was, quite simply, divine. Perfectly cooked, sweet scallop and velvety cauliflower puree. The crispy peanuts were unusual but worked well with the other flavours and the crunch added texture and lifted the dish. My only criticism (if I was really scrabbling for one) would be that the baby leeks were a tad difficult to cut so I had to hone my eating-things-without-looking-silly skills.
For mains I had toyed with the idea of the
fillet of braised turbot over fresh peas, girolles, braised gem lettuce & light jus gras, but the 'jus gras' is made with veal stock, so on the waiter's recommendation I went for the 'lighter'
seared fillet of wild sea bass, braised fennel, tomato & sauce vierge. I'm not sure whether his recommendation was based on his view that I needed to shed a few pounds or that I might be a lady who lunches for whom light is the key. Whichever way I was happy with my choice, with one exception - the coriander shoots. Why, oh why are chefs obsessed with these micro shoots? They look pretty and add some vibrancy, granted, but the overpowering taste of coriander (which to some people tastes like dirty wet pet hair smells) is too much. So, having scraped them all to one side of my plate I continued - with each forkful some tender sea bass, crispy skin, sweet tomato flesh, salty black olive and the simplicity of a good quality vinaigrette. It was light as the waiter had promised. And simple. The choice of a vinaigrette over a heavier sauce was genius and one I plan to replicate at home this summer. All washed down with a glass of Chablis.
Just as the waiter was about to take my plate away I realised there was lovely juice left so promptly mopped it up with my last scrap of the sourdough. Delightful.
Next stop - the dessert menu. Now, had I not been dining alone there would have been no competition. The tarte tatin. I'm going back at some point just to taste that beauty! Before I could make my mind up, Michele (the Restaurant Manager) offered me a tour of the kitchens which I jumped at. It amazed me how calm it was in there - I guess I had expected shouting and crashing and banging Ramsey-style. We stepped out onto a balcony out the back of the kitchen to a view which is out of this world. As Michele and I chatted about work/life balance and the best Italian restaurants in London we gazed out over Buckingham Palace to the right, the City ahead and Crystal Palace in the distance. It was breathtaking.
On the way back to my table I asked the chefs on the dessert section what to choose and received a resounding vote in favour of the strawberry panacotta with wild strawberries. Oh my were they spot on! The plate looked so pretty and summery - a small rich, smooth panacotta topped with strawberry jelly with the most amazingly intense flavoured wild strawberries on the side. Every mouthful was a joy. It was my first taste of wild strawberries and I was amazed at how something so small can taste so good.
By now I felt right at home and could have settled in for the afternoon! Coffee came in the form of a double espresso (followed by another which rendered me useless and on a caffeine high for the rest of the afternoon) served with salted caramels, madagascan truffles and chocolate coated raspberry jelly truffles. They looked exquisite! Just to be sure that the raspberry one was as good as I thought it was I had to ask for some more and prepared myself to have to be rolled out of there.
It was a truly memorable lunch for all the right reasons - amazing setting with the views over London, attentive and friendly service and damn fine food!
A final note to Fred - you must do the tarte tatin competition and count me in!
Damage: £48 twitter menu (3 courses from the menu prestige plus a glass of champagne and coffee & chocolates)
Galvin at Windows
22 Park Lane
London
W1K 1BE
Tel: 020 7208 4021
www.galvinatwindows.com
Oh hey, I recognise those chocolates! They are by Artisan du Chocolat! Nyum!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a wonderful meal and excellent service!
If you fancy taking another day off work sometime during the week (I am a lazy cow and do my best to avoid working five days a week) I'd love to meet for lunch somewhere in town!
what an incredible view, and that strawberry dessert looks quite the business! You're so lucky that they showed you around the kitchens always a good sign. This might just be next on my list of places to eat out...
ReplyDeleteKavey - The chocolates were divine! I'm not usually a chocolate person (I prefer fruity desserts) but those raspberry ones had me hooked! Lunch some time sounds a lovely idea.
ReplyDeleteGastrogeek - The view was like no other I've seen in London and I wasn't expecting it as we walked out of the door onto the balcony (I was too busy talking...) so it took my breath away. The La Carte menu for dinner is good value (£33) so you should try to take advantage, but I think it only runs to the end of June.
I really enjoyed it too as you know. I agree with you on the service though - a little bit too attentive!
ReplyDeleteoh my, now where do i get a spare £48 from in a hurry???
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a great leisurely lunch. I'm not used to dining alone but certainly wouldn't avoid it; I like the idea of treating yourself like this!
ReplyDelete