10-05-2007, 10:27 AM
My younger brother was over recently for a work-related conference and persuading him to stay another week seemed an opportune time to treat him to a meal at one of London's finest restaurants.
Yes, it is one of those restaurants that you tend to save up the spare change for and blow it in one almighty splurge. I suppose it would be similar to a lady wanting to buy the latest Jimmy Choo's or a guy purchasing the latest in mobile technology.
The former I cannot comprehend - my best friend has an absolute fetish for buying shoes, either as a form of retail therapy or because she simply has to have them. The latter I support - my TomTom takes pride of place on my dashboard understandably.
For me though- I suppose I should include my younger brother here too - it revolves around food. Sexy food.
To put it into context, the last time I ate at a Michelin-starred establishment (The Waterside Inn, Bray 3 *) it cost me the average weekly wage of a junior chef for the two of us.
L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon is in Covent Garden, London - up the road from The Ivy and without a huge passing trade by the looks of things. Then again I was going on a 'chef's night off' - a Monday - and couldn't be bothered to look for a celebrity at The Ivy: Food stars is what we were after.
We hadn't booked and I was personally overjoyed to be able to have the opportunity to dine there. Being an early evening start, we were given prime spots at the bar counter in the downstairs version, overlooking the kitchen and all the magic that takes place therein.
The theme is Japanese chic with French cuisine that is simply, yet elegantly prepared before your salivating eyes. The mood is soft lighting, black-clad chefs and waiting staff with the food and chemistry on display. My passing knowledge of 'kitchen French' helped me understand the occasional barked order from the chef on the passé. I suppose my brother understood every word - he studied in Paris for a while. It would be remarkable to see him understand the food here: He'd never eaten in a Michelin-starred restaurant - A veritable virgin of sorts.
We started off with the recommended Champagne cocktail. It passed without fanfare - I suppose I prefer my Champagne unadorned and rather simple.
After an age of convincing my brother to go for the Tasting Menu (Listed as Menu Decouverte) we relaxed a little into the flow of expectation. I suppose anyone hearing they're about to face 10 courses with a little coffee at the end is going to feel slightly intimidated - prices excluded! In my personal experience, the tasting menu has always been a delight - the meal is consumed at a leisurely pace and with a variety of sensations and feelings attacking all your senses. It allows the chef to impress, the guest to experience more than a 'starter, main, dessert' offering and that elusive entity of time to be enjoyed to the full with wine, good food and company.
The ubiquitous pre-starter was proffered: A shot glass filled with foie gras, a reduction of port wine and Parmesan 'air'. Wow! The taste buds tingled and the senses went into overdrive. This was sublime cooking in a seductive atmosphere.
Tender green asparagus, complemented by crabmeat and a curry sauce was next up: Beautifully presented and served on a clear glass plate.
Egg 'cocotte' with a light mushroom cream was strikingly served in a Martini glass. I'm a great fan of soft eggs and this was exacting.
A halved tiger prawn, grilled on the plancha, was served with a slight citrus and chilli bite. Exquisite!
The grilled tuna fillet with capers, olives and lemon zest was interesting - both visually and taste-wise. The Mediterranean influences were abundant.
The warm foie gras with apple and hazelnuts was brilliant: Rich, silky and leaving your mouth gasping for more. Though the pine kernels that were in evidence might have been a slight oversight by the chef.
For the main course, I chose the lamb with fresh thyme, whilst my brother had the quail stuffed with foie gras and truffled potato. His legendary pommes puree was on hand to simply shake up the cholesterol in the blood stream and complete the experience.
My lamb, being the start of the season, was good. My brother's quail, with truffled mash was even better. Though I think he was somewhat surprised by the size of the portion - it is a tasting menu after all!
We then had a pre-dessert of a chocolate pot with a difference: Visually appealing, with a parfait of chocolate in the centre: Decadent, satisfying and surprisingly light.
Seeing the look of astonishment on my brother's face when presented with the second dessert was worth all the money! I don't think he was expecting another dessert - and the grand finale of a Souffe with pistachio ice cream was the perfect way to end a memorable meal together. Impressed and so absorbed in getting our spoons dirty - I only remembered to take a picture of the dessert whilst half way through the gorging.
My expectations of food were met and justifiably so. We departed for the murky gloom of the tube network, feeling remarkably full, yet not stuffed as you would expect: The kind of feeling you get after a decent 3 courses in a much loved local.
Chef Robuchon has a burgeoning empire of quality restaurants dotted around the most exciting culinary evolved cities in the world - a testament to the reverence with which he is beheld, both in France and internationally.
The meal - though out of the price range of most ordinary folk's weekly evening out - is well worth the journey into London. We did not venture into the bar upstairs, or the other restaurant. I had to leave a tempting offer for me to go back and experience it in full surround-sound quality - my piggy bank needs to fill up soon!
My brother is no longer a virgin and I'm in awe of a £5million restaurant that has been serving food like that here in London since only September last year. The Michelin star came quickly and deservedly.
