Claridges Afternoon Tea

I have been to Claridges twice for afternoon and once for lunch. I have enjoyed all of my visits, and Claridges afternoon tea is by far one of the best I have had. The review I am going to write is about a special afternoon tea that Claridges had, which was celebrating chocolate week. The cakes were designed by William Curley. It was the first time I had tried patisseries from William Curley and they were sublime. Since then I have sampled lots of his chocolates and I have also had the 5 course dessert menu at his store in Belgravia (more about that to come in a later post.)

Beautiful scones, which had a lovely crust and were soft and warm inside. They were a nice size, so we did not feel guilty eating 3 each.

 

 

 

 

 

The wonderful array of pastries.

 

Madagascan Chocolate and Orange Dome: Madagascan dark chocolate mousse layered with caramelised oranges, Grand Marnier cream and chocolate biscuit Alhambra.

Toscano Chocolate and Sea Salt Caramel Tart: Piedmont hazelnut tart layered with sea salt caramel, raspberry dacquoise and dark chocolate ganache. This one was the best of the four and after we ate this selection we were given two of our favourites to sample again.

Pistachio and Chocolate Opera: Layers of Sicilian pistachio Joconde, black cherry ganache and pistachio creme mousseline.

Toscano Chocolate and Praline Paris Brest: Choux pastry ring filled with praline, chocolate creme patisserie, and creme Chantilly.

 

 

 

 

 

Not sure I liked them.... 

 

 

 

Quality & Presentation of  the Food

The quality of the food is excellent; some of the best pastries I have ever eaten. Rich butter pastry, filled with rich chocolate, balanced well with fruits, and good textures of nuts, or sugar work. Lovely flavours, which are carefully balanced. Our plates were constantly replenished.

The presentation was superb, wonderful attention to detail; I felt that this was also the case when I visited the restaurant again.

Service & Ambience

The service was excellent. The waiters did not rush us at all. We arrived at 5.30pm and left after 10pm- a seriously impressive afternoon tea. We asked if we had stayed the latest and the waiter said he had one diner that stayed until 11pm!  We were made to feel special.

I really liked the ambience of the restaurant with the wonderful pianist and double bass player. The main part of the tea room is the best area to sit in.

Value for Money

The afternoon tea came to about £35.00 each, without champagne. As I have said previously one of the best afternoon teas I have had. I will definitely be returning for another one soon.

Website: Claridges

Overall Rating:

Launceston Place

Launceston Place was the first private dining restaurant we had been to as part of our dining club, and about five years on, I think most of us would still rank it as our favourite restaurants, both in terms of the food and the experience we had.

The private dining room was called the Chefs' Office. It was a tasting menu, that was designed by the chef Tristan Welch and included:

- Canapés Of Devilled Potato Crisps
- Rustic Bread, Homemade English Butter, Cured Herring
- West Coast Scallop Roasted With Aromatic Herbs From The Coast Line
- Breast of Pheasant, Home Cured Bacon
- Baked Lemon Sole, Coastline Vegetables
- Truffled Duck Egg on Toast- Celery Sorbet, Walnuts And Apples
- Shoulder of Salt Baked Lamb, Salt Baked Potatoes
- Pre Dessert
- An Assiette Of Launceston Place Deserts

Below are photos of some of the courses. (Slightly different from those above.)

I loved the attention to detail with the crisps-they had been 'hole-punched,' and tied with a lovely ribbon. A wonderful touch! 

 

The hot crunchy bread, with the rich soft butter and salty herrings worked brilliantly together. I think we all over-indulged with the bread, but it was worth it.

 

 

 

 

The truffle and egg on toast is one of the best courses I have ever had. A rich egg, with the earthy truffles really complemented each other well. It was light and rich, which is a difficult combination to achieve.

 

This is what you call a dessert platter!  It is a shame I had to share it with everyone else! The tarte tatin and chocolate soufflé were my favourites. The ladies were not too keen on the whisky cream that came with the soufflé, it tasted very earthy. However, that did not deter us, and the whole slate was wiped clean!

 

 

 

 

Some chocolate favours to take home- perfect.


Quality & Presentation of  the Food

The quality of the food was excellent. Lovely flavours, which were carefully balanced. After eight courses we were certainly full.

The presentation is superb, wonderful attention to detail.

Service & Ambience

The service was excellent and what you would hope for from a private dining experience.

The chef's table was wonderful, great ambience in the room. It did not feel like we were in a restaurant, rather someone's house. I loved the way that after each course was cooked the chef would come out of the kitchen and explain to us how he cooked it.  At the end of the meal we were given a tour of the kitchen.

