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.
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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