A quick word on the restaurant: it is a converted three story Mayfair townhouse with a spectacular basement cellar and well-designed dining room on the ground floor, counter dining option on the first floor (overlooking the main kitchen) and high ceiling private dining room on the upper floor.  Next time I go I will be spending a little more time in the cellar which has an absolutely beautiful mini-cave for a pre-dinner drink.  The wine cellar itself has treasures to behold including the fabled Burgundian Pinot Noir from Romanée-Conti, but also some more accessible wines by the glass that my sommelier guided me on very well.  The above is in itself, a testament for this meal, the fact that I am already plotting my next visit.

An array of five different canapés arrived at the table at the start of the meal for both myself and my dining companion to enjoy with opening glasses of champagne.  Mini doughnuts were filled with 36 month-aged Comte cheese and black truffle cheese sauce and topped with 60 months aged parmesan from Bologna and were just the right warmth in temperature and umami.  Delicate croustades made with beer batter were filled with wild yellow tail tuna from Portugal, seasoned with soy and aged golden Oscietra caviar – these were utter indulgence and beautifully done.  A play on coronation chicken saw confit Arnaud Tauzin (producer) chicken legs, Earl Grey tea soaked raisins, apple with Sri Lankan home-made curry powder, topped with almond brittle and pickle apple in a tart shell – a sumptuous bite.  Tartlets of reindeer tart were served in malt tart shells filled with carrot purée, pickle red onion, cured and smoked reindeer heart and fennel flower.  Finally a tart of deer parfait, Sri Lankan kethul (a form of honey), smoked eel and grated foie gras from Landes finished the presentation.  It is not lost on me how much work needs to go in to canapés and these original offerings were all lovely with superbly thin pastry throughout.

The bread deserves a separate mention as it was impressive in its own right.  A home-made steamed onion brioche displayed sheer skill from the pastry chef but was more importantly some of the best bread I have had since enjoying the fabled 2 Michelin starred Ledbury’s onion brioche – and I think this has actually stolen the crown from that version which was in pole position for many years.  The other factor being the utterly exquisite truffle butter it came with, the potency of the truffle essence being judged to perfection.  This was simply bread and butter at the very top grade it can be and a genuine reason to come back for this alone.

The starters chosen were Norwegian King Crab and the otoro.  My dining companion’s King Crab came from suppliers based in Northern Norway (with other seafood is sourced from Tanera Mòr island, in the West coast of Scotland) and was served with micro lemon verbena, a deep mushroom purée, and equally deep bisque.  This was a quality starter.  My full fat tuna (otoro) was diced in to cubes and served with pan fried foie gras and Golden Oscietra Caviar from a private, Parisian supplier.  This was utterly sublime and at first I was concerned that the caviar might be a bit too much (salt) for the dish, but the salt content was beautifully controlled and the flavour bomb that went off in the mouth reminded me of one of the best dishes I have ever had in my life at 3 Michelin starred Victor’s Dining by Christian Bau in Germany.  If I could afford it, I would have a spoonful of this dish every day of my life as the flavour combination is just that magnificent.

The mains were the chicken and beef courses.  Arnaud Tauzin supplied chicken came from Landes, Tanera Island Langoustine, maitake, jus gras (sauce made from roasting drippings) was a showcase of chicken at the height of what it can and should be with wonderful accompaniments.  My course of beef was a similar thing of beauty.  The dry aged Sirloin of beef is from Rolwer Farm, who only supply exclusively to The Cocochine.  This case with BBQ Lobster, a beef reduction and one of the best Béarnaise sauces I have ever had.  The beef very good but but I was mainly in heaven with such a deep jus and a tarragon powerhouse of béarnaise made with wagyu dripping which is another first for me.

The desserts were a vanilla ice cream dessert and chocolate cremeux.  The latter had a decadent texture and softeness in its 66% dark chocolate strength served with a small biscuit, golden oscietra caviar, chocolate feuilletine and creme fraîche Ice cream.  In case you are new to the concept of caviar and chocolate, it serves the same principle of salted caramel in combining sweet and salt and this was an indulgent version.  However, it was my dining companion’s 100% Tahitian vanilla pods ice cream that was the absolute star of the sweets.  This dessert was served with chocolate and caramel opaline and a fabulous, jaggery caramel sauce, but it the sheer creaminess of the ice cream which had what I can only describe as rocket fuel of vanilla flavour throughout and I cannot think of where I have had better vanilla ice cream anywhere else in the world.

An array of petit fours graced the table during our coffee from Difference.  Pinenut financiers had milk chocolate and pine ganache; a kalamansi tart was made with hazelnut sable, kalamansi cremeux, hazelnut praline and kalamansi jelly; Florentine tuiles had milk chocolate, almond nougatine, orange zest and Maldon salt and the piece of cake was cloud berry: a mini almond cake made with Chantilly and cloud berry compote.  Cloud berry incidentally is a Northern Norwegian berry that only grows for 4-5 weeks of the year from mid-August to mid-September.

