As many of you have heard, the big news for restaurant obsessives this week is the (leaked) release of the 2010 update to the Michelin Guide. As usual, there are some winners, some losers and some shock decisions where potentials didn’t make the big time. Whether you love it or hate it, backpatting exercise or true culinary standard, winning a michelin star (or two) is still seen by many as the ultimate accolade in the restaurant world. The iconic Red Guide has been kicking around Britain since 1974 and in it’s latest iteration has decided to award another three jewel to the British gastronomical crown. As of 2010, Britain now boasts four three-star restaurants. The lucky fella is of course the international brand name Alain Ducasse, and the winning restaurant is based in the Dorchester… which coincidentally is owned by the Sultan of Brunei.

The other big winners are of course the rising star himself Mr Brett Graham and by extension his mentor Phil Howard of The Square. The Ledbury finally lives up to their ‘rising stars’ status bestowed upon them last year, and in my view they have scored a surprise whopper with the addition of Harwood Arms to the list. So now both master and apprentice share the limelight in London, both on equal footing with two stars. I think 2009 was definitely the year of Howard and Graham, I had already alluded to this in my Ledbury/Square reviews in 2009 and while they weren’t quite the hottest tables in town, they certainly ran the best kitchens.

So who were the biggest losers then? Without a doubt, it’s got to be Gordon Ramsay. Whilst his pride and joy at Royal Hospital Road remains untouched; Claridges has been stripped of it’s solitary star. To add insult to injury, reports of his GR Holding’s financial losses certainly does not help. So this looks like a personal kitchen nightmare for Ramsay, it would be interesting to see how he digs himself out of this. Less TV work, less books and more time in the kitchen perhaps? For more on this, you can read Jay Rayner’s extended commentary. Though probably more damaging is The Capital being stripped of both stars! I was planning a visit (I still am) since it was the most affordable of the London two stars, but I had thought it was more underrated rather than dipping standards. Oh well, now that they have lost their stars, I have somehow become more fascinated with it… will they suck it up and cook their pants off this year to recapture the glory days? Has anyone been and what were your thoughts?

One announcement I was expecting never came and I am still reeling from the shock of Eastside Inn’s exclusion from this list. For me, this was 2009′s breakthrough restaurant, and I think Bjorn thoroughly deserves his sparkles. Coincidentally, I actually dine at the Bistro last night, and had a chance to speak with Bjorn himself about this year’s revision. I could tell he was gutted, well I am gutted for him as well. Though I fully expect them to gain a star when I do this write-up again in a year’s time.

Which brings me to speak about the significance of this list – how accurate is it, and what are their benchmarks? Does it guarantee good food? In my view, I feel that the Michelin guide doesn’t simply seek out great cooking, it’s judging a much smaller pool of restaurants which are backed with moneybags, or chefs with star power… sometimes, I just feel that it is abit of a back patting exercise, and stars being granted on the basis of reputation than on the back of bloody great recipes, executed by well-oiled kitchens. Then again, I don’t want to say that there is a definite pattern to things, because I don’t think there is any conspiracy here, nothing more than a madman’s babble. I think if one enjoys old fashioned wining and dining, the validity of the michelin guide still hold true. Not to say that the restaurants in the current guide serves bad food, but that good restaurants do exists outside this guide. Heck two of my personal favourites are not even in this list, Cambio de Tercio and Eastside Inn. I think it is down to different people having different perceptions of food, afterall, it is such a subjective topic that sometimes pinning down great cooking to a set of rigid standards is paradoxical to the spirit of food. One aspect of the guide that gets overlooked is value for money. As much as I love throwing money away to fund my ever increasing trouser sizes; the prices at multiple starred restaurants are simply out of reach for me. One thing is for sure: this list is not definitive. Somehow I feel that in the new mellenium, this sort of worship of the glamarous is horribly outdated, but still, I respect it.

Finally, looking into my personal crystal ball, I predict 2010 to be the year of the Galvins brothers. As I alluded to in my Bistrot de luxe write up, I think they are blazing a trail of glory this year; Windows has already won a star this year, and I am now ever anxious to see what the kitchen at La Chapelle is really capable of. They are highest on my list, and I expect to visit very soon.

