La Trompette

La Trompette has been operating since 2001, located near the busy Chiswick High Road. Running the kitchen is Greg Wellman, who was head chef of Glasshouse until it closed in late 2022. Three courses were priced at £89.50 per person for three courses a la carte at dinner, or £65 for the same number of courses at lunch. I wrote about the excellent and fairly priced wine list recently here. It is a joy, with well-chosen wines and moderate prices compared to the greedy markups of most London restaurants these days.

Tuna sashimi was served with a dressing of yuzu and white soy, along with a blog of avocado puree, toasted sesame, coriander, pickled ginger and chilli. Although this was quite a simple dish, the tuna itself was of good quality and the dressing was very well judged, with just enough acidity to cut through the richness of the tuna. The avocado and the toasted sesame brough some extra flavour, and the spices were carefully restrained but nicely enhanced the flavour of the fish (15/20).

Venison saddle came with smoked creamed potatoes, beetroot, quince, cavolo nero, chestnuts and pancetta. The venison was carefully cooked and had plenty of flavour, and the sauce of the cooking juices with it had plenty of depth of flavour. Venison is quite a rich meat, so the earthy beetroot and the cabbage provided welcome balance, while the pancetta added a smoky extra flavour (15/20).

Chocolate souffle was topped with toasted nuts and served with vanilla ice cream. The souffle was evenly cooked and had risen nicely, and was suffused with plenty of rich chocolate flavour. The toasted nuts were a smart way to offset this richness, while the vanilla ice cream with it was silky and had plenty of vanilla flavour. This was a high class souffle (16/20).

Coffee was from Union Coffee, which is not the worst out there, but still is not a good speciality coffee supplier. This is an area that the restaurant could improve quite easily. The bill came to £192 per person including plenty of wine. If you shared a modest bottle of wine between two then a typical cost per person might come to around £125.  La Trompette continues to serve consistently good food in an appealing environment.

Further reviews: 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