Le Vacherin – Chiswick, Tuesday 2nd February, 2010

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.

Le Vacherin

Foxtrot Oscar – Chelsea, Friday 29th January, 2010

I’m not much of a Gordon Ramsay fan. I don’t find his expansive brand of expletive-ridden celebrity absorbing, and I have long questioned his opening restaurants and gastropubs in all corners of London. Unfortunately for the loudmouthed Scot, it seems he should’ve been doing the same, as 2009’s financial downturn suddenly meant no-one wanted to eat at the higher end of London’s eateries.

Even well established landmarks like Le Gavroche found themselves lighter on bookings, though whilst their well-trodden path of tradition ensured they lost out on little in the long run, Mr. Ramsay’s brand began slowly faltering. Action was needed, and so January saw the ruddy-cheeked kitchen master open his doors to just about anyone that might want a bite to eat: cheap set menus all round. Well hello Mr. Ramsay!

Whilst I would love to have tried Claridge’s (where Ramsay has a residency), the lunch offer deal meant booking was more difficult than usual. More or less the next best option was Foxtrot Oscar, a trad Brit affair which is a few doors down from his flagship restaurant. (It must be noted at this point just how much I want to eat at his main restaurant, as the Michelin stars are plentiful and the food looks stunning.)

Foxtrot Oscar looks like an old boutique shop that has been converted into a restaurant. Apparently Ramsay used to eat in there after the odd shift at his restaurant, until he bought the place and re-modelled it from a local institution to another franchise in his empire. Not that the place has lost all charm; it remains quaint and almost cosy. However, the insides are a little hollow, and I don’t think any restaurant is comfortable when you sit too near the door.

Food-wise, the set menu wasn’t bad. The other half went for a meal of game terrine and duck (to start and for main respectively) which didn’t really interest me. What I tried was acceptable if unspectacular. I opted for a smoked fishcake of salmon and haddock, which was lovely. (Below left) Not so light it was insubstantial and not so heavy as to be hard work, the horseradish cream and rocket on the side combined wonderfully to complement the dish.

My main course was game pie with mash. This wasn’t too bad, except the mash looked and tasted a little artificial to me. I’m not for a moment suggesting that they’re using instant dried mix to make their mash, but it just wasn’t that good. The pie itself was okay. Not as stunning as I’d hoped, but decent.

Desserts were from the a la carte menu, and whilst the other half ate a chocolate fondant (her staying power is incredible), I ate a gorgeous slice of treacle tart with milk ice cream. (Below right) It was the best treacle tart I have eaten, which might not be a total surprise, since the majority of treacle tarts in my life were eaten from supermarkets when I was a lad. Still, this was top stuff: not too sticky, slightly crumbly and a perfect pastry base.

I wasn’t over-enthused by Foxtrot Oscar. As much as having a cheap set menu at a Ramsey place seems pretty good, the food itself wasn’t much cop. The atmosphere is a bit flat in there too, especially compared to the much-vaunted friendly vibe that accompanied the old Foxtrot Oscar.

And anyway, Ramsay had the last laugh as he tends to these days. I set my hair on fire towards the end of the evening whilst leaning over the table.

Foxtrot Oscar

Brasserie St. Jacques – Mayfair, Thursday 28th January, 2010

I hadn't planned to visit Brasserie St Jacques. I didn’t even know it existed to be honest. A friend invited me and I accepted. As it turned out, they were running a half-price offer on their set menu, which happened to be a tasting menu.

Now, before you get really excited, I should point out that said tasting menu was a meal made up of some basic French standards. It wasn’t exceptional or spectacular the way a tasting menu at the Fat Duck might be, and it wasn’t bizarre or mind-boggling. No, this was a menu that reverted to the simple things in France. And it was seven courses long: I was excited.

The first ‘course’ was a kir royale, which my companion drank both of and we promptly got down to food. After bread and butter, the first course was a small bowl of French onion soup with the usual gruyere-drenched bread (left). I was at first disappointed in the size of the thing, but it turned out to be well-placed with the rest of the meal. Whilst not the best onion soup I’ve eaten, it was a good start.

Between courses my eyes roved around the restaurant, observing how flamboyant it had been made to look. Rather than simple French cuisine, the décor and colour scheme made me think of vibrant Spanish tapas. The place is a little lopsided but it’s not unpleasant. I would say that it’s quite cold though, with very little atmospheric variation and many shiny, resounding surfaces.

Before I could delve any deeper into why I did or did not like the decorations of the place, our second course arrived; a terrine of foie gras (yawn). Despite my obvious and boorish disinterest with yet more liver paté-like stuff, I was impressed sufficiently to finish and enjoy it (right).

The next course had my full attention from the second I saw it on the menu. I have never been a big fan of mussels after a rotten experience the first time I tried them, but I was determined to give it a go here. (Partly because I wanted to enjoy them and partly because I had no choice anyway.) I must say that the moules mariniere we were served were excellent: cooked to something like perfection, with a gorgeous not-too-thin garlic sauce and bread to mop up. Yes, it was standard, but I got a lot out of this one (left).

