When I finally managed to get away from the office on a weekday, the other half and I were lucky enough to reserve a table at Gauthier Soho, Alexis Gauthier's new restaurant. Famed for his work at Rousillon in Pimlico, Gauthier had bought up the former site of Richard Corrigan's Lindsay House. All of a sudden there is a lot to be said for a reservation here - expectations were high. The final point which guaranteed a rush of popularity and press was that they had offered 50% off the tasting menu last August. This was worth a day off work, surely?
The day itself was less the brilliant sunshine-drenched pad about Soho I wanted; it was a dire and drizzly Wednesday when the last thing I wanted to be doing was leaving the house for any reason. We trudged up from Piccadilly Circus in a dampened mood to match our jackets. Combined with the weight of expectation, Gauthier Soho had rather a lot of work to do to impress us. It ought to have been food which could lift us out of any weather-affected funk anyway...
The restaurant itself is nothing to write home about as you first step through the doors. It reminded me of a dentist surgery: a lovely townhouse stripped of any charm it once had and clinically whitened to dreary distraction. But this actually seems to work in Gauthier Soho's favour. Because you're chilled from draughts through the chimney and worried that the ceiling might start dripping at any moment, you start really appreciating anything that gets put in front of you, because let's face it – you're fairly chuffed to be here for food as opposed to a clean and polish.
As I cautiously regarded the uneven floors and old-fashioned windows, we were presented with a little pre-starter assortment which confused me no end. I never expected in a month of French tasting menus that any French tasting menu would serve us chips, but that's what they did (left). The pre-starters encompassed some stuffed cherry tomatoes, continental ham with sauce in pastry nests... and four chips in a shot glass. Crazy. Salty, soft and somehow a pretty compliment to the more traditional canapes. Something told me we were in for a treat.
Our first course proper was about as traditionally French as you would want from the first course of a tasting menu. Pan-fried duck foie gras served with confit apricot and port reduction (right). Throw me to the heavens. This stuff was exactly - but exactly - what I wanted at the start of any meal. Delicate, soft and bold foie gras was perfectly accompanied by the sweet and tender apricot on the side. The port they threw in with it was almost showing off but with a starter like this, you almost want it to melt into your bloodstream and caress your circulatory system into oblivion. Some of the most delectable foie gras I've eaten.
Second up was another classic standard of French tasting menus: scallop. Served with garlic, parsley purée and a handful of mushrooms, it was soft, juicy and rather fresh (left). Variation is important in tasting menus, as is getting the order right. Gauthier Soho were starting with their best foot forward. Stunning, strong foie gras to begin things followed by a slight cool-off with an equally impressive scallop. I appreciate my palate being calmed with good menu construction as opposed to weaker dishes.
Third up was risotto (right). I had earmarked this as a fairly important course the second we took in the menu. You may remember the mishap I had with some truffle and asparagus risotto at Criterion earlier in the summer. It was nearly enough to put me off the stuff for good, and another misstep here could seriously end my relationship with risotto. Hell, I might even be less enthused by truffles... I needn't have worried: Gauthier Soho had fresh truffles and plenty of them. Grated finely on to the thick, parmesan-laced rice, my senses were fully rewarded for the penance I had been made to pay a few months earlier. Almost overwhelmed by the richness of the dish, I was merrily coasting through the menu now.
There were two main courses to savour, both of which were worth their place on the menu and both of which added to the experience in a positive and interesting way. This is important, since interesting is way better than the sort of dull overkill you can sometimes get three or four dishes in. Firstly, we were served sea trout. I do love trout. Usually my favourite treat on a barbecue with a dash of lemon and black pepper, it's a great robust and everyday fish. But I'd never eaten sea trout until now. By heaven I'm glad I did. The most succulent, juicy and delicately cooked fish I've eaten for some time (left). A real triumph, served imaginatively with two shades of soft beetroot and a little ginger-infused sorrel jus left me satisfied with time to spare.
Of course, the main affair of most any tasting menu - certainly a French one - is going to be a meat course. I was somewhat fearful by this point that I couldn't really handle more food of any serious substance. Fortunately, the excellent construction of the Gauthier kitchen was on hand again to serenely usher me to meats. "Crispy and soft piglet" is just the sort of semi-macabre description I want to be seeing on the menu, presented semi-stunningly on my plate (right). Needless to say it was delicious: varied textures, the softest of which was a melty, creamy white meat underneath a delicately soft crisp top which was nowhere near overcooked or too thick. Thin leek and carrot on the side with cherry reduction and pig jus added up superbly. ("Pig jus"?! Monseuir Gauthier, with these descriptions you're really spoiling us...) All pitfalls avoided, I was ready to wave goodbye to mains and all other courses and move right on to desserts.Next up was cheese. And I'm not much of a cheese fan. It certainly has its merits when wedged into a formal French eight-courser like this, but it does take a bit of work to really enjoy it. A trolley was wheeled over to the table where we were patiently guided through the types of cheese on the board before making our choices and doing our best, armed with crackers and dried fruits. I would be lying if I said I really enjoyed or even needed this course, but when it's served so generously, so graciously and so unpretentiously, I will gladly sit there and politely eat with a grin on my face. They're just so nice about it all.
On to desserts proper and we were starting to flag somewhat. I can eat desserts until the cows come home but I was a little wary of what two more courses were going to do to me. Before our desserts arrived, I realised that the whole townhouse chic of Gauthier Soho had won me over. Of course that had a lot to do with the exceptional courses we'd eaten and the adequately pleasant service, but there really is something in this solicitors' office conversion that makes you feel welcome. Comfortable, even.
Desserts proved to be the downfall of the menu. Had they matched the standard of the preceding courses, I would most probably be describing my best meal of 2010 to you. As it is, the last word was not a good one. First up was an assortment of cherry, in the form of two fruits and some jelly. A small, dry chocolate cake on the side, the whole lot flavoured with unseemly champagne and messy presentation (the lines thing isn't going to work on every course, guys) added up to the first inconvenient course of the day.
I hoped for better as we were presented with a dark chocolate Louis XV - essentially biscuit covered with chocolate. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that there was praline in this. If you like nuts, I'm almost certain the pud would've done something for you, but I was unmoved and slightly frustrated by this glorious looking yet empty-tasting effort. I did finish as much of it as I could (thinking back, it might've been the whole thing) because you don't want to waste chocolate this good, but I wouldn't want to eat it again. I learned since that this is apparently Gauthier's signature dish, but I just don't get it.
Petit-fours were another unneccessary waste of space - more nuts - which left me thinking they could've done away with all the dessert courses and chanced their arm with another meat dish. But I'm being facetious: you will know by now how much I really enjoyed this lunch time adventure at Soho's most exciting new restaurant.
You can get a real mixed bag in Soho, from the dodgiest, seediest restaurants (and in Soho you need that sort of stuff) to some serious high-end cuisine. Gauthier Soho is a perfect middle ground. Their tasting menu was outrageously good value at half-off but their current standard price of £64 for eight courses is by no means unreasonable. They also offer a five-course a la carte for £55, four-course for £45 and three-course for £35. It is potentially a winning pricing system for a restaurant that just gained its first Michelin star.
Gauthier Soho will do more than pass the test of time in its Lindsay House home. As long as the floorboards don't splinter, the ceilings don't cave in and the windows don't crack, it'll be a Soho institution for some time to come. Yes, I'm writing this in a biased slant since it's just the sort of food that I love, but that's the point: they did it wonderfully. Please visit here if you get the chance: they deserve to thrive and we deserve to enjoy it.
Gauthier Soho
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