Ok so what are your thoughts on this year’s guide? Feel free to share. I have put together the London List below and the information has been sourced from the official Michelin Guide website. For the restaurants which I had been to, I have linked it to my write-up where applicable, for the ones where I didn’t write it up, I have included a short remark of what I thought of the place. Deletions are marked with a strike through.

I’m hardly a Michelin Star worshipper, having only been to 19 from this list of 50 in the last two years. If you would like to follow a foodblog dedicated to the glamourous try Gen.u.ine.ness and FoodSnob.

Three Stars: 4 Restaurants

Two Stars: 7 restaurants

One Star: 39 restaurants

Source : The Michelin Guide for Great Britain & Ireland 2010 )

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L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Official Site
13-15 West Street WC2H 9NE 0207 010 8600
Set Lunch £25 for three courses; Ala carte £expensive.

Photography is an addiction. The kit lens that comes packaged with a standard digital SLR is never enough, all it does is make you lust after the very best lenses either Nikon or Canon have in their arsenal. I am £400 poorer but oddly enough, feeling good about it. What better way to celebrate this than to lunch at the two Michelin starred, internationally hyped sensation that is L’atelier de Joel Robuchon.

Lunch munch.

As of writing, this is my fourth visit to a restaurant with two Michelin stars. A grand total of seven two star restaurants belong in London (as of 2009) including Alain Ducasse, Hibiscus, Le Gavroche, Marcus Wareing, Pied a Terre, the Capital and the Square. Not all will produce a stunning meal, most will hit a certain standard (as you’d expect) and all will burn a hole in your wallet.

Unless of course, if you’re here to sample the everyman £25 set lunch. I’ll be comparing my Robuchon experience with my visits to other multi-michelin star places, bearing in mind that this cut price meal really represents a preview of a full blown dinner experience. Besides, the head chef wasn’t even in the kitchen on the day.

Interactive Dining

I really wonder about marketing blurb and where it comes from, sometimes its so pretentious, it downright corny. I pulled this off the robuchon website regarding their concept:

“The philosophy of the counter where you dine at L’Atelier is one of interactivity. The eating counter surrounds the entire kitchen where the diners’ food is prepared. Robuchon utilises this format as a chef can actually gauge the reaction of his clients, and even converse with those regulars that wish to participate. In turn diners may watch their food being prepared by consummate professionals in the Japanese inspired lay out”

So it’s an exposed kitchen, and the chef can come up to you and stare you down – if you play with your food – or in my case, stare me down while I photograph my (his) dishes.

The restaurant is absolutely gorgeous. The sleek black marble is accompanied by plush red linings, the branding is both memorable and exciting. There is even a whole wall panel of leaves and it looks real, if indeed it is real. With the usual chic chillout music tracks playing in the background, one does feel as if he’s dining out at the capital’s latest and greatest.

Robuchon features table-cloth free high tables and high stools, though I was happy that front of house chose to sit us in the counter area with full view of the exposed kitchen. The bar setting is now adopted by newer restaurants in the city, though, watching the kitchen do its magic is still a wonder to behold, especially a two Michelin starred one.

Starters

On to the food then. The set lunch is £25 for three courses and £19 for two; both my brother and I went for three courses. We did consider the ala carte menu, which looks to me like it’s French inspired Italian/Spanish fusion what with the small dishes to share, each hovering the £15-20 mark. Ouch.

In the end we decided the hefty price tag was just a little outside of our budget, for now.

Le Petit Pois. Pea soup with crusty croutons.

My brother’s first course was a warm plate of pea soup – an underused ingredient – and superlatively incorporated in this dish. The loving mix was milky and creamy with fine graininess and it tasted not unlike a creamy vanilla infused honeydew milkshake. The bubbly soup was umami rich and the concentrated pea flavours amounted to good body in the soup. A clinical dish, very tasty and it suitably opened up appetite.

Les Asperges. Warm white asparagus with french dressing.

