Acontraluz

Acontraluz is part of the successful Grupo Tragaluz. It’s situated in a pretty suburban area near Sarria and far enough off the beaten track not to be mistaken for a tourist destination. We have been here several times over the years for lunch.

It’s a pleasant, relaxing venue. You would normally need to book as it is popular with the well healed locals. It’s also not the easiest place to find.

Marks out of 10

Food 5

Service 5

Ambience 5.4

Update : August 2012 : What have they done with their web site – very weird : – Acontraluz

 

 

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The Landmark – Champagne brunch in the Winter Garden

OK so it is still Summer, but champagne brunch in the Winter Garden at The Landmark Hotel is just too good to resist.

It’s 3 hours of non stop champagne and access to an extensive buffet containing a wide variety of lovely dishes.

You can go for breakfast, perhaps have an omelette from the Omelette station, or go for  typical brunch dishes like Eggs Benedict. There was also a lovely fish pie, lots of salmon dishes, and a really good range of sea food and sushi.   If you prefer Lunch to Brunch, you also have soups and roasts.

For those of us with a sweet tooth, this place is an absolute delight, as there is no skimping on the dessert selection either.  Desserts included a chocolate fountain, sorbets and ice cream, tarlets, fruit and cakes off all sorts.  I especially loved the marmalade meringues and the cup cakes.

In fact to really appreciate what’s on offer here, it is best to make this the only meal of the day.

The venue is lovely too.

This has to be one of the best brunch spots in London.

Marks out of 10

Food 7

Service 7

Ambience 7

 

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40|30 at the Gherkin – COOLest venue of the Noughties!

My last visit to 40|30 Restaurant at the Gherkin was in January, long enough a gap in my view.  So it was back again with a group of friends to enjoy a night out in the one of the  “COOLest venues of the Noughties“.

So is it still “Cool”? – Absolutely.

This place has substance and style, there is no question that 40|30 is continuing to delivering first class food in a first class venue.

The menu was both interesting and varied, some classic food combinations and some more surprising ones.  My main course of  Pork belly with Black Pudding doughnuts was  just stunning and the cheese cake with celery of all things, was another standout.

For food of this calibre in such a world class location, 2 courses at £39.50 and 3 courses at £47.50 is such a good deal (especially as it includes an amuse bouche and a pre dessert).  The wine list is extensive but there are sufficient bottles under £40 to ensure that it is not too daunting.

You could tell by the empty plates at our table just how much we all enjoyed the food.

 

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Public Dining Room @ Balmoral beach – what no sauce?

A post from No Experts Australian Correspondent

It was with great anticipation that we headed down to The Public Dining Room at Balmoral beach.  The dining room is beautifully located, with views of the Ocean and Balmoral Pier. It’s modern glass fronted look, maximises the ocean views.

To add to our anticipation, the occasion that took us there was a food and wine tasting diner organised by Henshke Wines to promote their  Lenswood range of wines. It’s no secret that Henschke are one of my favourite Vineyards, and to this day, I find it extremely difficult to find fault with any wine that they produce.

MENU WITH MATCHING WINES:-

Soup of turnips, champagne, avruga caviar – 2009 Henschke Julius Eden Valley Rielsing

Tortellini of scallop mousse, seared scallop, broad beans and tomatoes, verjuice emulsion – 2009 Henschke Lenswood Littlehampton Innes Pinot Gris

Slow braised, deboned chicken thigh, confit egg yolk, brioche crumbs, chervil – 2007 Henschke Lenswood Croft Chardonnay

Poached hapuka fillet, lentil ragout, parsnip, red wine jus – 2008 Henschke Lenswood Giles Pinot Noir

Golden plains pork belly, parsley puree, roast chestnuts, peas, spiced salt – 2007 Henschke Tappa Pass Shiraz

Twelve hour braised veal cheek, creamed polenta blanco, brussel sprout leaves, pine nuts, lemon – 2007 Henschke Lenswood Abbotts Prayer Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon

Strawberry lamington, coconut sorbet, strawberry salad and soup, basil – Henschke Muscat of Tappa Pas

We arrived a little early, and after checking in at the main desk, we were pointed at a table, and told to take any seat. Once seated, we had a great deal of trouble getting a waiters attention for some aperitifs, which was disappointing! Somehow we expected something much better from this restaurant.

