Month: November 2011

Bar Boulud – a welcome return

Located in the basement of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge is Daniel Boulud’s London outpost Bar Boulud. I had lunch there just after it opened – see post Bar Boulud – Busy! Buzzy!Burgers! I enjoyed it on that visit and certainly thought about returning to try more from the Bistro inspired menu.  It’s amazing to think that was over 18 months ago and I am only now returning, this time as part of a larger group.

This visit was for lunch on a Saturday and we experienced a much less frantic environment than I remember.  The ambience was actually very relaxing.

I choose from the excellent value fixed price lunch menu – seriously good value at £23 for 3 courses.  I started with a lovely creamy and tasty pumpkin soup,  followed by a very tender lamb shoulder dish served with baby carrots, eggplant, almonds and apricots and finished with a quite stunning chestnut sable & mousse covered in a lovely shiny chocolate glaze served with some light and refreshing pear sorbet.

My companions were visiting Bar Boulud for the first time and quite rightly ordered the burgers. The Yankee and the Frenchie being the most popular choice. The best burgers in London was the general consensus there – great fries too.

The other dessert pictured is the gâteau noisette et poire – hazelnut mousse with caramelized pears and caramel ice cream. It was a stunner.

I tried very hard to resist the allure of the Mandarin Bar without success. My intentions for having a reasonably priced lunch were dashed by the pricey but delicious cocktails.  The pictured cocktail is a Lychee Martini, the cocktail menu also had some delightfully named cocktails like the Orient Expresso and the Ginny Henricks.

I am sure I will return to Bar Boulud again in the not too distant future. It’s such a good refuge from the hustle and bustle of Knightsbridge.

UPDATE : December 2012, returned for the good value set lunch menu (which unfortunately does not include the famous burgers).  Same high standard of food and service.  The tables are very close together, so you will find it hard to avoid a bit of people watching, we witnessed a couple of incidents where the staff were working hard handling some of the very demanding customers that frequent Bar Boulud.

UPDATE : June 2021 – Closed

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The Sundial in Herstmonceux

I had a couple of preconceptions that were quickly dispelled on my visit to The Sundial.

1. That French Restaurants in the country that advertise themselves as wedding venues tend to be a bit mundane.

2. That we would be hard pushed to find an East Sussex restaurant that was better than The Waterside.

On entering the rather empty car park on a quiet Saturday lunch time in the unassuming village of Herstmonceux. I was pleasantly surprised by the attractive, modern and well designed layout of The Sundial. It has a small lounge bar area in the middle, a small private dining room to the left and the main restaurant to the right. There is a also a small terrace and a large garden area.

We were greeted by the proprietors Chef Vincent and his wife Mary who manages front of house, and made comfortable in the lounge area where we were served some tasty canapes while we made our selections. First step was choosing which menu. They have a fine dining menu which at £25 for 3 courses seemed really good value.  The a la carte is £40 for 3 courses and there is a 5 course tasting menu at £55. We opted for the a la carte.

First we had a nice creamy crayfish mousse amuse bouche. Then for starters we both had the perfectly cooked Panfried King Scallops, with Wild Mushrooms, Garlic and Parsley. A lovely looking dish visually enhanced by the inclusion of the blue Vitelotte Potatoes. Next we had a refreshing champagne and lemon granita palette cleanser.

For main course I had the Wild Seabass Fillet, Seabass and Lobster Sausage with Tarragon and Pistachio served with beautifully smooth mash and my companion had the fairly substantial Breast of Duck with Potato Pancakes and seasonal Vegetables

This was followed by a pre dessert that was effectively a mini raspberry choc ice, a bit like a frozen raspberry ruffle on a stick.  Then for dessert I had Red Berry Compote and Chocolate Mousse, Hazelnut Macaroon and Nougat Mousse with Carrot and Ginger Sorbet. The Hazelnut Macaroon was really moreish, working so well with the unusual Carrot and Ginger Sorbet.   However the star of the show,  at least visually, was the Chocolate Dégustation that included chocolate ice cream, chocolate mousse and chocolate parfait.  This dish was very much presented to impress.

The wine list is extensive, although there are not too many by the glass unfortunately – my only complaint.

We finished off this rather splendid meal with coffee and a fairly substantial selection of petit fours in the lounge.

Attention to detail and stylish presentation are obviously important at The Sundial, they used a lovely selection of tableware ranging from the cute copper pot butter dish to the stunning customised glass dessert plates, this was backed up by solid cooking and good ingredients.

The Sundial restaurant had a Michelin star for three years until 1982 and I sincerely hope it’s back on the Michelin Inspectors radar, as this is a serious contender for a star in my opinion.

 

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