Value for Money

For the tasting menu and two glasses of wine the bill came to around £100 each.  I felt that the meal was worth every penny, it was an amazing culinary experience. I would definitely go back.

 

Website: Launceston Place

Overall Rating:

 

Savoy Grill (Gordon Ramsay)

Lunch at the Savoy was a surprise from my family for my 30th Birthday. The dining experience was wonderful. We were given the top table in the restaurant, which had a lovely view of the whole restaurant.

 

 

 

 

Starter:

Poached egg and confit of pork.

A wonderful salad; the perfectly poached egg certainly well went with the confit of pork. It was a tasty salad and I enjoyed the warm bread that went with it.

 

Main:

(Lamb with mash potato and baby broccoli)

 

The lamb was succulent, and the mash silky smooth. The sauce was rich with the roasting juices and red wine. It really was delicious, and a generous portion. I like the fact that the lamb was not fatty, which can sometimes be the case.

 

 

Dessert:

(Chocolate dome with chocolate mousse and Chantilly cream.)

A rich, decadent dessert-perfect for a birthday celebration! I like the bitter and hard chocolate shell, with the soft rich mousse inside. The Chantilly cream helped to cut through the richness of the chocolate.

My birthday plate.

 

Quality & Presentation of  the Food

The quality of the food is excellent. All the dishes we had were cooked perfectly and everything on the plate complemented each other well.

The presentation is excellent, not too flamboyant, what you would expect for a 'grill' restaurant.

Service & Ambience

The service was superb. The waiter was really friendly and added to the whole experience. They made us feel welcome and the place is not at all pretentious.  We did not feel rushed at all.

I really liked the ambience of the restaurant, it is cosy, but you don't feel that diners have been packed in.

Value for Money

I am not sure how much it cost as my family paid for it. However, they do a lunch offer, 3 courses for £30, which I think is excellent value. It is certainly somewhere I would return.

 

 

Quince

We wee excited to taste the Middle Eastern flavours at Quince; certainly a different from the cuisines we usually have.

 

Starter:

 

We ordered lots of different starters and then sampled each others. They were all very flavoursome, and carefully spiced. They got one of our dishes wrong, which we had not realised, but they did eventually and gave it to us, with another starter for free.

 

Main

Roast, spicy chicken.

Very tasty chicken, which was cooked well as it was not dry at all. It came with some very vibrant sauces, I think one may have been beetroot, which further enhanced the flavour of the chicken. Great spicing of the chicken as it was fragrant but not too spicy.

Dessert 

 

Rose and vanilla panacotta with strawberries.

 

Very fresh tasting, which is what you want after a heavy meal.

 

 

 

Quality & Presentation of  the Food

The quality of the food  was very nice. I really like Middle Eastern food, and I felt the food from Quince represented food from the region well. The spicing of the food was carefully balanced. They had some lovely Lebanese wine.

The presentation is good, not overly fussy, but I would not want that from Middle Eastern food as I feel it should be rustic.

Service & Ambience

The service was good.  The waiters were not intrusive in their service. Silvenia Rowe was there in the kitchen, which was nice to see.

I really liked the ambience of the restaurant, it is intimate and I felt it was a great romantic setting.

Value for Money

For 3 courses and a glass of wine the bill came to £80. The meal was good, although I will not be returning as Quince is now The May Fair Kitchen. Also, the meal was nice, but I probably would not have gone back as I have had similar quality food for a cheaper price.

Cookbook Cafe at the Intercontinental Park Lane

Brunch was a new addition to our dining adventures, and we certainly enjoyed our first experience at the Cookbook Café.

 

We were greeted by nice waiting staff who offered us a choice of bellinis to have with our brunch: peach, strawberry and raspberry. I opted for strawberry, and they were topped up regularly for the whole time we were there (about 3 hours.)

 

 

For our first course we had freshly made pancakes, with chocolate sauce and whipped cream, and of course a side order of a twisted pain au chocolat. The pancakes were delicious, not too thick or thin, lovely and warm and the chocolate sauce and whipped cream of course were perfect accompaniments. My friends had eggs benedict and they said they were lovely.

 

 

After this we spent some time grazing from the cold food section. They had many wonderful dishes.

 

Scottish Smoked Salmon with dill mayonnaise
Honey roasted ham with piccalilli and grain mustard
Marinated tiger prawns with garlic mayonnaise
Sashimi of tuna and salmon with soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger
Caesar salad with parmesan and crunchy croutons
Mozzarella with oregano, olives and artichoke
Celery and cucumber with dill oil
Couscous capsicum and aubergine salad

 

On my plate below I had some lovely cooked meats, smoked salmon, tuna sashimi, a Mediterranean chick pea salad & couscous salad, and lovely warm olive ciabatta.