The amuse bouche, a warm soup of Turnips with champagne and topped with Caviar was mouth watering leading us to expect big things to come! Sadly the course that followed seemed to set the precedent for the rest of the evening.  The tortellini of scallop was dry, and the four components of the dish appeared to be randomly plonked on the plate. I couldn’t work out what chopped tomatoes, and boiled beans were doing on this plate at all!  The verjuice emulsion that should have brought the components of this dish together, seemed sadly evident as only a smudge on the plate. Very disappointing.

The courses that followed, were similarly either dry, or lacking in a sauce or even missing components completely.  Lovely moist chicken, accompanied by an over cooked egg, again very dry and lacking a sauce to bring it together.  The following courses were notable for over cooked fish, lovely soft pork belly again missing a sauce, and missing the parsley puree completely, even the veal cheek was missing the pine nuts.

Our saving grace was the delicious wines, and good company. The wine did appear to be well matched with the food, but every one I spoke to on the night seemed to concur that the food was generally dry and lacking something. Inconsistent plates, and missing components makes me think that the Public Dining room are attempting to take on too much, and that organising a food and wine matching for 85 people is well beyond the restaurant’s capabilities to cope.

It maybe unfair to judge the restaurant on this evening, however I  have no desire to return, a feeling shared by many of my fellow diners.

Marks out of 10

Food 3.9

Service 4.1

Ambience 7.5

 

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Cross Keys – and angry words (Closed)

The Cross Keys is a historic pub in the heart of Chelsea. It has a couple of lovely rooms that can be hired out and a separate  restaurant at the back with a retractable roof to let in the sunshine.  We dropped in for Sunday lunch, not realising that the pub had changed ownership earlier this year.

The service itself was a bit patchy, with the bread and one dip arriving first, then a second dip coming  just as the main courses arrived. I am pretty sure the rather loud argument we heard from the serving area did not help the ambience!

The bread with fresh pesto dip and olive oil was a good start, but the menu selection was not very exciting,  none of the starters grabbed our attention, nor did the desserts. So we ended up just having main courses, specifically  the Lamb Cutlets and the Wagyu beef burger with Truffle fries which at £16.00 has to be one of the most expensive burgers I have ever had. The Truffle fries were nice, but the burger was very ordinary, and served with way too much Kos lettuce. At that price I was expecting something a bit more  sophisticated, like the “frenchie” burger served at Bar Boulud for example.

So maybe on my next visit I will just stick to drinks and bar snacks and avoid disappointment.

Marks out of 10

Food 4.2

Service 4.5

Ambience 4.7

 

UPDATE – November 2012: Restaurant is now closed. See article about Squatters taking up residence for some background information.

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Confessions of a Chocolaholic Afternoon Tea at the Hilton

Overindulged at the “Confessions of a Chocaholic Afternoon Tea at the Hilton”  in the Podium Restaurant on the ground floor of the Park Lane Hilton.

This afternoon tea is good value for money, compared to a lot of the hotel based afternoon tea options in London (£29.50 including a glass of champagne).

The three tier cake stand used looks great and I was impressed by the chocolate selection, even the gold sprinkled base was made out of chocolate.  There is so much here, making the pretty take away handbags a must.  The Tea selection was also interesting and extensive.

The open sandwiches were beautifully presented, tasty and fresh. The chocolate spread with Chocolate Chip scones was also a nice touch. Not so keen on the cup cakes though which were rather ordinary.

The let down was more on the service side, which although friendly, was really slow. It was hard getting attention and it was nearly a hour before we started!  I am also not sure that “I did not have time to bring the extra sandwiches is a particularly good excuse” in a hotel of this calibre.

The room was pleasant enough but had rather bad acoustics and the use of live and canned music really did not work.

Marks out of 10

Food 5.7

Service 3.8

Ambience 4

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