In summary everything was deeply satisfying and it is wonderful to have such a generous a la carte menu and simply being the food that you would want to eat.  I do like the ethos of this restaurant – from the absence of supplement charges, to the fact that the head chef forages all of his veg, fruits, herbs and flowers from Rowler Farm (in Northamptonshire) and whose 1,100 acres are are not treated by any chemicals or substitutes within the land or feed. Great care clearly goes in to the sourcing of ingredients at this venue which is at the very top levels that a restaurant can do.

As a conclusion, this first visit demonstrated food quality, skill and judgement that was not only in the strongest of 1 Michelin starred playing fields, but there were several moments that sat very comfortably in the 2 star zone and held a near-3 star moment.  Our bill came to £284 each and that was with some extensive wine choices throughout, so the bare £145 on the meal as a whole at this quality level for ingredients and execution I think is an extremely good return.  For all the above reasons I am more keen to get back here over visiting any other place I need to do for this year – that’s a good sign!

Food Grade: 86%

A quick word on the restaurant first.  It is located on the the 8th floor of the hotel with a chick bar (also called Brooklands) on the opposite side of the hotel on the same floor which has stunning views of Wellington Arch, Hyde Park and the major sites of London.  Brooklands itself is a reference to the old racetrack for classic cars which the Hotel’s founders have strong, historical connections to.  The decor also proudly showcases the hotel’s connection to Rolls Royce via a huge Concorde overlooking the restaurant (which had Rolls Royce engines).  Whilst a little sterile in feel, the restaurant does have a trump card of its terrace which is open on select, warms days in the summer months and the modern pop music in the main restaurant helps to make the atmosphere non-stuffy.

The head chef is Francisco Dibenedetto who was the head chef of Bibendum (as well as Hibiscus before this) and was provided the opportunity to fly the Bosi flag on this second venture.  The menu follows a very similar modern style to Bibendum in a swish environment has a wine list that I would recommend specifying your budget cap of what you would like to ideally spend on wine with the very capable sommeliers.  The cheapest Sancere by the bottle I could find was £95 which is high, although our Italian sommelier looked after us with alternate suggestions very well.

Our first snack was a punchy tartlet of broadbeans, cured egg, feta cheese and mint that worked very well and had a strong hit of mint.  We were then treated to an absolute array of amuse bouches and canapés.  The crowning glory of these was the chicken amuse bouche.  Two things in this world I absolutely adore – one is coronation chicken and the other is any liver parfait.  Imagine my endorphine levels when I was presented with a chicken liver ice cream (parfait like in texture) sat on a bed of coronation chicken espuma with fabulous Roscoff battered onion topping? Of course, it could have been bad, but this was utterly sensational.  The liver was silky smooth, the coronation chicken a delight and not too overpowering with the finest onion pieces giving the texture and sweeteness that was needed to compliment the richness of this little serving.

All of the other snacks and pieces were super as well – the mushroom, foie gras and potato tuile toast was light, delicate and explosive in mushroom umami.  The delightful Oreo-like Welsh rarebit bite was another winner – thin slices of crunch holding a wonderful béchamel interior that was strong in mustard but not overwhelming, all decorated in Parisian flowers; a sumptuous bite.  Then a haddock custard with pike roe and Granny Smith apple pearls was also a wonderful combination, the apple giving just what the custard and salt needed for balance and everything worked very well altogether.  These was an outstanding start to a meal, probably of the best I have ever had and in fact and is a seriously worthwhile presentation to come back for.

Sourdough bread was Brough in from Coombeshead Farm and came with nicely salted, cultured and non-cultured butters. The two starters were the asparagus and the recommended duck jelly.  The asparagus “Benedict”, came with pickled quail egg yolk and a magnificent hollandaise and beautiful ‘Good Earth Growers Leaves’ and bean salad; the latter adding floral prettiness but more importantly the needed acidity for the rich yolk and hollandaise.  I opted for the marvellous duck jelly with Roscoff onion emulsion filled with Exmoor caviar.  This was outstanding and a delight to have a crinkle cracker to break off in pieces to enjoy it with for textural crunch.

For the mains, I enjoyed turbot from a decently sized 7Kg fish, served with Blackmount (cheese), blanquette sauce with Argan Oil. This was the only aspect of the meal I thought was a tad ‘over’ in that the saltiness from the sauce made with Blackmount cheese and I thought this could be toned down. Thankfully there was a beautifully decorated salad leaf to provide saline relief. However, it was a lovely piece of turbot and good to do a new sauce with it. My dining companion had the absolutely sumptuous Herdwick lamb from the Lake District served with mint and pastrami with a wonderful dill taco.  The lamb had superb flavour and fat rendering and reduction that was one of the very best I have ever come across – I had no choice but to drink the remains of this from the serving dish.