 

 

After this we had a roast dinner. There were lots of mains to choose from:

 

Fore rib of Casterbridge beef with Yorkshire puddings and roast gravy
Thyme and garlic studded Shoulder of lamb with rosemary jus
Casserole of Salmon, sea bass, tiger prawns and razor clams
Lightly spiced aubergine and cauliflower with butternut sauce
Slow roasted duck with preserved cherry sauce
Autumn vegetables with roast potato and steamed new potatoes

 

I went for the beef, which was lovely and tender. It was accompanied by a nice crispy Yorkshire pudding, and wonderfully roasted potatoes.

 

 

There was a wide selection of desserts to choose from, for example:

Raspberry crème brulée
Chocolate torte
Coffee ”Profiteroles”, mocha cream
Lemon tart, orange curd
Tropical fruit salad

 

As you can see I sampled a few and they were all delicious. Sometimes, I am wary of buffet desserts, as they can lack flavour, but it was not the case for the selection at the Cookbook Café.

 



 

 

 

Quality & Presentation of  the Food

The quality of the food is very good, considering it was a buffet brunch. We grazed for about 3 hours and were completed stuffed by the end of it. It seemed like we had had all three meals of the day in one.


Service & Ambience

The service was good; we were asked if we were okay a couple times, but then left to enjoy our brunch which was nice. Despite saying that there was a two hour turnaround on the table we were there for over three hours and we did not feel rushed.  Drinks were topped up regularly.

The ambience of the restaurant was okay, it is in a hotel, so had a hotel feel to it. There were lots of people having brunch but it did not feel busy.


Value for Money

For the brunch, unlimited prosecco, tea and coffee the bill came to £59.  In my opinion fantastic value for money. I really recommend the Cookbook Café as a brunch venue. Lovely food and a great place to catch up with friends. My advice would be to book a room at the Intercontinental so you can have a lie-down after brunch!  

Cookbook Cafe

Kong (Paris)



 

 

We went on a culinary trip to Paris, where the aim was to learn more about French cuisine through cookery classes and sampling lots of lovely restaurants and patisseries. For a fine dining treat we had hoped to go to Le Jules Verne, however the restaurant was closed for refurbishment. Therefore, we decided to dine at Kong; it was a departure for our dining club, as it was certainly more 'trendy & hip' than restaurants we normally dine at. The restaurant was apparently made famous as it featured in a Sex and the City episode. Upon entering the restaurant I certainly released why as it was modern, chic, with kooky décor and ultra cool people. I was glad to be whisked upstairs to the wonderful dining area rather than mingling at the bar.

 

The wonderful ceiling of the restaurant. The glass surrounding ensured that we had wonderful views of the city.

 

Starter:

(Tempura de soft shell crab, salade de papaya et concombre- Soft shell tempura crab with pickled vegetables)

I have always been intrigued by what a soft shell crab would taste like, and I was uncertain about whether I would also like the consistency. I decided to try the dish at Kong, and I was happy I did as it was very tasty. The crab had a lovely, well seasoned crunchy batter, and a soft middle. It was accompanied by a sharp sauce and pickled vegetables which were perfect accompaniments.

Main:

(Cotes d'agneau premiere, sauce au curry jaune, legumes santes- lamb with a green curry sauce and sautéed vegetables.)

The meat was cooked well, and I like the sauce on the side, which was fragrant, slightly sharp and spicy. The meat could certainly take the bold flavours.

Dessert:

Of course the highlight was the dessert, and yes it was as big as it looked. An apple tarte tatin. The apples were soft and caramelised beautifully. I felt there was more apples to pastry, and I would have liked there to be more pastry and for it to be crispier. The cream was slightly sharp, with crème fraiche running through it. Despite the apply-pastry ratio it was still delicious and I finished it all.

 

 Interesting chairs...

 

Quality & Presentation of  the Food

The quality of the food is excellent. Really interesting flavours due to the Asian/French influence. The portion sizes are generous.

The presentation is good, clean and modern like the restaurant. 

Service & Ambience

The service was good and the waiting staff were informative.

I liked the fact that the ambience was different to other restaurants we had dined in. However, I prefer a more traditional décor and ambience, but I would not let it's ultra modern feel put you off eating there as the food is certainly worth a visit.

Value for Money

For 3 courses and a glass of wine the bill came to about 80 Euros each.  I feel the meal was worth it. It's not somewhere I would visit again if I went to Paris, not because the experience was bad, but nothing was extraordinary, and there are some other Parisian dining venues that I have on my list.