[SIZE="1"]Meal for the 2 of us including 2 tasting menus, 2 glasses of red wine, 2 glasses of dessert wine, a bottle of sparkling mineral water and service charge: £245[/SIZE]Details:
L'Atelier de Jo Robuchon: 13-15 West Street, W1, London. Tel: 0207 01 08 600
Yes, it is one of those restaurants that you tend to save up the spare change for and blow it in one almighty splurge. I suppose it would be similar to a lady wanting to buy the latest Jimmy Choo's or a guy purchasing the latest in mobile technology.
The former I cannot comprehend - my best friend has an absolute fetish for buying shoes, either as a form of retail therapy or because she simply has to have them. The latter I support - my TomTom takes pride of place on my dashboard understandably.
For me though- I suppose I should include my younger brother here too - it revolves around food. Sexy food.
To put it into context, the last time I ate at a Michelin-starred establishment (The Waterside Inn, Bray 3 *) it cost me the average weekly wage of a junior chef for the two of us.
L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon is in Covent Garden, London - up the road from The Ivy and without a huge passing trade by the looks of things. Then again I was going on a 'chef's night off' - a Monday - and couldn't be bothered to look for a celebrity at The Ivy: Food stars is what we were after.
We hadn't booked and I was personally overjoyed to be able to have the opportunity to dine there. Being an early evening start, we were given prime spots at the bar counter in the downstairs version, overlooking the kitchen and all the magic that takes place therein.
The theme is Japanese chic with French cuisine that is simply, yet elegantly prepared before your salivating eyes. The mood is soft lighting, black-clad chefs and waiting staff with the food and chemistry on display. My passing knowledge of 'kitchen French' helped me understand the occasional barked order from the chef on the passé. I suppose my brother understood every word - he studied in Paris for a while. It would be remarkable to see him understand the food here: He'd never eaten in a Michelin-starred restaurant - A veritable virgin of sorts.
We started off with the recommended Champagne cocktail. It passed without fanfare - I suppose I prefer my Champagne unadorned and rather simple.
After an age of convincing my brother to go for the Tasting Menu (Listed as Menu Decouverte) we relaxed a little into the flow of expectation. I suppose anyone hearing they're about to face 10 courses with a little coffee at the end is going to feel slightly intimidated - prices excluded! In my personal experience, the tasting menu has always been a delight - the meal is consumed at a leisurely pace and with a variety of sensations and feelings attacking all your senses. It allows the chef to impress, the guest to experience more than a 'starter, main, dessert' offering and that elusive entity of time to be enjoyed to the full with wine, good food and company.
The ubiquitous pre-starter was proffered: A shot glass filled with foie gras, a reduction of port wine and Parmesan 'air'. Wow! The taste buds tingled and the senses went into overdrive. This was sublime cooking in a seductive atmosphere.
Tender green asparagus, complemented by crabmeat and a curry sauce was next up: Beautifully presented and served on a clear glass plate.
Egg 'cocotte' with a light mushroom cream was strikingly served in a Martini glass. I'm a great fan of soft eggs and this was exacting.
A halved tiger prawn, grilled on the plancha, was served with a slight citrus and chilli bite. Exquisite!
The grilled tuna fillet with capers, olives and lemon zest was interesting - both visually and taste-wise. The Mediterranean influences were abundant.
The warm foie gras with apple and hazelnuts was brilliant: Rich, silky and leaving your mouth gasping for more. Though the pine kernels that were in evidence might have been a slight oversight by the chef.
For the main course, I chose the lamb with fresh thyme, whilst my brother had the quail stuffed with foie gras and truffled potato. His legendary pommes puree was on hand to simply shake up the cholesterol in the blood stream and complete the experience.
My lamb, being the start of the season, was good. My brother's quail, with truffled mash was even better. Though I think he was somewhat surprised by the size of the portion - it is a tasting menu after all!
We then had a pre-dessert of a chocolate pot with a difference: Visually appealing, with a parfait of chocolate in the centre: Decadent, satisfying and surprisingly light.
Seeing the look of astonishment on my brother's face when presented with the second dessert was worth all the money! I don't think he was expecting another dessert - and the grand finale of a Souffe with pistachio ice cream was the perfect way to end a memorable meal together. Impressed and so absorbed in getting our spoons dirty - I only remembered to take a picture of the dessert whilst half way through the gorging.
My expectations of food were met and justifiably so. We departed for the murky gloom of the tube network, feeling remarkably full, yet not stuffed as you would expect: The kind of feeling you get after a decent 3 courses in a much loved local.
Chef Robuchon has a burgeoning empire of quality restaurants dotted around the most exciting culinary evolved cities in the world - a testament to the reverence with which he is beheld, both in France and internationally.
The meal - though out of the price range of most ordinary folk's weekly evening out - is well worth the journey into London. We did not venture into the bar upstairs, or the other restaurant. I had to leave a tempting offer for me to go back and experience it in full surround-sound quality - my piggy bank needs to fill up soon!
My brother is no longer a virgin and I'm in awe of a £5million restaurant that has been serving food like that here in London since only September last year. The Michelin star came quickly and deservedly.
[SIZE="1"]Meal for the 2 of us including 2 tasting menus, 2 glasses of red wine, 2 glasses of dessert wine, a bottle of sparkling mineral water and service charge: £245[/SIZE]Details:
L'Atelier de Jo Robuchon: 13-15 West Street, W1, London. Tel: 0207 01 08 600