A pre-dessert of lemon granita with fennel ice cream and white fennel seeds proved to be novel and refreshing.  The desserts themselves were a combination of British Cheeses with malted bread with oats and an apple dessert. The apple dessert was entitled “The Best of The British Apples and Wild Meadowsweet” which was an Apple broth inside frozen apple using six kinds of apple including Goldrush, Pink Lady, Braeburn, Granny Smith, Bramley and Cox apple varieties.  These were all used in different forms including ganache, compote and sorbet to great effect. This was clever, refreshing and had a number of textures that ultimately showcased apple brilliantly.  An array of petit fours were then served after with difference coffee which was a very agreeable finish.

The bill came to £300 per person but this was with pre-dining cocktails and champagne and good Sancere through the meal.  It is possible to dine here for around £160 per person incl service with no alcohol or coffee. Either way, this meal had the best canapes of any meal I have ever had and I am already looking forward to having another meal here as I know it the sort of food that will please.

Food Grade: 89%

Firstly, the service here was very good and the decor looks great, much more in keeping with its brand.  It does have the distinctive counter dining option, complete with snack menu, but this seemingly does not have the pre-theatre menu anymore and are only just a few snack options.  Once one steps inside and seated in its lovely setting, the champagne trolly soon wheels up towards you and was lovely to have this as the familiar opening.

What was a little shame was having to wait a good 2o minutes for the just the bread as all at the table were hungry and very ready for food.  Once arrived, it was frankly wonderful – from the sausage bread and croissant twirls, to the mini cheese baguettes, and squid ink milk breads, all warm and served with wonderful butter.  A great start once it arrived.

The opening amuse bouche was a replacement (to the usual foie gras cream, cranberry gel and parmesan foam) and was a ‘Mushroom Royale’, made with cep, parsley puree, chopped grilled mushroom and diced crouton.  The custard texture of the cep and general lightness of the amuse bouche was pleasing but sadly this had no inherent flavour and was therefore a major let down from the fabled shot glass of foie gras cream that has worked so well for so many years.  Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of innovation and new ideas which are utterly necessary, but when they are absolutely a notch downwards to the original, there is literally no point in changing for the worse.

The cheese soufflés arrived which I was eager to try having never had the Robuchon version of and I had high expectations.  Sadly, these were short lived as the general density of the soufflé was no where near the iconic levels of that served at Gavroche and certainly not comparable to Martin Wishart’s version in Leith, as well as being without much depth of cheese flavour.  Above all they were stone cold, which was a surprise as the cheese sauce would have had to be heated to be melted and served.  The manager on hearing this kindly removed the soufflés off the bill as it was not explained that this is the way the kitchen intends them to be served which I was very grateful for – had I known, I don’t think I would have ordered and I honestly can’t order again as this was the way ‘in which it is intended’.  I would honestly love to teleport the kitchen team to the above two restaurants I’ve mentioned and ask them to try those versions to show how I think it honestly works better, but c’est la vie.

I was similarly hoping for comfort with the famous mini burgers as has been a long time since we have had these, but I was genuinely stumped on how completely bland the meat patties were.  Not only slightly dry, there was not enough seasoning and the beef was only so so in flavour.  There also seemed to be less foie gras on top of the mini burger than had on previous visits when the Atelier was in West Street and the chips were so thin that the majority of them were almost crisp-like rather than with inner potato.  Again, these use dot be crinkle cut which had lovely, fluffy potato with just enough inside, with a lovely, crisp coating – these were in danger of being plain sticks, albeit served with a pleasant, ginger and aromatic BBQ ketchup.

Speaking of potato, the highlight of any Robuchon visit, whether one star, no stars or three stars is the fabled Robuchon mash which is a staple in the global food arena. It was therefore a huge shock that this was far thicker and less indulgent as is the norm.  You may think by now that I have it in for this branch, but I assure you this is not the case – I have just had this very item in the Michelin starred L’Atlier in Paris at its second (of two) branches and there it was puree like, as it has been on all my visits.  I have no idea why this version is served differently and I was frankly gutted at this stage.  It was good to see the customary style of the foie gras quail dish, but somewhow even this was unflattering in flavour to past examples enjoyed.

So, in summary I have no option other than to write this was actually a huge let down and it is not a good sign when the highlight of a meal is the bread which, was the case on this visit.  I have no doubt the dishes can reclaim their former glory, but when the bill is £324 for four just for some small plates to share, I have to ask myself when the right / safe time to try again may be.  I hope it is better for whenever I do give another go.

Food Grade: 62%

Once things were ordered, the espuma amuse bouche arrived with bread and butter offerings to keep busy whilst waiting for the first, selected course of l’oeuf – egg “en cocotte” with cream corn and iberico ham which was wonderfully light and rich at the same time from the perfectly confit egg.  This was the upgraded version however with white truffle shavings which, although small in quantity was actually pitched perfectly as the aroma was one of the strongest I have ever experienced and I didn’t even have to lean forward much at all to be hit in the face with the power of the truffle.  I recall having to put my nose right up against a truffle in a three Michelin starred restaurant in London and still struggling to gain any form of distinct truffle smell.

