It was my birthday earlier in the month and 2 of my lovely girlfriends "booked" me out for a belated birthday last Saturday. It started with a lovely 1 h 20 min thai massage in Covent Garden followed by lunch at L'atelier de Joel Robuchon. I do love this restaurant. Great interior in black and red, lovely waiters (all with a french accent) and if you sit by the bar you can watch your lunch being made in front of you!
We had a 2 course meal with wine pairing for £38 per head - not bad for a 2 michelin star restaurant.
First off was a little amuse bouche of foie gras mousse with a port wine reduction and a parmesan foam.. beautiful and indulgent!
My starter was smoked salmon on a potato rosti, confit fennel and creme fraiche. Beautifully presented with caviar and edible flowers.
My main was a Pollock fillet with garden pea broth and baby carrots. The fish was perfectly cooked and the whole dish was lovely and delicate.Note the beautiful and translucent crispy skin shard!
We did not have dessert - instead we had coffee and got some lovely warm mini raspberry friands and homemade lime marshmallows.. they were gone before i remembered to take a photo.
I would happily go back to this restaurant again and again.
And what happend next? Well, we went to the El Bulli exhibition at Somerset house. Very inspiring! Note that the exhibition is on until the 29th of September so catch it whilst you can (£10 entrance fee) http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/visual-arts/elbulli-ferran-adria-and-the-art-of-food
2nd dinner at Dinner in a week! This time a leaving dinner for my boss who is moving to the other side of the pond.
We had the private dining room booked which was really nice and spacious (it was 9 of us).
We had a set menu with a choice of 3 starters etc for the table.
I went for the famous "Meat fruit" this time and it was a velvety smooth pate encased in a orange jelly and served with toasted sourdough bread. It looked amazing and was very tasty indeed.
My main course was a little bit disappointing. I went for the Turbot with Leaf chicory, sea purslane & cockle ketchup. It was all a bit soft in texture for me and i did not like the bitterness from the leaf chicory.
Had to have the Tipsy cake for dessert and yes, it was lovely and gooey.. buttery brioche baked in the oven with some alcohol (hence the "tipsy" part) the roasted pineapple however i didn't really care for that much. I guess it is a bit hyped up since you can see the pineapples being spit roasted in the kitchen.
All in all we had a lovely meal with lovely wines.