Apparently, its in season. I really liked the vinaigrette the delicately cooked asparagus was served with. Bursting citrus flavours against a backdrop of garlic and pepper, it provided for a tender sizzling sensation. Like the pea soup, it wasn’t anything particularly creative, rather it was just juicy vegetables, but very well done.

Mains

I probably should mention that the bread was fantastic but even more so was the heavenly butter which it was served with. It was the salted variety, and it carried a refreshing creamy hit.

Le Saumon D’ecosse. Salmon, spiced honey and curry polenta.

The salmon was cooked well done, I appreciated the oily yet crispy fried salmon skin, though I would have preferred this one just slightly undercooked. It didn’t taste like it was seasoned, a little bland, and really, nothing special about it. On the other hand, the curry polenta it came with was very, very good. In fact, it was so good, we initially thought it was a dollop of smooth scrambled eggs. Just lightly infused with curry, it had nicely rounded aromatic cumin flavours. The highlight was the richness of the mixture and the creamy fine grain was a real treat. Amazing polenta, but with so-so salmon.

L’Onglet. Steak tartar with baby potatoes.

Some of you might get feel a little squeamish with tartar, essentially an uncooked mince beef burger, though, I love steak tartar (I like my food just alittle too raw..). Anyway, the mince was grounded down a fine grain, so the texture was very smooth indeed. The typical shallot-caper-pepper flavours were noticeable, and appetising; I also detected zingy heat on the palette as well – perhaps down to a few drips of tabasco sauce. Technically speaking, it’s a perfect tartar, just like the ones you would have in Paris or Belgium, but I guess that almost means that it’s nothing spectacular either. Thankfully, much like the polenta, the potatoes and beans on the side were superiorly cooked. Salty, toasty and full of roastness – the warmth from the vegetables was a perfect contrast to the smooth steak paste. A seemingly simple dish, well executed. The tartar was so smooth, it was spreadable on bread and I thoroughly enjoyed this as a light lunch.

This is just a preview, no?

Pudding du jour was a rather imposing looking chocolate tart, with gooey chocolate sauce smothered over it, served with a rum sorbet of sorts on the side. Sadly, the ganache underneath the sauce was much too dry, so much so, it took several swipes of the fork to finally cut a piece out, which by then looked as if Hannibal Lecter had a go at it. Oh, and it tasted pretty dry as well, and the rum sorbet was much like frozen flavoured water; looked great but sadly the pudding didnt show up. I opted to finish with a slither of Brie de Meaux served with a cranberry compote on the side. The cheese was so well matured, I could taste a mushroom explosion, and my brother nearly fainted as I told him that – very smelly, indeed. A good sign I’m sure.

This was a favourable experience. It was pretty clear that this set menu was a cut down version of its fancy ala carte; the dishes were simple, straightforward and classic recipes, nothing particularly outstanding. My first reaction: underwhelming. Being a two michelin starred restaurant, there was nothing spectacular in the set menu to suggest its heady reputation. To its credit though, I actually enjoyed this set lunch, which was simple, classical food, but very well executed.

A light lunch that did the trick, without resorting to tricks. If this were a meal at a ‘normal’ restaurant, I would have been singing louder praises, but being a two star place, one expects extra-special even if it’s just the set. I was rather curious as to why there was an obvious lack of freebies. Comparing contemporaries: The similarly priced Hibiscus set lunch was awe-inspiring, with two amuse bouches and some of his signature stuff as one of the courses. Marcus Wareing offers his £35 set with his famed egg custard pudding, complete with two in between amuse bouches and petit fours for you to take home. So in comparison, Robuchon is clearly none too bothered with the budget fine dining market. Clearly, the set menu pales in comparison with the ala carte, so much so, that I get the feeling the set menu is much like a herald to get diners to throw money at his ala carte. Hmm, not a nice feeling.

In closing, this review really, is more of a preview (maybe I should start doing previews…) because it’s no way an accurate representation of a true Robuchon experience (for the purists among you), hence I will need to revisit to get more bang. Shame I’ve already spent most of the buck on my camera…

The Gist of It.

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Official Site
13-15 West Street WC2H 9NE 0207 010 8600
Set Lunch £25 for three courses; Ala carte £expensive.