 

Ritz

 

 

Dining at the Ritz was a special treat from a friend. It was really lovely of her to share this wonderful experience with me and I was very excited when the day finally came.

 

The flowers in the beautiful hallway before we entered the dining room.

 

 

 

The dining room was magnificent, really opulent surroundings. Our table was close to the pianist, and the music she played certainly added to the ambience.

 

Amuse Bouche:

(Amuse bouche of cheese beignets, lobster and seaweed cracker with salmon macaroon.)

The cheese beignets had a wonderful rich filling, but at the same time were wonderfully light. The lobster and seafood cracker had some lovely textures, but needed a further accompaniment to add to the taste sensation. My favourite was the salmon macaroon, it was really light and melted in my mouth. It tasted like a Skip!

 

Normally there is not much to write about the bread you are offered. I have had some nice breads before with unique flavour combinations, however, the bread at the Ritz is the best I have had. It was a bacon and onion bread which had the consistency of a croissant. I probably should not admit this in public but I actually had three, they were that good! Buttery and packed pull of flavour with the caramelised onions and bacon pieces. Delicious!

 

Starter:

 

(Gull's Egg with Spring Vegetable, Serrano Ham and Morels)

 

This starter was wonderful in every way that you would hope: taste, presentation and surprise elements which added to the taste experience. Every single element enhanced the dish further, for example the pea shoots, morels, and the cheese pastry. The gull's egg was runny in the middle, and worked beautifully with the morels which added a rich, deep flavour. The cheese pastry added a salty taste to the dish, which also worked well with the sauce, beans and pea shoots. By far this is the best starter I have had recently.

 

 

Main:

Bresse Duck with Heritage Carrot, Fennel and Duck Liver

Certainly hard to follow the starter as it was truly delicious. The duck was cooked well, as it is very easy to overcook and for it to be rubbery; the liver gave the dish a deeper flavour. Although all the accompaniments were cooked well, the overall taste was too sweet due to the sauce. I was left feeling a little underwhelmed by this dish.

Dessert:

(Chocolate Souffle with Vanilla Chantilly and Hazelnut Ice Cream)

I was very excited when I saw this dessert coming towards me. The soufflé had a beautiful texture, and I liked that the dish came both with cream and ice cream, both were very flavoursome. Although the soufflé had a wonderful flavour, I felt it should have had a more prominent chocolate taste. It needed to be richer as it tasted more eggy than chocolaty.

 

Favours:

 

 (Almond cake with raspberry, exotic fruit jelly, vanilla cream macaroon and dark chocolate with salted caramel.)

 

A wonderful array of flavours. The almond cake was moist and had sharp raspberry in the middle which cut through the richness of the cake. The fruit jelly was surprisingly delicious, packed full of flavour and was very refreshing. The macaroon, for me, was too rich, but I loved the dark chocolate salted caramel favour, which was oozing with wonderfully rich caramel. The dark chocolate and salted caramel worked perfectly together. 

 

 

 

Quality & Presentation of  the Food

The quality of the food is excellent. Lovely flavours, interesting combinations which are carefully balanced.  The portion sizes are good, and with 3 rolls I was completely stuffed. The glass of wine I had was okay, but it was not as full-bodied as I had hoped for.

The presentation is superb, wonderful attention to detail, which adds to the taste sensations. 

Service & Ambience

The service was excellent, and not too intrusive. We certainly did not feel rushed. The waiters were informative and gave us some good recommendations.

Alongside the food, the highlight of the Ritz is the ambience. You are whisked into another world where you forget about any problems or stress you may have; instead you are in the world of sheer opulence where you can fully indulgence and have a really special afternoon.


Value for Money

For 3 courses and a glass of wine the bill came to £70.00 each. I would definitely return for a special occasion.

 

 

Roast

Dining at Roast was a surprise birthday treat from my best friend. She asked me to meet her at London Bridge, with no idea where we were going. As I was led through Borough Market, I was very pleased to hear that we were dining at Roast as I have wanted to eat there for a while.

 

The meal started with a Vanilla Mojito cocktail: Dictador rum 12-years old, fresh mint leaves,  fresh lime juice, brown sugar, vanilla liqueur & soda water. Perfect for a warm summer's day as it was really refreshing.

 

Starter:

 

Fish cakes with a tartar sauce.

 

A creamy filling, with lots of fish, rather than being full of potato. The tartar sauce was delicious, nice and sharp, which worked well with the creamy fishcakes.

