Pied a Terre

Editor's note. In September 2015 it was announced that head chef Marcus Eaves would be moving to Oblix.

An array of nibbles at the start of this meal include mushroom beignets with summer truffle, and tuna on a little crisp. Quail was served in several forms: as breast, crispy leg and quail Kiev along with a poached quail egg, served with a Douglas Fir puree and hazelnut dressing. This was a pretty and well executed dish, the quail precisely cooked and the dressing working well with the slightly bitter leaves used as garnish (18/20).

Saddle of hare was roasted and served with wet walnuts, cavalo nero, quince and blackberries on a bed of red cabbage. The hare was nicely cooked, the fruit providing some acidity to balance the richness of the meat (17/20).

Native lobster was served with vine cherry tomatoes, burnt aubergine, courgettes and chorizo. Lobster is tricky to get right, very easy to overcook. Here the cooking was accurate and the chorizo was a pleasant foil to the shellfish (16/20).

Raspberry and lemon millefeuille came with fresh verbena and lemon thyme gel. The puff pastry was good, the raspberries having plenty of flavour, the acidity of the lemon providing freshness but not too sharp (17/20).

As usual here, there was a wide selection of petit fours, including a lemon meringue and a lovely passion fruit chocolate (easily 17/20). Service was excellent, attentive without being intrusive. On this occasion I was being treated by someone else so did not see the bill, but if you ordered a la carte and shared a modest bottle of wine then a typical bill might come to around £115 a head. This was accomplished cooking, the menu appealing and the overall experience very enjoyable.

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Further reviews: 05th Jun 2018 | 17th Oct 2013 | 04th Sep 2011