Verdict: Robuchon is a signature name, so you can’t go wrong. Its a solid set lunch for the money, although, for the money there are significantly better budget fine dining lunches around.

In the searing heat of the 2006 summer, Jennie Bond presented the first episodes of the Great British Menu. The premise was cook-off between some of the best chefs in the country to decide who would cook for the Queen’s 80th birthday bash. It doubled as a campaign to promote what was then, a rather low view on British haute cuisine. Back then, I was but a wide eyed boy mesmerised by the unfolding glamorous world of gifted men of sharp tastebuds and in command of ultra fresh ingredients.

The pudding that made it to the Queen’s table wasn’t a molecular gastronomical concoction dreamed, instead it was a custard tart Marcus’ mum made when he was a child. I watched his intense concentration in baking that tart on TV and just the mere sight of the finished product had me salivating. I have nothing but immense respect for Mr Wareing, the perfectionist, the disciplinarian, the first Ramsay Protégé and abit of a personal cooking god for me. Three years later, with but a grain of sand’s worth of gastronomical knowledge, I am upon the footsteps of Wareing temple at Berkeley Hotel, the site formerly of Petrus and I am here to eat a perfect egg custard tart.

Heels on, Ladies

I am shaking as I enter this shrine. Southport’s finest export has been abit of a superhero to me and I think the cooking show did nothing but enhance his reputation as a master of his craft. As of writing, the newly revised ’09 Red Guide re-confirmed his two stars status.

I landed on a rather busy late Friday Lunch, having just got out of work in time, catch the right train to cross four zones to get to the heart of Knightsbridge. Even though, I actually just live about 15 minutes down the road. Following my pocket busting meal at The Square, I thought I’d be sensible and not blow my load on yet another £ 75.00 a la carte.

£ 35.00 a pop for a set lunch is rather hefty, but given its 2 star status, we’ll see how justified that price tag really is.

I must say, I felt a little out of place as I was ruffled feathers next to the all too dapper velvet and satin surroundings. Passing through the heavy doors of the Berkerley, I am greeted by a hotel lobby with far too much polished marble and carpets so thick, it feels like you’re walking on a bed of garfields. Preceding the restaurant doors is a lounge area whose clientele included the odd Russia’s supermodel. Perhaps I should have waited till I dropped my Paul Smiths before making my acquaintance here?

As I reached the restaurant’s closed doors -thick frosted glass- I could feel the buzz emanating from behind them. I stole a peek from between the glass and saw shades of silk ties, red nails and the sound of glass chinking. I took a deep breathe and duly practiced my own pretensitivities (clearly, a word invented by me) with the receptionist…

The set menu option means that I can afford myself a nice glass of something-something. Though I must say Mr Wareing, your wine list is not quite recession friendly, £13 for a glass of American pinot? £11 for a Sicilian red, so hollow in the centre of the palette, I could have mistaken it for an Australian Merlot. Surely you can do better than that Marcus? I regretted my decision to go mafia style with my choice of red. Blech.

Before I could even say sparkling, the waiter comes around with a large trolley of bubbly, to which I duly declined citing that my application for a government bail out was still pending approval from Mr Darling’s eyebrows. Canapes were then hastily rushed to my table by a team of well dressed men to which this act , one suspects, has been rehearsed too many times. They were in the form of triangular parcels, salty and fishy taramasala paste on a biscuity base; accompanied by crispy dried toast and a garlic cream cheese relish. Oh yeah, it tasted alright, it’s free, it’s a nice touch and I cant complain.

Rebeginning

Now is an appropriate time to dwell abit on service. The staff are mindful, chirpy and professional. I might even add, a cut above the industry because it’s like they were put through intensive ‘The fine art of small talk’ seminars because their conversations were friendly and strangely comforting. They made the rather imposing red & black walls, with shimmering chandeliers and 30’s glamour seem like a visit to my pou-pou’s (Nan’s).

In other words, right at home.