I couldn’t resist the signature le foie gras dish which is seared Duck Liver, with a quince gel, shaved stick of apple and almond crumbs on top.  I have had seared foie gras with an almond foam as one of the best I have ever had elsewhere and this was a lovely reminder of that and there is no doubt how sumptuous this dish is – the quince giving just enough acidity to balance the inherent fat, along with the apple and almond crumb for texture.  The mash on the side needs no further introduction and I genuinely wanted to have another bowl, but I am also trying to regulate my intake these days – wish me luck!

I was sat next to some charming US guests who kindly let me take some snaps of their dishes as they were just so pretty.  The mini burgers with foie gras are just superb, which I have had several times in London’s former L’Atelier location and it was also lovely to see the six choices of mini ice creams (€19 for the six) which again, the guests to my left seem to enjoy very much when having a very pleasant chat with them.  That is also one of the lovely things that can happen when counter dining – I wasn’t expecting to chat with others or wishing to invade anyone’s discussion, but was a lovely bonus to happen naturally at the bar which, I was all too happy with.

I was also very happy with my signature chocolate dessert entitled le chcolat tentation made with smooth araguani chocolate, cocoa nibs and oréo biscuit.  This was as smooth as they come and thankfully not in a huge portion size to tempt overeating.  Coffee was served but sadly I had been excluded the petit fours for some reason, which I had to effectively ask permission for and that combined with a couple of poor service episodes meant that the only negative of this meal was not being made to feel truly welcome by the staff – a first for me being a fan of Joel Robuchons, having been to their 3 Michelin starred branches in Hong Kong, Macau and Las Vegas as well as other Ateliers.  For clarity, specifics of the poor service included being told at the beginning of the meal that the waiter’s English was not so good, so he ignored the water request instead of trying to find help and interactions of one staff member who seemed utterly frustrated at having to take orders when busy.  C’est la vie.

Nevermind, as usual it does not detract the food grade being where I think it deserves to be and these were wonderfully enjoyable dishes; the only lesson from this visit to this Atelier is possibly avoid when very busy and make sure that you can either speak French, spend a lot of money or be very well known to the staff – if you have any of those, I doubt you will have any staffing issues at all.  In summary, wonderful and seductive dishes via a winning formula and was superb to be open on a Sunday on a lucky extra day in Paris.

Food Grade: 83%

Following a road trip tour of France through Burgundy, Macon and Lyon, I decided to stay somewhere nice on the way back to the UK as the final stopover, prior to a morning drive to Calais.  A scan of various sources led me to the Relais & Châteaux L’Assiette Champenoise hotel just in Reims.  Whilst it was clear at time of booking that there was no availability in the restaurant (perfectly understandable), a la carte dishes from the main restaurant menu are actually offered for in-room dining to my amazement.  Menus at the restaurant itself start at a very reasonable €155 for lunch on certain days to set menus of €285 and €385 at the fuller end with a la carte dishes being around the same price as a base entry set-lunch menu in full.  For those wishing to gain the best value of the restaurant, it’s clear which one you can opt for if available on chosen day of visit.

On settling in to the room, we were offered to have the electric car put on charge for €25 whether it was on all night or for 5 minutes which is a bit of a strange policy and very much a relative let down when many five star and Relais & Châteaux hotels provide EV charging included for the general premium one is paying to visit, such as Lucknam Park which I have just enjoyed doing so, from my stay there this summer.  A bit of a geeky, techno side bit: I’ve been driving electric cars for 5 years now and the rate is like any, the more Kwh you pull, the greater the charge obviously, so firstly makes no financial sense to put on for an hour or two at this rate of €25, but that rate also resembles an unnecessarily high premium charge for the reasons I can break down: an electric car with a 75 kW battery (like mine) pulling charge at an average of €0.1 per kWh overnight (which is very likely and sometimes cheaper), the actual cost is therefore around 75x 0.1 = €7.50 and that’s 0-100%.  No-one in their right mind will have 0% battery on arrival (unless they want the 8 year warranty for an EV battery voided) and are unlikely to charge to 100% for battery conservation so let’s say 10-90% as the average high demand; therefore, 80% of €7.50 = an actual cost of around €6 to the hotel that charges €25 for even 5 minutes of charge and is basically 500% mark up at the average minimum charge.  I politely declined the offer resulting in our baggage handler to immediately turn around in what appeared to be disapproval at my decision – strange, but ok…

One very nice touch from the hotel was that even though we were not able to gain a table, the canapés for the restaurant were afforded to us whilst enjoying champagne in the garden. These included a tartlet of Comte cheese and nut vinegar, a falafel with lemon gel, a bite of petit tuna, feta cheese in a red pepper shell and foie gras on cereal crackers.  These were enjoyable and intricately made, although I was surprised at the lack of foie gras and tuna flavours presented and generally speaking, these seemed to represent those within the 1 Michelin starred field, certainly not in the same sphere as that experienced at La Vie, Germany (now closed), Alinea, Chicago, Zen, Singapore and Geranium, Copengahen as quick examples.

