so I don’t think it would be fair to say that all of the service was bad.

Bruno Loubet earnt a notable reputation as a chef under the likes of Pierre Koffman and Raymond Blanc in the 1990s, before going on to successfully head up restaurants Bistro Bruno and L’Odeon. He spent much of the Noughties in Australia, but a decade later, and he’s back in London. With his background, it’s unsurprising that Bistrot Bruno Loubet is classically French.

Guinea fowl boudin blanc (£7) was exquisitely light with a mousse-like texture, but it was a touch heavy on the seasoning. The accompanying creamy leek fondue and chervil sauce married beautifully with the gentle guinea fowl flavour. Having once watched a boudin blanc demonstration at Le Cordon Bleu, this is a fairly complex dish to make. This was a wonderful rendition of the Lyonnaise classic.

Guinea fowl boudin blanc

Pea soup à la Française (£6.50) was an absolute stunner. Whole, fresh, summery peas had been perfectly cooked, leaving them with a little crunch. They blended beautifully with a pureed soup rich with pea flavour. Crisp and creamy, this was one of the best dishes I have tasted all year, and very modestly priced at £6.50.

Pea soup à la Française

JK went for two more starters rather than a main. One was a beetroot ravioli with fried breadcrumbs and sage, and rocket salad (£6.50). The beetroot ravioli were fine, but lacked the lightness and finesse of truly good Italian pasta. The salad was also light on balsamic dressing, and the addition of the breadcrumbs which gave the dish some crunch, also had the effect of making the salad quite dry. Overall, this was a passable starter, but much more dressing was called for.

Beetroot ravioli with fried breadcrumbs

A revised Lyonnaise salad and Beaujolais dressing (£7) included deep fried crumbed pig’s trotters, bacon, and a poached egg. Lacking a gelatinous texture, the pig’s trotters were quite dry and tasted more like ham hock. They worked better when eaten with the runny yolk from the poached egg for the latter provided some added moisture. Again more dressing would have helped to elevate this dish. The frisée leaves also made the dish look messy.

Lyonnaise salad & Beaujolais dressing

A quail dodine (boned) stuffed with veal, pork and pistachio (£6.50) was perfectly cooked to produce a wonderfully tender quail heady with the moist flavours of veal and pork. It was served with a spinach and egg yolk raviolo, parsnip purée and a veal and Madeira jus. The ravioli again lacked the finesse of good Italian pasta. But the purée was creamy and rich, and the jus, which had been intensely reduced, helped to finish off an otherwise excellently executed dish.

Quail dodine

Dessert of strawberries marinated in Grand Marnier (£18.50) served with a green peppercorn ice cream and hazelnut meringue was a disappointment. There was a nice orange flavour coming through from the alcohol, but the strawberries were quite acidic, and the peppercorn ice cream tasted like dust and left an unpleasant aftertaste. The meringue was quite tasty, but it erred on the side of being sugary rather than light and fluffy.

Strawberries marinated in Grand Marnier

I thoroughly enjoyed our meal at Bistrot Bruno Loubet. There were some minor hiccups, but the good far outweighed the bad. The salads and the dessert didn’t quite hit the high notes, but there was enough coming through from the other dishes to demonstrate technical dexterity and skill. The pea soup was outstanding, and the boudin blanc and quail dishes, with their complex preparation requirements were executed beautifully. And the pricing is incredibly reasonable for the overall high quality of cooking. Starters hover at around £7 and mains at around £16.

I also adored the dining room with its relaxed, buzzy atmosphere. The high windows that encase the restaurant lets in lots of natural light, and with the long evenings, it creates an indoor ‘al fresco’ feel. That said, you have to eat quickly as the wooden bistro chairs with no padding make for uncomfortable sitting for long periods of time.

This is a worthy addition to the London dining scene, and it has definitely made it on my list as a place to go.

Summary information

Food Rating: 7.5/10
Service rating: 6/10

Price range: Three courses ranges from £24 to £33. Excludes drinks and service.