My waiter was a Johny Wilko lookalike, all smiles and he brought me a shot of tomato veloute to get things rolling. ‘Good for the tummy’ He exclaims. Like a savoury espresso, the foamy, creamy and rich soup did indeed warm me up inside and a soup which I could have easily mistaken it to be pumpkin or even carrot for it tasted sweeter and meatier and was more orange than red.

Beginning

I could just say that Petrus is a beautiful restaurant. Or I could say that Marcus Wareing’s has an exquisite bar, glowing mirrors, the leather and black woods bouncing off those incandescent reflections. The décor included white grills for windows and also had long wall length mirrors. Leather red seats one with arm rests and the other without, this is gentlemen club circa Sherlock Holmes. The centre piece of the restaurant is a chest of drawers onto which a large glass box sits, exposing the puds. The drawers are functional of course, it’s for cutlery.

Amidst all the gawking, I somehow forgot to take home a copy of what I ate, so I can’t quite remember the exact descriptions of the dishes (you will forgive me won’t you?). Starters was a langoustine soup, with parcels of lobster wrapped with tomato and vanilla. Accompanying the lobster were three tiny dollops of ricotta cheese. How did I know these things were hiding in the soup? Well that’s because those things were exposed before the waiter poured the soup in.

Aromas, I could smell the langoustine rising from the soup, muddy and salty and all the delights of the sea. The soup had the texture of light single cream and it was full of langoustine flavour. It was also reminiscent of dried shrimps and sea salt. Moving on to the meaty parcels – There was a distinct aftertaste of lobster wrapped with flavours of caramelised sweet onion. You will forgive me for this vague description but, it tasted abit Chinese to me. I’m almost tempted to say that it tasted like sweetened bacon ( I just said it ). Ricotta melted in the mouth with a rather appetising graininess and the together with the sandy and muddy langoustine seafood flavours, it was quite a light way to start a meal. I liked it, but wasn’t entirely over the moon, the portion was a little dinky if I do say so and I was feeling emptier than usual after plate one.

A curry infusion

The Berkerley is in a rather odd location. It straddles between Hyde Park Corner and Knightsbridge, they advertise themselves as being in Knightsbridge, but really they are only just within the exclusive post code. I mean, they are so far beyond Harvey Nicks and even further beyond One o One that they are dangerously close to the Wellington Arch.

For mains: slow roasted mutton with mustard sauce, and curly kale on the side.

The curly kale is definitely infused with curry powder. The accompanying fried puffs were battered, airy and floury and tasted rather like an Indian roti. This dish would not be out of place in Benares ( I recall having the lamb fillet which is quite close to this one). Murtabak, curry mutton and a lot of Anglo-Indian fusion going on in this dish. I was expecting to taste a lot of mutton flavour sealed in to the slow roast, but it was not the case. It was frankly disappointing in this department. It tasted more like a smoked mutton, the meat was more rare than pink, it did not wow and for a 2 star restaurant, the cooking is abit of a downer – it tasted good, don’t get me wrong – but it certainly was not special.

Maybe he was gunning for natural flavours and everything else around the meat to spice the dish – but it just wasn’t all that exciting. Perhaps it’s the cut of the meat, it did carry the gamey sickly savouriness of mutton, but I can have the same sort of dish for half the price along Edgeware road.

Seriously Indian inspired, small portion and was not filling, this dish was easy to eat, but in the end it did not wow.

I came, I saw, I ate the custard pudding

Graduating from the Ramsay entourage after nearly 15 years in Gordon’s shadow, I can see why Marcus confidently stepped out of it. This restaurant is far better than the other lauded Ramsay rising star, Maze. The food here is far subtler and the cooking is a cut above Jason’s, bearing in mind I’m comparing a set lunch against a full a la carte at Jasons’. Pre-dresser: A passion fruit jelly sorbet, I heard the waiter utter vodka as well. This trifle of a cheesecake in a shot glass had a cold and sharp passion fruit that helped to cleanse the palette and wake me up from zombie lunch daze. I can only assume that a lychee sorbet sits atop the jelly. There it was, after I waived away the cheese trolley ( £10.00 supplement ) , it finally landed on my table, three years of anticipation had ended. Baked Egg custard tart, with strawberry jelly and strawberry swirl ice cream.