The main surprise however was that the canapés were served by a waiter who seem to regard questions about the ingredients as annoying and clearly did not wish to engage any longer than necessary and was almost Basil Fawlty-like in having to engage at the ask – not the best of starting impressions, but perhaps they were extremely busy and we were a late arrival, so I’ll reluctantly let that slide I thought.   

We took advantage of the rare dining offer from the hotel  and as mentioned, these are in the region of €150 each so I elected for the one turbot dish and a host of other normal, room service dishes, both menus of which are attached for you to see the difference.  There was only one dining chair in the room (from the one desk), so when the trolley arrived, we asked what the hotel’s arrangement for the other chair was, to which the waiter shrugged shoulders and moved speedily back to the door.  Evidently he didn’t have the highest motivation to help an actual solution and I’m not sure I’ve seen a waiter ‘take cover’ so quickly from a simple question and virtually sprint away.

“Have I done anything?” I was beginning to ask myself on this third, bizarre exchange with hotel staff.  An observation: based on this offer of serving restaurant dishes in the hotel, one would have thought they have done this once or twice before and a seat is a fairly important component of the meal, particularly when an event like this.  So this was now actually a bit of a blow to the experience when about to enjoy a €145 turbot dish from a new, 3 Michelin starred restaurant from a sofa seat that placed the height of the table roughly at the guest’s nose when sat down.

Once both of us were able to reach the table, the room service dishes themselves were generally pleasing: very good smoked salmon in ‘thin’, cuboid-like slices with lemon and a wonderful herbed cream (€28); foie gras fermier, preserved in glass jar was good value (€28), but a little lacking in foie gras depth again; a beef tartare (€29) that was quite finely diced, almost mashed in texture but with very good balance of seasoning with sour dough toast and an array of mini desserts which, again were very pleasant and consisted of vanilla cream, chocolate mousse, caramel cream and tiramisu (€21).  These actually represented very good value for the calibre of room service dishes these were. What was a slight puzzle was to see Heinz tomato ketchup and mayonnaise in little jars provided as well and I was wondering what they would go with best – the salmon, the foie gras, the beef tartare (which had no chips) or the dessert…?  Not only are these surprisingly low-end variants as condiments, they were obviously never going to be compatible or of use for our chosen dishes so the main point, whilst not a huge issue, only served to show a strange lack of judgment or lack of thought in general for such a venue to include.  

What was a huge issue was that when my a la carte choice of the turbot dish (from a medium- reasonably weighted turbot of 6kg) was brought in, the waiter removed the cloche and started to walk away when I had not finished my other dishes and refused to leave it.  I politely asked again as I still had my other dishes including hot toast to enjoy and removing the cloche made no sense as my main would go cold (obviously).  As there was a language barrier, I called down to the reception on the phone to help quickly translate this crucial point to the waiter so there was no confusion, but the answer gained from the reception was that the waiter was not allowed to leave the cloche in the room and the receptionist could not answer why.  Whaat?! Sure as anything, even when I had finished off my other starter as quickly as possible, the turbot had gone cold which ruined the pleasure of the dish which was my only one from the a la carte – a bit of a kick in the groin when this dish is priced at €145 (not exactly a cheap price for one dish of turbot).  It wasn’t in my actual plans to steel the silver cloche if that was in the equation for the policy and I just couldn’t understand why they couldn’t leave that and collect with the rest of the trolley when all done.  In terms of the dish itself, the turbot from Brittany was good quality as one might hope with a wonderful vin jaune frothy sauce (creamed sauce made with dessert wine) and sweet, preserved onion.  However, it was sadly a total disaster based on being at best luke warm, but basically nearly cold at time of eating. 

As this and the other factors above had now combined to destroy my happiness at the dining experience, I did actually decide to give some immediate feedback to the manager after my meal who, in fairness did a very good job of listening and engaging with my points.  This was with the exception of one of the staff blatantly wanting to stand outside and eavesdrop leading me to close the door fully for privacy (which I had requested to not make a scene).

In order to bury the hatchet and allow staff to turn the room over, I headed to the bar with my guest to have final digestives and seemed to be well looked after by the barman which was actually a very welcome change, but sadly short-lived in that on leaving, the staff member that was trying to eavesdrop earlier to my feedback asked out loud if I had enjoyed my evening (knowing that I had not) in what I can only describe as a bizarrely provocative send off.  This was actually the final straw and by this stage, with all instances combined, I was actually internally furious and in active disbelief at all episodes and the general calibre of the majority of the staff.  So much so, that I question just how much training these members have actually received or how much care has gone in to the design, delivery and quality assurance of their actual training (something I am also very familiar with, from over 20 years’ worth of experience of managing and delivering training in numerous fields, separately to reviewing food).

