RESTAURANT REVIEWS

ASTER

Coming out of Victoria Station – probably the worst Construction Site in London, like forever – I was thinking where will I find Aster whose address is the new NOVA centre ?

Well it was not difficult to find as this Weird shard of metal of glass was jutting out directly in front of the station and I could spy the word Aster already above the almost Icelandic Modern Church looking entrance.

This is huge space with a cafe area downstairs and a sweeping staircase leading to the more refined Dining area that has full length glass windows giving a wonderful view over what is a blot on the landscape – the aforementioned construction site of the Victoria Station complex.

This is a restaurant led by Chef Patron Helena Puolakka who has Finnish roots but was classically French trained – hence the style of cooking before referred to as Nordic/French. She has a great pedigree having been Executive chef at Skylon for 6 years and has previous experience with Pierre Koffman and at the 3 Michelin starred Pierre Gagnaire temple of French Gastronomy Hotel Balzac,Paris.

I was here to meet a couple of fellow students that had also endured the stress of the last week of schools Theory and Practical Exams and who needed to be comforted by someone else cooking for them !

We were provided with 2 menus the first being working Lunch menus with 2 courses for £21 or 3 for £23 which appeared good value for money but we went with the a La Carte which had a number of tempting dishes on offer.

First out of the traps was Foie Gras ,Pan Fried with smoked ell and apple salad and topped with a parmesan lace potato.

This was a beautiful looking dish – I had been concerned regards the quantity of eel to Foie Gras but needn’t of been as the Foie gras was a soft and juicy lump of meat with a burnous of Eel pieces scattered around. The apple -Granny Smiths ? -_cut through the fat in just the right proportion and the dish was a hit.

Another starter sampled was the Beef Carpaccio  with pink Oyster mushrooms and some kind of pickled celery = another well presented dish and declared as fantastic by my dining companion.

We were advised that the scallops were unavailable from the Starter menu but other options included a very Nordic sounding Blackcurrant herrings with new potatos and pickled red onions.

On to mains –  my 2 friends went for Guinea Fowl balloting,turnipos ,apples and a vin jaunt sauce. This was much more delicate looking and tasting than the Chicken Ballotine we had prepared at school a few weeks back and the meat was prepared perfectly being moist and tasty. My choice was Halibut, Hispi Cabbage Charred Onions and a buttermilk sauce. This was s small wedge of halibut and textural not has meaty as I thought it might of been, but none the worse for it – Hispi cabbage was Nice and sweet and the sauce required but had I not read the menu oi would not have been sure of its flavour. Interestingly enough out of 6 main courses on offer, 2 were Vegetarian options and 1 a Chateaubriand to share (at £58).

We had the Truffled potato accompaniment – being greedy ordered 2 of them – but the portions were large-  and although tasting like a very creamy and exotic Dauphinoise we did not quite manage to polish them both off !

There are 6 Desserts on offer and all tried different options. A chocolate “planet” was impossible to resist for our chocolate lover and a blood orange cake, jelly, candied peel and Juniper Ice Cream was also ordered. This was a little messy looking and a little dry and maybe not the best dessert on offer.

A very beautifully constructed Apple Tarte Fine was ordered by me with smoked Almond Ice Cream. not as almondy as I was expecting and smallish in quantity but again it looked and tasted a treat.

The chocolate planet – a sphere to you and me – was greedy finished off and thereafter ice were presented with a small gift of pistachio macaroons – excellent and some kind of mini berry parfait cake – tasteless and discarded !

Allin all all this was exquisite food very well presented and in a little different style to what we are used to. Helena and her team have an eye for precision and finesse – you eat with your eyes as we are often told,  but in this case our stomaches were just as well treated as our eyes in Aster !

The ambience was very Corporate Suites on a Monday lunchtime – probably we were the only casual Diners – so need to check it out in the evening as it has the potential to be quite buzzy with a good looking bar area as you first reach the top of the stairs.

If you plan to see Hamilton anytime in the near future this is a great option for before or after as it is more or less next door and caters for both pre and post Theatre Dining.

Price for 3 – £223 including a very well balanced and not overpowering Californian Sebastiani 2014 Zinfandel from Sonomo at £42. Good value .

RATING : FOOD –VERY HOT PAN

SERVICE – HOT PAN (Waiter was putting bread on incorrect side plates !)