I’m contemplating to take my time with this, to eek out abit of appetite from you, and to just appreciate the way it looks. It is simply beautiful, the surrealistic golden hued triangle of cold custard had refracted red light from the jelly bouncing off it’s cinnamon crusted exterior and it glowed like I was staring at the Holy Grail from Indiana Jones. I can wait no longer! I must dive in ….

… oh dear, I knew it.

Something this dream-like could only taste like the best damn, custard pudding I have ever had. No, no it’s the best damn pudding I have ever had. The custard is cold and the cinnamon providing a herby edge to the vanilla taste. The strawberry is a dream of candied jam and jelly, and gave way to an interesting contrast to the richness of the custard. The custard was a full flavour of eggyness (and I’m Chinese, so I know my egg tarts) this was so good it could rival, if not better the best kept secret Cantonese dim sum recipes in Hong Kong.

This is the best finish I’ve had in recent memory and the pudding alone is worth the price of entry. I could not hide my appreciation for the pud. The waiter told me that Marcus did not intend this pudding to be as popular, nay, as legendary as it is now. Apparently, he says that they took it off the menu a few months ago, only to find disgruntled returning diners yearning for the sweet finish.

Deliverance

Speaking again on the cooking, I didn’t think it was brilliant. Yes, some people might argue that ‘it’s just a set lunch’, so let’s isolate that argument and limit it to just the roasting of the mutton. Given the prowess of the kitchen, it was merely ordinary. One needn’t special ingredients to make food taste wonderful, you just need to cook it well. A perfect example of which is the set lunch at Hibiscus – now newly recrowned with 2 stars – £25, much cheaper and on my visit, the cooking there was so far beyond Marcus Wareing’s that it was out in the stratosphere. There you go, comparing like for like. As for the other 2 star place I went to, The Square – absolutely no comparison, Phil’s kitchen is (currently) a lot better than Marcus’, in fact if I were to rank them, I’d say Phil and Claude are about a tie, Marcus trailing behind, not far but not close either.

Ah, except Marcus has a trump card you see, and that trump card is called the Baked Egg Custard tart. May Marcus keep it on his menu for as long as he still runs restaurants because I have a feeling it is not just a defining moment in his illustrious career, it may even become a symbol for the re-emergence of British cuisine altogether.

Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley, Official site
Wilton Place SW1X 7RL (0)20 7235 1200 Knightsbridge Tube
£ 75.00 ala carte, £ 35.00 set lunch

Verdict: Good, very good but not great. Except for pudding which was so good, it made me spew all kinds of emotive words.

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There is cause for abit of celebration because this is my 100th post. With that, it is only appropriate that I mark this momentous occasion with a write-up on one of London’s pre-eminent restaurants; Philip Howard’s The Square. A two Michelin star establishment, I duly avoided the set menu and blew my load on the a la menu.

The Square is not quite in the world top 50 (yet) – but in London, it’s quite highly revered. The man in the hot seat -a certain Mr Howard- was once a former apprentice of the mighty Roux Empire and he also served under the temperamental genius of Marco Pierre White. As of 2009, Philip has achieved dizzy heights in culinary terms – an artist seasoning his works with shades of French sophistication, everything about Philip and The Square screams glamour. Including the location of the restaurant in Bruton Street, tucked away in Berkerley ( ‘Bar’-ker-ly) Street which is home to luminaries such as Nobu B. and Benares.

Folks, I’m expecting fireworks from this one, you better pull up a chair.

An entry worth a century of posts

You know what the hardest part about writing a review is?
The first couple of paragraphs. I never really know how to strike the right balance between rambling on too long about background versus grabbing your attention against the backdrop of setting the scene. I tell you now, the bigger the reputation of the restaurant, the harder it is to begin. Because it’s so bloody posh, I feel the need to at least pay the chef respect in his attention to detail ( and his massive spending ) in making sure everything looks the part and that gaining entry to the restaurant is almost going to guarantee a silent gasp from guests.

Gasp.