All in, the pre-dinner canapés, in room dining dishes and digestives in the bar came to €567 for the two of us, which, interestingly was actually nearly twice the cost of the stay for the night for two (€295).  In summary, the food ranged from pleasant and elegant, to fair, to under seasoned and unmemorable and from very reasonable and harmless to overpriced and hugely unenjoyable.  As usual, my food grade has nothing to do with the factors of service, cost and decor etc, these are simply things I am obliged to mention, particularly when they are either very good or very bad.  To be clear, the food grade is taken from the canapés and one a la carte dish as will obviously be unfair of me to grade the food of this 3 star restaurant with the in-room dining even if from the same kitchen as they are completely different menus.  So in fairness to the restaurant, the hope is that the level of dishes are a notch up from that which I had a glimpse of and further dishes would give a fuller picture naturally.

Overall, in terms of a hotel stay and experience, the service and all instances outlined above, left a (strong) impression of staff that ranged from glimmers of warmth and good hospitality to general indifference to non-caring and then in some cases cheeky service and very poor hospitality I was not anticipating at this 5* hotel / Relais & Chateaux hotel, working in conjunction with a 3 Michelin starred restaurant. Perhaps, neither would the actual manager and owner of this Maison either, but one can only hope.

To finish the experience for this special holiday occasion, we checked out the next morning after a €8, half-size cup of coffee from a Nespresso pod, to receive the bill for everything had in full, with no smiles or genuine asks of whether we had enjoyed the stay, to then finally slowly drive off with as much energy in motivation to return soon as there was additional electric charge in the car.

Food Grade: 68%

A quick word on the restaurant itself: the staff were clearly all well drilled and knowedgable and this is a classy set up.  The hospitality was genuine and the staff were extremely attentive to requests.  Water was topped up at just the right moments (only when needed) and the intimate chef’s dining table overlooking the kitchen seemed a wonderful option to have amongst at least three other, larger private dining rooms scattered in the upper levels of the restaurnat.  The cellar was equally impressive with pebbles from France having been flown in especially to adorn the floor of the cellar to prevent breakages of bottles should they fall – a rather lovely touch!

The home made sourdough was wheeled to the table to be sliced fresh from the oven and was worthy of the ceremony as very good sour dough and even more wonderful butter from the Loire Valley. The ‘normal’ breads that were offered as part of a selection included bacon & mustard (gorgeous), fig and rum, raisin and Comte cheese buckwheat baguettes.  This was followed by the first of three amuse bouches which started with their signature cold, thin spaghetti with caviar, crystal flower & sisho.  Next a confit tomato from the Loire Valley was served on a crispy puff pastry with olive oil and parsley.  The absolute star of this was the delectably warm and thin pastry, whilst the succulent tomato was slightly subdued in flavour in comparison.  The third and final amuse bouche was a magnificent lobster jelly with crystal Kaluga caviar, cream of cauliflower, parsley purée.  This was very good.

My starter was a Parisian style egg Mimosa with caviar & savoury coulis. In essence, a French Maren egg sourced from West France had its yolk removed and filled with caviar, and the yolk turned into a mimosa emulsion on top. The dish was served with French dressing, parsley purée, mussel jus and red wine vinegar. It was all perfectly seasoned and a lovely dish, rich and all working very well together.

The main I opted for was the duck. A roasted Challans duck breast from Vendée (North Bordeaux) was accompanied by balsamic vinegar glazed turnips and served with Burlap cherries from Lyon. The duck was utterly tender and melted in the mouth and the reduction jus was served with the fat from the duck, gained via the same canard a la press method was indulgent and complimentary to the duck (sous vide and then pan-fried).  The huge Burlat cherries had much more texture and were a brilliant choice as are far less acidic than normal cherries or any cherry one might find anywhere in the UK and a pleasant change from orange to go with duck.

Pre-desserts of ice cream were proudly showcased (and rightly so as it turned out) and of the options, I chose pineapple sorbet (beautifully refreshing and exotic), pistachio ice cream (wonderfully creamy and nutty) and coffee ice creams that had very strong coffee flavour.  These were not your average icecreams and were at the highest of tiers one can go for a simple ice cream. 

Of the dessert options on the a la carte choices, it was clearly the Rum Baba all the way to go for.  There are several places that do this dessert particularly well, most notably Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester, but I did like the way this came with a choice of rums to select for the important ‘dousing’.  The Baba itself was infused in aged rum, Agricole & citrus, accompanied by a lightly whipped crème Fleurette which was frankly sensational. The glaze on the baba was a triumph in itself and the additional flavours were superb, with these latter factors being why I think this is fractionally superior than that from Ducasse, meaning therefore until I find another that pips this one (unlikely), this is the best Rum Baba in the world.

Petit fours came in several flavours: raspberry tart, canalle, hazelnut chocolate truffle and served with Nespresso coffee which was surprising for a 3 Michelin starred restaurant to be using such a bog standard coffee.  I understand the logic of consistency for service, but if it is to be a household coffee, I would say the bill would merit a superior kind of coffee to offer.