The centrepiece of the menu was the partridge with a gorgeous slice of dauphinoise potato and red cabbage (below right). There’s nothing like the rich, varied tastes and textures of game in the winter to warm the soul and this was a beautiful course. The potatoes were predictably excellent, and sweet red cabbage is a dressing that I find myself relishing every time it is put in front of me.

Unfortunately they decided to throw a cheese course in between the meat dish and the dessert. This might be traditional (though I always thought cheese came last), and it might’ve worked on another night, but it was a bit of a non-starter with me. Some sort of creamy stuff from Munster reminded me that I’m not much of a cheese eater. It was too strong, ridiculously pungent and served only to irritate the palette as opposed to enriching it.

Dessert was a standard crème brulee. Entirely edible if not spectacular, I was reminded of Mike’s oft-spun wonderings on these vanilla puddings: why would you order one? As much as they can be great, it’s not often you find a great one. More to the point, if you mess a crème brulee up you’re doing something seriously wrong. Fortunately, this one was decent: sweet, light, creamy and not too heavily sugared. I ate and enjoyed.

I did enjoy Brasserie St Jacques. I suggest you give it a go too, particularly if there is a half-price set menu in the offing. Despite the glitzy postcode, the summery décor, a rain-soaked evening and a bad cheese course, it was really good, and one day I’m sure I’ll go back and try the a la carte menu too.

Brasserie St Jacques

Mews Of Mayfair – Mayfair, Thursday 21st January, 2010

This trip marked the beginning of a re-visiting spell for me. It seems that with the lean post-Christmas, pre-restaurant week months, the only way to go with food is flock to the places that are offering discount menus or are generally reasonable. C’est la vie…

I’d eaten at Mews of Mayfair once before, on a devilishly hot summer night where the food was good but no better and no desserts warranted further investigation, which saddened me. Given that they were offering 50% off the a la carte menu (TopTable, I will forever be in your debt) and myself, Mike and a few other friends decided to give it another shot.

Mews is a nice place. It happens to be in the most socially dense area of Mayfair, which has packed several bars and eateries around the cobbled streets of the Mews themselves. The restaurant is above a ground floor bar which, like the rest of the surrounding area, is busy, noisy and generally flustering. However, once you step inside, the becalming and modern décor will do you some good.

The place was riotously busy for a Thursday, but that may have had something to do with the dinner offer on. It was lively and noisy, which isn’t always the case with upmarket eateries such as this one. The five of us packed down and ordered and we were pretty pleased with the results.

Given the numbers, there wasn’t a whole lot of sharing going on, but I was ensuring everyone enjoyed what was put in front of them. The dishes I tried (and meagre amounts I scrimped from the other half’s plate) were really good. Surprisingly good, in the event. Some mushroom soup (below) was thick, rich and extremely worthy. We speculated on the amount of mushrooms it must have taken to produce a soup so thick and flavoursome, and the answer from me is “just the right amount”.

The table appeared to be in a beef-y mood, so four of the five main courses were steak. Two friends each ordered the standard, and the other half and I split the special chateaubriand. All were lauded impressively, and I can tell you with certainty that the chateaubriand was glorious. Really lean, smooth, rare steak served with trimmings and quite exceptional chips (below right). It certainly put the overpriced dish we had to toil through at Sophie's Steakhouse to shame. Super stuff.

Dessert was a fine chocolate tart which was rich but not too sweet, so after all was said and paid for, we were a happy bunch. Incredibly reasonable (mainly because of the offer) and a good time had by all.

Mike made a point after the meal that stuck in my mind though: would we have been satisfied paying full price for what we ate? The chances are we probably wouldn't, and that's rather telling. Much as I enjoyed Mews, I'm slightly reluctant to say you should definitely go there, because unless there's an offer on, it might be a little pricey.

Mews Of Mayfair

Racine – Knightsbridge, Thursday 14th January, 2010

On the off chance as the other half and I wandered through Knightsbridge, we stopped in Racine for a quick bite to eat after a little January shopping. Racine was not a restaurant I’d heard of before but it looked pretty classy, with an array of French standards on offer.

Had this been a planned, dressed-up Friday night affair, I sense our meal choices may have been different. We shared a starter and dessert and shared two main course dishes. The overall course of the evening started and finished well, with a dip in the middle.

Our starter of cold eel was excellent, served with some potato salad and crème fraiche. I have really gotten into eel this past year, and I’m delighted to be able to add it to my list of culinary preferences.

I’d never eaten a plate of choucroute before now, and having tried one, it isn’t something I’ll be rushing back to. What sounded amazing – a variety of sausages, pork belly and cuts of meat – turned out to be various pork subsidiaries boiled and lumped on a plate with some cabbage. Maybe this means that choucroute is not my dish, or maybe it’s always rubbish, but we did not enjoy.

Some rabbit with new potatoes, mustard and green beans looked and sounded great, but tired very quickly. It wasn’t a bad dish per se, but I had hoped for more. It was edible but not enjoyable.

Fortunately our shared dessert of chocolate terrine with some sticky white chocolate sauce restored a little quality to the proceedings. It was expertly textured, flavoured and balanced.

The place itself is a brimming and bustling local eatery. It’s pleasant, graciously staffed and welcoming. I think I will be going back there to have a proper go at the a la carte menu too, because I’m convinced we just picked the wrong main courses.

Biased, me..?

Racine