It’s time I wrote a properly biased review. I try to keep as on-the-fence as I can until I’ve tried the food in a restaurant, and I don’t like to judge until at least I’ve set foot in the place. Le Vacherin is a restaurant that also flouts another of my usual rules: I’ve eaten there twice before. And not that long ago either.
There is a very good reason for my returning to Vacherin for the third time: it’s a superb restaurant. It’s just about the top end of affordable midweek dining (around £50 for three courses without drinks), but the food is simply excellent.
I seem to eat a lot of beef at Vacherin, which is fine because they do it well. The Rossini steak I had this time around was nothing short of heart-stopping (literally, with foie gras, truffles and fondant deep-fried potato). It was a wonderfully decadent and indulgent dish as a Rossini always should be, and I couldn’t recommend it highly enough if that’s what you're in the mood for. (Below right)
It might’ve been one of the more expensive menu choices at £22, but then a full price steak dish at £22 of this quality is nothing to sniff at. Other dishes which featured were a very imaginative crab and salmon fishcake…sort of thing… I’ll let the picture below try to sum this up because it’s pretty hard to explain. The crab filling was encased by salmon which made for a slightly refreshing, very rich starter.
Some foie gras
and chicken liver parfait (similar to that I’d tried at La Trompette) was enjoyed across the table – it was great – and an ox cheek bourguignon was strong, rich and tender. It seems it was a night for beef main courses in the event, but the French stew was served in a beautiful small dish and worth the fuss.
My dessert of a bread and butter pudding didn’t feel especially French, but it was delicious, although the inclusion of prunes seemed a little unnecessary. (Below right) A chocolate fondant (which I have eaten there before) across the table went down very well.
This leads on to everything I haven’t had the chance to talk about which I have tried before on the menu. A quite magical fixture of a starter is their scallops with black pudding and lettuce leaves. Also their crème brulée is a bit of a winner for dessert. On the theme of beef, their chateaubriand (served with bone marrow no less) is one of the finest I've eaten.
So, what I'm getting at, as you might be able to detect, is that you should visit Le Vacherin. Sooner rather than later. A measure of the place is that I was half tempted by the vegetarian pappardelle with mutton feet mushrooms and truffles. This place is one of the best and most consistent I've tried in London.
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