That’s a minor dent in the proceedings though.  The whole meal was expertly executed and a pleasure to have.  I thought the staff were extremely good and I would recommend this restaurant to anyone for a romantic or special occasion accordingly.

Food Grade: 90%

First off, the journey.  If you are flying from London, the very best way to get to Schloss Berg is from London City Airport, a very small and under-utilised airport in East London, easily accessible by the Docklands Light Railway (DLR).  A direct flight to Luxembourg is the answer at 50 mins, followed by a 30 min taxi or hour+ bus journey to the border of Luxembourg and Germany where, literally 1 mile over that border in Germany is this restaurant, contained within the same grounds of a hotel (separate buildings and businesses).  As all public transport in Luxembourg is free (yes, genuinely) and time was not an issue, the public transport option was taken advantage of (requires one change) and then in to a taxi from the border for the last mile into Germany. If you are immediately turned off by the sound of the journey, for perspective, it was actually quicker getting to this venue in Germany from the UK than it is driving from London to Bristol.

Victor’s Fine Dining itself is names after the backers and owners of the group who spotted Christian Bau’s talent a long time ago. The fine dining concept works very well for Christian as his level of cooking attracts people from many countries across the globe and therefore required a place for people to stay nearby which the hotel complex (Schloss Berg) does perfectly adequately.  I forgot that in many German hotels, guests checking in are served a glass of something as a welcome and is such a simple and lovely touch that costs the hotel hardly anything but has a huge impact on the guest to have whilst waiting for check in – it always makes me wonder why so many hotels do not do this lovely, simple fix.

So, on to the evening meal which began with champagne and as Krug was sold by the glass (a lovely touch that many restaurants do not / cannot do).  The first canapes were a carrot soup with coriander and green apple and the other being a tartare of langoustine with a madras curry sorbet with yoghurt foam.  The carrot soup had pure and refreshing flavours, but the curry sorbet, foam and langoustine canapé was one of the greatest I have ever had as an opener. Immediately, one is hit by the surprising flavour of the sorbet being curried and offset perfectly by the yoghurt foam and the cold canapé itself working in utterly perfect harmony.

This was followed by a small pastry case of beef tartare with fish emulsion and smoked horseradish and caviar.  An absolutely brilliant level of smoke in the horseradish which produced a superb play with the Ox tartare canapé.  The accompanying canapé was Hamachi (yellow tail tuna) on rice wrapped around with kimbap (a South Korean version of nori seaweed) served with sesame and daikon (Japanese radish), the Hamachi being mild and buttery at the same time.  The quality of the kimpab alone being one of the great pleasures (this is crispy and fragrant excellence akin to nothing like your average and totally inadequate rubbery, cold, seaweed elastic band found in many a sushi chain in the UK for example).

Next came a tartlet of toro (fatty tuna belly), caviar and myogo (Japanese ginger) which was perfectly judged with the heat from the ginger, followed by a sublime lobster tartlet decorated with printemps (seasonal Springtime flowers/garnishes). Finally for the canapés was a Japanese pastry waffle topped with Saba (blue mackerel), caviar, and yuzu-koshu (a Japanese chilli paste with strong, floral, yuzu fruit notes).  The sweet citrus complimented and offset the oily fish superbly, joined by the salt from the caviar and textural crunch from the pastry.  These were just the canapés and already were easily better than a great many main courses at other 2 and 3 Michelin starred restaurants experienced.

Next came the fish courses.  Crab from Brittany was first, served with dashi-soaked melons (dashi is a Japanese stock very often using bonito / dried tuna flakes), Yuba (dried tofu skin) and shoyu, a form of wheat-based Japanese soy sauce.  You would think the above might be a little too much for the light white meat from the crab but this was absolutely not the case – the combination was just right and came together brilliantly.  Following this were oysters served in the half shell with red shiso pearls (iced droplets made with red shiso leaf), ponzu and sea herbs.  Whilst I wished to avoid the oysters, the technique and skill here as well as supporting ingredients were among the freshest one can have to compliment the fish-based components including the stock.

Next came what was to be a gastro life-moment: Spanish tuna (from Malaga), topped with a foie gras sorbet, thin pastry disc and frozen foie gras shavings, dressed with a ponzu and elderflower dressing.  I have to pause here as I write.  I have no idea where or how Christian Bau conceived the idea of the flavour combinations for this dish, but I think perhaps dark magic of some kind… You know, the instant something has been experienced when it is a world first, and this was immediate bliss of total flavour harmony with absolute technical genius in being able to make something so rich and heavy as foie gras, somehow to be so light and surprisingly wonderful in its sorbet state.  I believe Mr Bau should be in line for a medal of recognition for this dish alone and dishes of this calibre are rare to come by. This was a euphoric food moment to have had, accompanied by a glass of the powerhouse 2009 Egon Müller Reisling.  I need a break from writing to recess, just thinking of this part of the meal.