Website: http://www.bistrotbrunoloubet.com/

Well I’m not sure what happened between then and now, but my meal was riddled with disappointments. A starter of wood pigeon, soft boiled quail’s egg with sweet and sour onion (£15.50) turned out to be a terrine. Surely this should have been clearly stated on the menu? So while I was expecting a hot dish, I received a cold one instead. The terrine was only memorable for the fact that it was so heavily seasoned that the salt killed off any flavour.

Wood pigeon & soft boiled quail’s egg

English asparagus with organic egg yolk (£12) was pleasant but unremarkable. A third starter of ravioli of suckling pig (£16) came with a beautiful piece of succulent lobster in the shell which had been cleverly matched with a light, squid ink sauce. However, the ravioli was hugely disappointing as the suckling pig filling was bland and flavourless. The sensation of eating it was similar to chewing cardboard.

English asparagus

Ravioli of suckling pig with roasted lobster

Another faux pas emerged in a main of pan roasted Cornish scallops, sweet corn and foie gras (£27.50). The sweet corn puree was icy cold, as if it had come straight from the fridge. This dish went back to the kitchen to get re-plated where the puree was brought to a respectable temperature, but this kind of ‘school boy’ error for a £27 dish is unacceptable. When warm, the three elements of the dish worked well together. The scallops were nicely cooked, and the foie gras, served as a parfait, was creamy and luxurious. But what I found difficult to swallow was the £27.50 price tag. The portion size was tiny, with only two pieces of scallop and a smidgen of foie gras parfait, which in itself is less costly than a piece of foie gras. This dish smacked of being a rip off and the presentation was messy.

Cornish scallops, foie gras and sweet corn

A rhubarb soufflé (£7.50) was lovely and light, with the bite-sized pieces of rhubarb being soft and not too tart. The soufflé worked well with the accompanying ginger ice-cream. This was perhaps the most enjoyable dish of the evening.

Rhubarb soufflé & ginger ice cream

The décor resonates with the feeling of a glamorous members’ club from yesteryear. The overhead lights emit soft hues over each of the tables, and the arty works placed strategically around the dining room add further elegance to the interior. There is no doubt that the interior is beautiful, but it was rather quiet on the night of our visit so it also felt stuffy.

The service was fine, although my waiter tried to tell me that my corn puree was meant to be cold (WTF?).

This meal probably rates as my most disappointing of 2010 so far. No, it wasn’t all bad. I enjoyed the dessert, and when I overlook the cold corn puree, the scallop dish, albeit small and very pricey, was rather nice. But when you take into account how expensive the restaurant is (mains range £23 to £38), it’s hard to forgive some of the very elemental errors that we experienced. This is a Richard Corrigan restaurant, a chef who held a star at Lindsay House, and this meal was below par for a chef of his calibre. Standards seem to have dropped from the initial press plaudits which surrounded its opening. I therefore couldn’t help but speculate on the truth in Oliver Peyton’s flippant comment to Richard Corrigan on The Great British Menu on Monday night, which was ‘when was the last time your chef’s jacket saw the inside of a kitchen?’

Maybe the head chef was having a bad day. Maybe on another evening everything would have been ‘grand’. But the truth of the matter is I don’t want to go back to find out. Going back means I’d have to spend more money at this restaurant, and you know that saying, there’s no point throwing good money after bad.

Summary information

Food Rating: 5/10
Service rating: 6/10

Price range: Three courses ranges from £39 to £64. Excludes drinks and service.

Website: http://www.corrigansmayfair.com/

The food is billed as British, and for starters I chose the scallops in the half shell (£10.50) which were juicy and succulent. They were covered with some finely chopped wild boar and ramson (wild garlic) that gave them a crispy finish. Lots of butter rounded off the ensemble, leaving the scallops exploding with rich, decadent, buttery overtones. However the presentation – two shells plonked on the plate with no additional garnishing - seemed dull.

Scallops in the half shell

Chicken, leek and wild mushroom pie (£14.50) was nicely done. The filling gave way to a lovely creamy sauce and tender bite-sized pieces of chicken. The puff pastry topping was light and flaky, although the version I tried on the rabbit pie at Quo Vadis recently showed more finesse. Nevertheless, this was a very enjoyable dish.