It is the first work-day of the new year as I write this and I’m still feeling my way back into the swing of things. So far I still feel like I’m just getting to know you again and we are both being rather polite to one another, as if we haven’t spoken for a while. So let’s start with:

“How was your break? Did you have a good time away from your nagging co-workers? I bet you were quite glad to see them again today weren’t you?”

Alright, we’re making progress, the restaurant has high ceilings, that’s the first thing I noticed and an open-plan eating area reveals a mess-hall style dining space with glowing marble walls and smooth dark wooden floors, this meant that all eyes could see new guests enter the restaurant, like a debutant making her entrance. I for one am no debutant and I just want all eyes to look the other way.

( Except for the rather beautiful English rose sitting with the gentlemen who looks like Martin Johnson in a shirt, hmm, I really should stop staring. )

Menu nu

The two pages of large format (A1) feature a rather short list of starters and mains ( I counted about 7 ) and the descriptions are decidedly succinct. Sandwiched in between the a la carte, are A4 prints of the £35.00 set lunch. (£30.00 sans pudding)
Very good value considering the number of stars. But today is not a day to be fiddling with child’s play. I went for the jugular with this one. £75.00 for three courses… and a big bottle of sparkling.

Ouch, this better be good.

Pre-starters

Or freebies.
This one came in a tiny shot glass. My waiter was a red-blooded Frenchman with an all too authentic French accent too. Though I couldn’t exactly make out all he was saying (a good thing, this is a French restaurant afterall) , I did get the gist of it, a salted cod veloute (of sorts) with the slimmest slither of potato crisps. Ok, what the hell am I suppose to do with the slanted crisp? Am I suppose to pick it up or dunk it in?

No such thing as a free lunch eh.

I cracked the crisp into the soup and tasted a big spoonful of it. Intense flavours of very salty cod and potato. I can taste the flakes of cod, a good measure of cream, this tasted like fish and potato chowder, heavily salted.

Good, but nothing out of the ordinary, chunky and salty false start. More water please.

Starters

Lasagne of Dorset Crab with a Cappuccino of Shellfish and a Champagne Foam

Finally, my real starter arrives. You’ll notice this is one of the rare occasions where I didn’t get a glass of something something, to go with the food. While all looks well and good on the wine list ( healthy prices from £6.50 to £13.00 per glass ) , I felt I had already dumped my entire life savings into the meal itself. We are in a recession after all.

( What’s that now? Gordy Brown said he’s learnt from recessions of the past?! This from the man who vowed he’d done away with boom and bust. You’re shameful Gordy, that’s 25% of my annual take-home and I’m poorer than ever. )

Sniff, sniff. Oh. Fragrant aromas of creamy crab rising from the dish, very mellow and faint though. The dish is very colourful and seemingly glowed with Elven brilliance.

The foam is bubbly in my mouth (you can even hear the crackles) and it feels like it was cooked with lots of crab exoskeleton giving it a concentrated and super infused crab taste. The foam slowly morphs into a soup as I move toward the centre of the dish. It carried a milky texture soothingly smooth – like a good cappuccino – even though I could not detect hints of coffee. (not a bad thing)

In the middle sits hearty chucks of mellow crab and claw meat nestled between soft and chewy layers of pasta. The intensity of the crab flavour set my throat burning a little, though not a bad thing, because my mouth is absolutely bursting with flavours of the dorset sea and salt.

This was a lovely start to the meal, I felt a kind of serene calm as I finished the soup.

Look see in between the courses

I counted about twenty tables, smooth dark wood floors in a zigzag pattern. The open space enough had enough spot lights for brightness, the chairs were sturdy and comfy, spotless white table cloths on top of grey woollen sheets which act like a sort of under-dressing to hide your legs and keep your tushy warm.

Most of the walls are of a creamy marble giving a neutral warm feel, though the ‘main’ wall, behind where the kitchen sits (I’m guessing) is a bold claret red, almost dark pink, seemingly indicating something hot is cooking on the other side.

Mains

Fillet and Croustillant of Aged Ayrshire Beef with Cepes, Shallots, Bone Marrow and Red Wine

I love my red meat, I am normally a rib-eye sort of guy, I prefer abit more marbling and flavour in my steak as oppose to a skinny fillet. But on this occasion, I sprung for the most luxurious pick from the menu.

