Le
Gavroche
Reading
an old Observer article from 2002 there was a quote from Albert Roux that
stated Before Le Gavroche there was, well, not very much really: no great
landmark restaurants in London, no competitive community of chefs and, frankly,
very little in the way of great food. 'Most people who ate in restaurants went
to hotels'.
Brothers
Albert and Michel Roux are viewed as the godfathers of modern restaurant
cuisine in the UK. They put Britain on the culinary map; raised standards
across the board through their ground-breaking Michelin-starred restaurants.
1974 Le
Gavroche became the first Michelin-starred restaurant in the UK.
In 1977
it achieved a second star and in 1982 it became the first UK restaurant to hold
three Michelin stars. Then subsequently lost a star in 1993.
No
gastronomic tour of London would have been complete without visiting here,
So I was
thrilled I managed to bag a reservation. Three months in advance and I still
couldn't get a table before 10.30pm! .
The menu
exceptionnel was what we were after. A nine course tasting menu with
accompanying wines weighing in at £360.00 with added 12.5%
gratuity bringing the total to a whopping £405.00 !! "A-hem" not so bad if you say it
fast!
Lasting
well over 3 hours this would have taken us well over the stroke of midnight and
into birthday land comfortably.
We wanted
it and we wanted it bad ! like Gollum wants the ring we wants the
precious exceptionnel...... But
disappointment was to be had as last order for menu exceptionnel 10pm! And our table was 10.30. Oh no!
Disaster!!!!!! We miss it by 1/2 hour!
The only
thing I could do explained the receptionist was ring each week to see if there
had been a cancellation? Which I did but to no avail....but I had a plan, a
simple plan and it worked ;0)
Le
Gavroche is very different to most restaurants we have visited as you enter it
via a small bar upstairs, the actual restaurant is in the basement.
From the
outside the restaurant is quite understated, just a simple black door with Le
Gavroche lit up in the transom light above. You are made very welcome the
minute you step behind that door. Smoothly checked in, coat taken then shown
into the small said but cosy bar.
We sat
down on one of the plush couches and given the menu to peruse and ordered some
cocktails.
Your
order is taken from here so your not actually sitting at the table trying not
to knock the wine glasses over with the menu, this I liked.
We were
also brought some lovely canapés to nibble on.
 |
| Canapes |
One of
the unusual niceties about ordering a meal here is they only pass the menu with
prices on to the paying guest so your dining companion can choose whatever they
like without feeling they should choose the cheapest option.
Now for
my simple trick, and it was this! we purposely turned up 1 hour earlier than
expected and mentioned to the manager we would we would love to experience the
full tasting menu and could we be considered for this if a table became
available before the last order for it?.
It
worked!! and what felt felt like minutes later we were taken downstairs to our
table.
Walking
down those stairs from a very quiet bar into a restaurant buzzing with chatter
and laughter was a fantastic feeling as we were slightly worried it might be
deathly quiet. The sort of place you might hear a pin drop because everyone is
on their best behaviour. It was not like that at all quite the opposite.
The
restaurant has a very cosy feel, dimly lit, very opulent surroundings to enjoy
our feast.
We were
more than thrilled with our little table for two in a far corner of the room
snug and really cosy just the way we like to dine. I believe one of the key
factors here is comfort and as we were here for the long haul this was crucial.
Our neighbours seated next to us we discovered were two fellow
Liverpudlians they had Just finished the menu exceptionnel and were raving
about it, this added to our excitement and we chatted like old friends until
they left.
We were like
a pair of owls wide eyed and heads spinning round looking to see if the next
dish out of the kitchen was the first of our Nine. When our first course did
arrive it was the legendary, I say legendary because it's one of the most
talked about dishes to ever come out of the kitchen of Le Gavroche.
Ladies
and Gentlemen I give you the Soufflé Suissesse, Cheese Soufflé Cooked on Double Cream. A dish so rich I feared for my
arteries as I was eating it. But as instructed by our fellow scousers we tried
each mouthful with a sip from the accompanying Dry Amontillado "Los
Arcos" (Sherry) and it worked a treat cutting through the rich cream my
arteries thanking me for it.
Forgive
photo quality here as don't like to use flash in restaurants.
2nd
Course:
Marinated
Var Salmon with Lemon and Vodka Jelly.
With
matching wine
VouvraySec
"La Dilettante" 2010.
I have to
admit we are both not fans of Salmon but as this was a small piece, it was easily dealt with. No disrespect to Mr Roux jr you
can't help what you don't like.
3rd
Course
Stone
Bass and Pastilla, Scented with Arabian Spices Fennel, Red Rice and Meat Jus.
With
matched wine.
Chateau
Roubine "Terre de Croix" Semillon 2009
This wine
I adored and have been trying to find it ever since.
I
eventually contacted the Sommelier Mr David Galetti @haveagrapetime who helped
me source it from a company called Eminent Wines @EminentWines these guys are
seriously helpful.
4th Course.
Grilled
Scallops with a Clam Minestrone.
Matched
wine.
Pouilly
Fume 2010.
5th
Course.
Black
Pudding, Crumbed Egg, Crackling Asparagus Salad and Spicy Tomato Chutney.
Matched
wine.
Côte-de-Nuits Villages 2006.
6th
Course.
Grilled
Fillet of Scottish Beef, Wild Mushrooms Red Wine Shallot Sauce.
Matched
wine.
Le Soula
Rouge 2004.
By now we were starting to get full, this beef nearly finished me off ! the glasses of wine were starting to mount up too ! any minute now I was tempted to use them as glass Harmonicas and strike up my own happy birthday tune! but thought better of it after all we were on our best behaviour !
7th
Course.
Selection
of French and British Farmhouse Cheeses.
Matched
wine.
Esprit de
Chevalier 2006.
The sight of this Cheese trolley nearly had me shooing them away but a little voice inside me told me to man up !!
8th
Course.
Crispy
Layers of Pastry, Raspberries and Praline Flavoured Chocolate.
Matched
wine.
Côteaux du Layon Saint Lambert 2010.
Ok
by now this was starting to turn into an episode of Man verses food. But I'm glad to say on this day MAN WON!
9th
Course.
Café et Petits Fours.
If you have ever seen the Monty Python film the meaning of life then you will remember the sceene where after eating a feast of several courses and proclaiming "I can't eat another thing!"
The smooth Matire d' offers him wafer thin mint . In our case the Petit fours. then runs for cover as the diner explodes!! well that was us!
One of the funniest things we will never forget was there was a particular waitress serving our wine, each time she poured a glass she told us where the wine had come from what the aroma or bouquet was, finish etc... all in perfect english but with a heavy french accent.
We were one of the last people to leave and she asked us if we had had a good time to which we replyed we had.... After a couple of minutes delay it hit us she had spoken to us in a London accent !! we laughed all the way back to the hotel.
Mr Roux your two stars are well deserved but if ever a Michelin inspector happens to come across this Blog could you please give Le Gavroche it's third star back !
One for the excellent food, One for the impecable service and the third for the pure theatre Thank you.