Chicken pie

A generously sized piece of cod (£16.75) was lovely and moist, but it was slightly under seasoned. Also, it would have worked better with a crispier skin. A creamy sauce with surf clams and chervil finished off the dish nicely, but the sauce was a touch too heavy against the delicacy of the fish. Some dreamy mash potatoes served as an accompaniment.

Fillet of cod

For desserts, we chose the ice cream selection (chocolate, vanilla and pistachio) (£4.25) and an iced vanilla parfait with some wonderfully sweet Gariguette strawberries (£5.50). The ice cream was lovely, and the acidity in the strawberries helped to cut the richness of the parfait which had a lovely vanilla flavour.

Iced vanilla parfait

The Soho House Group is a well-oiled hospitality machine, and as expected, the service was timely, if occasionally a bit perfunctory. Nevertheless the food was very enjoyable, and combined with the gorgeous décor and seductive, buzzy atmosphere, Dean Street Townhouse is really hard to pass up as the kind of place you want to show off to your friends.

Summary information

Food Rating: 7/10
Service rating: 7/10

Price range: Three courses ranges from £25 to £43. Excludes drinks and service.

Website: http://www.deanstreettownhouse.com/

The restaurant is the brainchild of two 24 year-old Frenchmen, Julien Ledogar and Jean-Charles Madenspacher, both from Alsace. L’Art du Fromage stocks some 100 cheeses which are brought in weekly from Lyon, a lot of which are proudly on display as you walk into the restaurant.

The restaurant is quaint, simply furnished, small and cosy. Situated on Langton Street, off the Kings Road in Chelsea, it shares the same street as that favourite haunt of the well-heeled, La Famiglia.

We started with smoked salmon and goat’s cheese roulade with fresh herbs and beetroot carpaccio (£6.40). There was a little too much goat’s cheese relative to the amount of smoked salmon on the plate, but otherwise the roulade was lovely. The classic combination of goat’s cheese and beetroot worked a treat, with the sweetness of the root vegetable cutting the creamy richness of the cheese nicely. The cheese accentuated the smoky sweetness of the fish.

Smoked salmon & goat's cheese roulade

Another starter of seasonal asparagus and poached egg was very pleasantly matched with some melted Emmental cheese (£5.80). The earthy tones of the cheese and the tender asparagus were a nice combination, and the egg was cooked to a soft, runny perfection. However, more seasoning was needed on the egg, and the asparagus, which had been blanched, would have yielded more flavour had they been browned off before serving.

Seasonal asparagus, poached egg & Emmental cheese

From the starters, we chose the munster pané (£6.90) as a main course. This consisted of several pieces of munster cheese coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried to a melted gooeyness. It was accompanied by some velvety smooth Bayonne ham and a beautifully dressed salad of fresh baby leaves, sweetly caramelised baby carrots and crunchy walnuts. The salad was lovely, and the cheese was very tasty. But munster cheese is quite strong, and it had the effect of overpowering the delicacy of the salad. While I enjoyed the cheese and the salad individually, the combination did not work.

Munster pané

From the tartiflette section we chose la jurassienne (£12.90), a guinea fowl, Comté cheese and mushroom ragout combination. A tartiflette is described on the menu as ‘a dish based on a layered combination of potatoes, cream, ham and onion’. Expecting a ‘layered’ dish, we were therefore pleasantly surprised to be presented with guinea fowl accompanied by potatoes ‘layered’ in a form similar to a dauphinois. This dish was a winner. The guinea fowl was beautifully cooked, succulent and moist, and the potatoes gave way to that rustic flavour combination of ham, cheese and onion. The mushroom ragout, incorporating a variety of mushrooms such as ceps and girolles, was accomplished.

La jurassienne

A cheese tasting from the dessert menu which included six cheeses proved to be very good value at £7.20. The quality of the cheeses was excellent, and the portion sizes generous. You can choose your own cheeses, or the restaurant can help you choose. (Note that there are other different types of cheese boards).

