La Trompette

La Trompette is my local Michelin starred restaurant, operating since 2001. Its current head chef is Greg Wellman, who was head chef of The Glasshouse, having previously worked at Elystan Street, Chez Bruce and The Square. Three courses were priced at £89.50. I have written previously about the very good wine list here.

I started this meal with a new dish on the menu, double cooked Mont d’Or cheese souffle. Mont d’Or Vacherin is a soft cow’s milk cheese from France that has been made for centuries, and is a gooey delight. The souffle was carefully made and had light texture, the richness of the cheese balanced by the addition to the dish of pickled radicchio to give some bitter contrasting flavour, and toasted walnuts to add a different texture. This was a lovely dish, well-designed and beautifully executed (easily 16/20).

Duck from Devon was served as the breast cooked pink alongside celeriac puree, fondant potato, red cabbage and bacon. The duck had quite good flavour and the red cabbage went very well with it, along with the earthy flavour of the celeriac to balance the richness of the meat. Few dishes are not improved by the addition of bacon, which was a nice final touch (15/20).

I had a plate of cheese tonight rather than dessert, and this was fine, the cheeses in good condition. There was a selection of nutty Temple Gall from County Cork, the alpine cheese Challerhocker, rich Munster from the Vosges, creamy Tallegio from Lombardy, Camembert from Normandy, Mont d’Or, Elrick log Scottish goat cheese, Golden Cross English goat cheese, and the choice of two blues: Roquefort from southern France and Fourme ‘Ambert from Auvergne, all available with a good in-house chutney.

Service was lovely, and the bill came to £174 per person with two good bottles of wine and a few other drinks between five people. This was an excellent meal, with the cheese souffle a particularly welcome addition to the menu.

Further reviews: 13th Oct 2024 | 17th Jul 2024 | 25th Feb 2023 | 20th Sep 2022 | 03rd Jul 2021 | 24th Nov 2019 | 15th Oct 2018 | 08th Sep 2017 | 05th Jan 2017 | 11th Jul 2013 | 13th Dec 2012