Bluebird – Chelsea, Sunday 14th February, 2010

You give a guy a break… Any hardened followers among you may remember I stopped in at Bluebird with Mike last summer, which I touched on during my Good Steak / Bad Steak piece. Being one of the more affordable Valentine’s Day menus on offer, I decided to risk it again on that not-so-special-yet-so-franchised day of the year.

The menu wasn’t massively adventurous, but had enough on it to peak our attention, and a few dishes leapt out at us pretty promptly. We decided we just had to have the Beef Wellington for mains, but then made the interesting choice of trying the vegetarian lasagne alongside it. (For all my meat-loving tendencies, I cannot resist mushrooms and truffles.)

We began with a seafood salad not dissimilar to the crayfish effort Mike and I had tried previously. It was fresh, crisp and served with a tangy sauce. It wasn’t top-end but it was pretty good. A ballotine of foie gras was the other, and was actually very good. I suppose one advantage of eating so very much liver pâté is that you can begin to differentiate between the varieties out there.

Main courses were a strange affair. It turned out the Wellington was hardly worth bothering with. Ironically, Mike and I had tried to make our own version of this classic some time ago and it had turned out a relative disaster. This wasn’t much better. Chunks of mushy herbs and unpronounced truffles packed in around a pasty pastry surround left the beef essentially redundant. Not a dish I’d care to repeat, in my kitchen or this place. Fortunately the lasagne was more satisfying, served with fresh green salad.

Dessert was a chocolate assortment for two. It was quite sweet (in every sense) with its chocolate mousse, fondant and flakes and sauces. Very much of the occasion, and quietly enjoyed.

The evening wasn’t a success, but it wasn't quite a total bust. The Kings Road Gastrodome (which houses Bluebird and several other venues and functions) is a large, somewhat confusing building which makes for a rather hollow dinner venue. The combination of this plus the overpriced, tacky nature of Valentine’s Day (£55 set menu) made for a rather muted evening, certainly not one I will be framing and putting on my mantelpiece any time soon.

Bluebird

Assa – Soho, Wednesday 3rd March, 2010

Assa is a small Korean restaurant near Tottenham Court Road tube station that has recently expanded, opening a second branch in Soho. Obviously they’ve been successful in their first home, because this second one is far bigger and more comfortable than the first poky (but cosy) venue.

Korean food is pretty good. It’s spicier than Japanese and not quite as varied as Chinese, but certainly worth investigating if you like Asian food at all. Some decent chicken with rice, spicy chicken with vegetables, a seafood omelette pancake, grilled pork belly and thin glass noodles with vegetables all disappeared without any fuss.

It’s not spectacular. But then I don’t think there is anywhere in the UK that you can get spectacular Korean food. But Assa, along with Ran, makes Soho a decent place to go if you feel like getting into Korean cuisine. Assa is definitely worth a look, and it won’t set you back much either.

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon – Covent Garden, Friday 5th February, 2010

There are certain chefs in whose restaurants you will sit there quietly, eat what you are given and not talk out of turn. Joël is one of these chefs. Having gained more Michelin stars than any other, he commands a huge amount of respect in the culinary industry.Myself and the other half tried the early evening set menu offer L’Atelier tends to provide for pre-theatre and cheaper diners one Friday, and we did sit there quietly and enjoy it. The good thing about the set up here is the open kitchen in the centre of the room, so you can sit on bar stools eating Michelin-starred cuisine overlooking a bustling French kitchen. It’s wonderful.
The food itself has a muted, understated greatness. Whilst I’d love to be eating the a la carte menu here, the set is a very limited, pre-prepared deal (naturally; you know what you’re getting with a set menu.) We ate and enjoyed our starters without much fuss. I liked the thick velouté of onion with crouton, and the boiled egg (yes, they love to rub the simplicity in) we also tried was perfectly cooked and imaginatively garnished (left).
Main courses were a little more impressive. Some whiting cod with mash sounds simple and uninspired, but was rich as anything, and a wonderful mix of smooth textures to boot. Seasoned with a green piece of chicory-like dressing, the thing was hearty but not too filling. Some bourguignon was sternly rich and full-bodied; not entirely dissimilar to that I’d sampled a few days before at Le Vacherin.
Dessert of the day was a chocolate mousse combination of vanilla and chocolate creams with some darker chocolate dressings. It was unspectacular but comforting, served in strange fishbowl-type receptacles (right).
So I was left feeling how I thought I would at the end of the meal: sort of satisfied, kind of in awe, a little envious of those enjoying the a la carte and somewhat sleepy. The food was good, and it was always going to be. One day I might try the a la carte there, but that might have to wait until they’re paying me to write this.
L'Atelier

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