Cheese tasting

A red wine and spiced poached pear with goat’s cheese ice cream (£4.90) was superb. The tender pear had been sprinkled with some finely chopped pistachio nuts that gave it the wow factor. Its spicing combined beautifully with the slight tartness of the ice cream.

Poached pear with goat’s cheese ice cream

I had wanted to try some of the tartes flambées, a French ‘pizza’ made with bread pastry, cream and onions, but the restaurant had run out of the bread dough which apparently takes two days to proof (wow!). This sounds delightful so it will have to go on the list for next time. For those who can’t wait for the next ski season, all-you-can-eat raclette with charcuterie, potatoes, and pickles is available at £23.50 per person. There are also various fondues starting from £16.40 per person which come with four different types of toasted breads.

This meal was really lovely. There were some minor misses such as the munster which overwhelmed the lovely accompanying salad. But the guinea fowl demonstrated real skill, and the spiced pear was divine. And for this level of quality cooking, the pricing is also impressive. A couple of mains cost more than £20, but you could easily get away with ordering three quality courses for about £25.

Service was friendly and attentive and the staff seem to know their cheeses. This is a lovely little place and it deserves to do well. As to whether Londoners will take to it, well, only time will tell.

Summary information

Food Rating: 8/10
Service rating: 7/10

Price range: Three courses about £25. Excludes drinks and service.

Website: http://artdufromage.co.uk/

But the people behind it came back to open up Sedap (which means delicious in Malayan) in Old Street about a year ago. The location is far less glamorous than Notting Hill, but the menu prices have remained cheap. The downside is that it’s harder for me to get to and I no longer call myself a regular. So this was my first visit since it opened up as Sedap, and I must say, it was definitely worth the wait.

We started with kerabu prawns (£6.50), a fresh, crunchy salad of prawns and cucumber finished with a kerabu dressing. Loving the combination of sweet, sour and salty flavours that are a hallmark of a kerabu, we polished this off in minutes. Finely chopped peanuts and black fungus added crunchiness to the salad, and the chilli gave it a nice little kick.

Kerabu prawns

Malaysian blanchan chicken (£6), a dish of bite-sized pieces of chicken coated in prawn paste and deep fried, came out piping hot. The chicken was meltingly tender and the prawn paste was superbly crunchy. It was accompanied by a lovely sweet chilli sauce which worked well with the slight saltiness of the prawn paste coating.

Malaysian blanchan chicken

A Penang char kray teow was outstandingly good (£7.25). A dish of tender flat rice noodles stir fried with prawns, it was as authentic as if it had come from a good hawker stand in Kuala Lumpur. It also came with lots of other lovely goodness such as Chinese sausage, egg, fish cake and bean sprouts. Garlic, soy sauce, chives and chilli paste helped round off the dish and to provide lots of flavour.

Penang char kway teow

Nasi lemak (£7.60), a rice dish served with chicken curry, deep fried mackerel with sambal sauce, half a boiled egg and peanuts was decidedly tasty. The curry was creamy, the mackerel crispy, and the rice, cooked with coconut and lemongrass, was extremely fragrant. This dish was served at room temperature.

Nasi lemak

For dessert, we had nyonya kuih (£2), traditional Malaysian steamed cakes made with glutinous rice flour and coconut. The rice flour produces a slightly starchy, dense texture. There are three pieces in the serving, one of which was flavoured as pandan and coconut. All were delicious.

Nyonya kuih

Another item worth trying at the restaurant is teh tarik (2.50), a pulled tea made with condensed milk. This is basically a tea which has been continuously poured back and forth from one cup to another. There’s a delicious richness to the tea which is quite unique.

The décor is simple, as befits a restaurant serving street food. Service was friendly, and in the Asian tradition, the food comes out as and when it’s ready. Interestingly there are more dim sum items at Sedap than I remember there being at Nyonya (the restaurant markets itself as serving both Malaysian and Chinese food).

The food at Sedap is good and cheap and it’s definitely worth a visit. And as I write this post, I am mouthwatering about that char kway teow…

Summary information

Food Rating: 8/10
Service rating: 6/10

Price range: Three courses about £15. Excludes drinks and service.

Website: http://www.sedap.co.uk/