The rising steam carried hints of mushroom, sweet shallots and fragrant red wine. I couldn’t help but cut into the beautifully prepared beef. I asked for it to be medium rare (as per usual) and it was indeed a beautifully medium rare. I should say perfectly medium rare. The beef was not just tender, it was soft (yes, there is a difference). The taste of the beef was not overpowering but instead paired perfectly with the main ingredients of mushroom, red wine and spinach in balletic harmony.

Just the beef and spinach alone was a winner – this was a perfectly cooked steak with classic flavour pairings. In addition to the beef was an interesting axis in the form of these three parcels shaped like a kind of shot-gun shell with a potato & beef hash filling. The outer shell looks as if it is made from fried batter. Inside the shell, is a concoction of shredded beef with carrot and potatoes. I can taste the white pepper and there is abit of smokiness suggesting it was pan-fried.

On top of each of these three parcels are three different toppings. The first, was bone marrow. On it’s own, it tastes abit weird – like oddly flavoured murky water reformed into a kind of gelatin, but with the shotgun shell, it was creamy and dreamy. The next parcel had a light and foamy parsley cream mouse. It added a sort of fresh elegance to the flavour profile. I don’t know, I didn’t quite have enough adjectives to describe this. Finally, the one with a kind of white sauce smothered over it was balanced and brimming with flavours of garlic & vanilla bouncing about threatening my tongue with mini bombs.

Everything tastes as good as it looks. All was very well cooked, all flavours on plate are masterfully matched together, albeit they were classic combinations and were no brainers to pair, but the attention was on it being masterfully prepared.
I can see why The Square is a 2 star establishment. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted something quite so perfectly cooked before.

More look see
Adorned with abstract art, The Square has rectangular paintings. Hm. Makes you think doesn’t it? Staff are lovely, French with French accents and all of them are rather charming, quietly and unintrusive. How do you say in France – formidable?

Pudding!

Praline Mousseline with a Macadamia Sablé, Crushed Banana, Pedro Ximenez Jelly and Steeped Raisins

The banana is refreshingly cold against the crusty shortbread. The flavours marry nicely with the praline, nutty hints of alcohol in there and the jelly is bordering chewy giving it much needed body. The jelly is abit like a dark herby caramel sugar. Those candied macadamias were like jaw breakers and felt rather like I just ate the decoration. Ouch.

Date sauce was a godsend, it’s light and creamy texture took the dessert into the moon. Liftoff! Sweet flavours but not overly sweet, well done, balanced, light and surprisingly good.

My waiter was hesitant to recommend this to me citing that ‘it’s abit different’ , he pushed for safer choices and hinted that their cheesecake is a signature dish. Like Mr Powers, I too, like to live dangerously… and it paid off.

Valedictorian, Class of 2009

I can safely say that this is the best meal I’ve had in the new year. This is the benchmark. Is it going to be beaten? I don’t know, maybe Le café e anglais or St Johns perhaps? This is my 1st experience of a 2-star establishment, and I can see that the cooking is a cut above the rest. There are only 5 of these 2-stars in London. Like a virgin, I can’t say I have anything to compare it against, the closest is probably the 1-star places I’ve eaten at, but L’autre or Hibiscus have got nothing on the high cooking here, the gap between 1 and 2 stars is very wide it seems.

I’m still abit miffed as to whether these salt and pepper shakers actually contain anything or if it’s just table decoration, because you need none of that here, food is perfect.

I’m curious to see how something like the Fat Duck –only one of the most highly regarded in the world- compares against this one. My birthday is in July, do you think a seven month advance booking is enough time for a July three-star dinner?

Let’s hope so.

The Gist of it

The Square official website
6-10 Bruton Street, Mayfair W1J 6PU 44 (0) 20 7495 7100
£ 35.00 set menu , £ 75.00 a la carte three courses

Verdict: If your pockets are still that deep in 2009, then you can do no wrong here, otherwise set menu is £35pp.

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