 

 

 

 

Main:

 

 Borough burger & chips

 

This photo does not do the burger justice. It was a really delicious burger, packed full of flavour- good quality meat, nice cheese, and an interesting mayo, which had pickles in it. We ordered some bacon too to complete the burger. The chips were crispy and plentiful. The first burger I got was too rare for me- I asked for medium to well done, and I feel it was rare to medium. The waiter took it away at once, apologised about 5 times; the matre d' came over and apologised again. They made me another one, which came out after about 20 minutes. I was happy to wait, although my friend had finished her meal by then. It wasn't a problem though, as it just meant we spent more time at the restaurant catching-up. I think it must be quite difficult cooking a burger exactly how a diner wants it. Second time round the burger was cooked to perfection, and I loved it, savouring every bite.

 

 

 Dessert:

Sticky Date Pudding with Toffee Sauce and Neal's Yard Crème Fraiche

The pudding was really rich and I think more of a winter pudding. However, I really enjoyed it  and that point certainly did not stop me from eating it- the richness of the toffee sauce and pudding worked really well with the crème fraiche, which had lemon zest running through it. Therefore, the marriage of sweet and sharp I felt worked magnificently.

 

Quality & Presentation of  the Food

The quality of the food is excellent. Fresh, flavoursome food, with really lovely sauces.  The portion sizes are very generous. My advice is not to eat the bread as you definitely want to leave space for dessert.

The presentation is good, not too fussy as it is not that sort of restaurant. The focus is on clean presentation and good flavours.

Service & Ambience

The service was excellent particularly during the burger issue.

The restaurant is a lot larger than I thought. We had a nice window seat, and could see St Pauls from our table which was lovely. Due to the large windows there is lots of light in the restaurant which added to the ambience of the restaurant.

Value for Money

It was £35 for 3 courses and a cocktail booked via Bookatable. I felt it was excellent value for money and I will definitely be returning. I would like to try a roast there, I'm sure it will be delicious.

Hawksmoor (Air Street)

You cannot beat a good roast dinner, and in my opinion a Hawksmoor roast is the best roast dinner I have had. The meat at Hawksmoor is delicious, and so are the accompaniments.

Main:

Traditionally, large joints of meat were roasted on a spit over an open fire.  To achieve a similar flavour Hawksmoor starts their meat on real charcoal and finishes them in the oven. Served with duck fat roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, carrots, greens and lashings of bone marrow & onion gravy.

The beef was cooked well- you can either have it pink or well-done. I have had it both ways and I think I prefer it pink rather than well-done, as the meat was a little dry. The meat(below)  was succulent, and potatoes are crispy on the outside and beautifully soft in the middle. The Yorkshire pudding is huge! All the vegetables were delicious, and I liked the roasted garlic and onion, which brought great flavours to the roast. We ordered a side-order of creamed spinach, which was really yummy.

Dessert:

(Sticky Toffee Sundae and we also ordered some salted caramel rolos)


After the lengthy description of the main, you may think how could we have room for dessert...well there is always room for dessert!

This is the best dessert I have had for quite some time. I would put it on a par with the infamous Theo Randall chocolate cake. It was made up of pieces of sticky toffee pudding, toffee sauce, clotted cream, vanilla ice-cream, caramelised nuts and dates. Absolutely delicious! The toffee sauce, and sticky toffee pudding was very rich but the ice-cream cut through it well- the proportions were perfect too. The nuts added a good texture.

The salted caramel rolos are out of this world- AMAZING!!! I wish you could pop in and a buy some to take home. They are dark chocolate, filled with a soft caramel filling, not runny or chewy like a normal rolo. You have to order these no matter how full you are- you certainly won't be sharing your last rolo once you have tried these!

Quality & Presentation of  the Food

The quality of the food is excellent. A succulent joint of beef with wonderful accompaniments. Usually the meat is the highlight in a roast, but with this roast it is hard to say as everything is cooked to perfection. The portion sizes are very generous; you will certainly not leave hungry.

The presentation is good for a roast. You do not want a roast to be presented in a fussy manner- the taste of the food is all that counts.

Service & Ambience

The service was brilliant. Our waiter was really attentive, we certainly felt well-looked after. We asked lots of questions and he was happy to help. We ordered lots of courses and different drinks, and they were all right and given to the right person- this is what you expect from waiting staff, but it's rare that you receive it.

I prefer the ambience of the Air Street restaurant to the one in Covent Garden. There is more space, and of course it is brighter as it is not under ground. We had a really nice booth, tucked away at the back of the restaurant, which we really liked.

Value for Money

For 2 courses and a glass of prosecco the bill came to £45.  I felt that the meal was worth every penny and I will definitely be back there for another Sunday roast. I cannot recommend this restaurant more. I would like to go and try a brunch there too...