A couple of my very best friends have been badgering me to visit this restaurant for a year or so and realised the only way to ensure I would pay a visit was to book it and take me. Hence I found myself in this very traditional English style building, just off Cavendish Square – once a Coutts and Co Bank – on a Friday evening with three good friends to determine what all the fuss was about.
The restaurant calls itself a Brasserie and is the London offshoot of a well established 2 Michelin star Restaurant in Paris (named Le Taillevent) which apparently was the inspiration for the film Ratatouille. The claim to fame in the London branch is that it has 110 wines to try by the glass that compares to the average “fancy” restaurant offering of on average around 6. It also prides itself on pairing wines with the food, and the menu itself is a jigsaw of food listings which can then be paired with a choice of 4 different wines in different price brackets ranging from around £8 a glass to in excess of £20 enabling you to very much choose the exclusivity or rarity of the wine you wish to enjoy with your food.
It is quite an original concept and to my knowledge nothing else in London can compete with such an offering. To overcome this daunting but impressive looking menu – which would involve long decision making processes – 2 of our party( myself included) decided to opt for the Tasting Menu (£59) with pairing wines at an additional £45. The other 2 present went off piste and chose their own wines. So we had a situation with the 2 Brits present doing preordained Tasting – we cannot be bothered to choose the wines – and my 2 French friends doing their own thing – what this says about the respective Nationalities I am unsure, other than us Brits know nothing about wine and prefer to leave it the experts, and our friends from across the Channel apparently do!
To the food – as mentioned above we opted for the tasting menu which on the face it looked exceptional value bearing in mind we would enjoy 4 Courses followed by 2 desserts.
The first offering were some beautifully light cheese gougeres that almost needed to be tethered to the serving plate to stop them gravitating to the ceiling they were so light.
This was followed by the first course on the tasting menu being a very seasonal pea veloute which arrived as bright green tiny spheres accompanied by a few girrolles, baby gem and pea shoots with a little pecorino ravioli balanced in the middle, with the vibrant,almost kryptonite, pea veloute poured in at the table. I love a good pea – very underrated when at their seasonal prime – and this was a fantastic concoction, sweet tiny balls of joy with a little bit of hidden hazelnut somewhere inside to give a crunch and change in texture.
Next up was the restaurants most iconic dish, that of Spelt Lobster Risotto. Again we had waiters pouring the final accompaniment at the table, this time being an earthy lobster bisque which gave the dish a lot of punch and depth of flavour. The spelt had a lovely chewiness to it and the lobster claw floating in the middle was sweet and the whole dish came together perfectly.
This was followed by Scottish Cod with steamed broccoli, yuzu and a Beurre Blanc. A tiny portion of the B.B. was poured out on the side of the plate by the waiter, upon him disappearing we all emptied out the pot that had been left on the side onto our plates – who does not want a full portion of beurre blanc – especially when it was this good. There was a wonderful “zingy” Strong citrus flavour coming from the Yuzu, and the Cod – it appeared to be cooked but not cooked. Almost translucent- not a good sign for fish cooking- falling apart and incredibly delicate and gorgeous. On enquiringly on the cooking method, it was, as I suspected, poached, but to my surprise in buttermilk. Outstanding.
The final savoury Course was a Surf and Turf which always worries me – I don’t usually enjoy the 2 on the same plate together – but I need not have been concerned. This was Veal rump that was coupled with langoustine, one separately on the side, and strangely enough one langoustine in the centre of the veal too – they cannot have been cooked together like that ? The langoustine was meltingly soft and I would have thought only took 1 minute or so to prepare hence my question of preparation together. Interestingly enough a langoustine bisque also mingled on the plate with a Veal jus – it was surf and turf on a another level. We had a brassica element to the plate here too, namely small cuts of cauliflower sitting on a cauliflower purée that was infused with vanilla. I am not a huge cauliflower fan but the vanilla hit and the crunchiness of the roasted or pan fried cauliflower with the soft purée also was a hit. Cauliflower seems to be making a huge comeback presently and is being prepared in all sorts of inventive ways – I could be becoming a fan !
Wines – I have not mentioned the Wine but it involved a very original selection wherein our Sommelier was enjoying playing tricks with us and getting us to blind taste some. We had a wonderfully light red 2014 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre with the cod, and a Moroccan 2012 Syrah produced by French wine makers Thalvin and Graillot with the Veal which none of us could get close to on a blind taste and I would defy anyone ! Closest we got to was South African.
Desserts – first up was Mandarin which came with pistachio and vanilla, gold leaf on top, and a sort of mandarin soup to go with it. We were told to smash the mandarin immediately and to get all of the tastes together which we did not need to be asked twice to do.
This was followed by a chocolate dessert that involved peanut caramelia, a cocoa sorbet and a light shard of chocolate that disintegrated upon touch. Effectively this was a high quality chocolate peanut magnum, but I was always a fan of those, so enjoying a higher quality version worked for me.
By now all of us were feeling somewhat overindulged, the portion sizes for such a tasting menu were quite generous and we were struggling to finish our magnums. I would say this is one if the best value tasting menus I am aware of in London presently, especially when lined up against Simon Rogan at Roganic and the like. The quality of every dish was exceptional and if you do not go for the wine pairing you are coming away having experienced 6 amazing dishes for less than £10 a plate – in Central London !
The service was also spot on, not too intrusive, but there when it was needed, and this helped to establish a relaxed atmosphere rather than what potentially could be a stuffy location.
I would highly recommend this location and intend to visit again soon to try the A La Carte offerings. This was a case where I should have listened to my friends earlier, maybe there are trendier spots,and a lot more recent openings to try out, but Taillevent is offering modern/classic perfectly prepared food at extremely competitive prices. Faultless.
Rating :
Food – Blazingly Hot Pan
Service – Blazingly Hot Pan
Les 110 de Taillevent, 16 Cavendish Square, Marylebone,W1G 9DD.
A great review and a privilege to share the venting with you T and our two French friends! Just to add, there was a rather dishy waiter too to add to the hotness of your rating!
Maybe I need to add another criteria to my reviews ? Dishiness/Sexiness of waiting staff ? Would this help people decide upon their next restaurant choice ???