The following course was green asparagus from Province topped with sumak gel (made from Japanese berries) and served with a miso hollandaise sauce and yuzu.  The miso twist on hollandaise made for an umami bomb of wonderful, foamy hollandaise and the asparagus themselves were impressive in their own right.  This was the best asparagus dish I have ever had and I simply cannot think how it is possible to make a dish of asparagus better, period.  Another fish course followed with langoustine (sourced from Guilvinec in North West France), served with koji and caviar which was pleasant and delicately presented.

A wonderful piece of Brittany turbot (from a large 8kg turbot) came next, served with white asparagus, morel mushrooms, vin jaunt sauce (creamed made with dessert wine) and peas.  This was a return to something classic and as such an iconic dish, I was glad that there was no, notable fusion with Japanese ingredients in homage to the iconic dish it is. Succulent turbot was complimented superbly by the well-judged classic components.

A special knife selection was offered to choose from to devour the main event of meat which was Miyazaki beef, which is widely regarded as very best in wagyu, frequently voted better than Kobe beef or even Matsuzaka.  The Miyazaki prefecture is in the very south of Japan on the most southern of its four main islands (Kyushu) where the prized cattle are reared much longer than the average length of time for beef and served on diets that would make most humans in some parts of the world envious, hence the sheer quality of this meat. The dish was served with trevisiano (a form of red chicory), black garlic, truffle, tiny disc of foie gras and micro potato waffles.  Everything was frankly delicious and with that line up of ingredients, the dish was never going to be in danger of rejection, and thankfully was small in size as very rich in content. I can’t be sure if I would have been equally happy with literally just the slice of beef when the produce of a something of such value is that superb, but it was wonderful to have.

Continuing the richness and savoury trend, the next course was a celebration of goose liver.  Goose liver foie gras from Landes, was served in an amazing way by being served as frozen droplet spheres (essentially little foie gras ice cream balls), served with coffee, hazelnut from Piemonte and sour cherry and with a side of goose liver parfait sorbet and toasted brioche drum.  The foie gras was technically faultless, delicious and the supporting sorbet another wonder moment.  Although by this stage I was reaching maximum capacity in stomach real estate, this was another masterclass of goose liver and the brioche was another showcase, as was the very best brioche experienced anywhere.  Its utterly delicate texture beat several 3 Michelin starred restaurants in France for the execution and presentation of the brioche.

Finally, the desserts started with a genuine firework bang on the opening dessert: wild strawberries, in a strawberry and sake consommé, served with sorrel sorbet, goats yoghurt and pastry disc for texture. The depth of strawberry flavour was off the scale, boosted by the mixed sake consommé and balanced beautifully by the fresh, herbal sorrel sorbet and cooling goats yogurt.  An absolute knock out dessert.  Following this and in tribute to the executive chef’s homeland, a play on black forest gateaux was served with ingredients taken from none other than the famous Black Forest of Southwest Germany (state of Baden-Württemberg) including aerated chocolate, hazelnut ice cream, iced cherry droplets and cherry gel, topped with a pastry in the shape of the cherry blossom tree.  A this stage, heads were simply shaking at just how good this meal had been.

A final selection of superb petit fours were presented. There were too many to take note of sadly and by this stage I could only sample a few, but the ones that were enjoyed could frankly outdo dessert courses in quite a few restaurants of note.  The bill came to £492 per person including Krug champagne and glasses from two, premium Rieslings and all bottled water (which can add up at €11 each and knock on to service charge), tax and overall service charge for this ‘Paris to Tokyo’ menu carte blanche (additional dishes selected by the executive chef).  It’s worth noting that it is possible to have a menu here for €249 (£210) without various ingredients including asparagus and miso etc.  The latter would frankly be a steal, but either way, for the quality of ingredients and sheer brilliance of execution, both these represent extremely good value for money in my opinion when examining the return and noting how you could comfortably spend either price tags on menus at lower grade restaurants that boast their prices at far too high a level for actual offering.

This was one of the highest-level food experiences on record with moments of undeniable perfection. Although I have recommended to go once in your life, it is a place I could comfortably revisit numerous times, now that I know what stratospheric level the team are operating on and just how cherished the experience will be.

Food Grade: 99%

I did like the way the menu boards were shown to us I must say.  Starters varied from £7.50-£10.50 including paté en croute and white asparagus with myself opting for gnocchi with wild garlic and spinach.  This had a pleasant sweetness to it and to my surprise, subdued garlic which was a relief as my thought was it would linger in the mouth for the rest of the day.  Thankfully, the chef judged this well.  Bread was from a simple baguette as one would expect, but this is the one part of the meal that was a little disappointing.  I understand this is how it is done and how it should be, but I can’t help think with such an array of wonderful breads out there with superb variants of butter (this was somewhat flat), that this was the one area that the house could up its game from this tough/stretchy bread, as authentic as it, particularly when the final bill for a small(ish) lunch was over £100.

Anyway, this is a minor point.  The main point is that the chicken from Laundes (SW France) was heavenly.  The corn-fed chicken was the cheapest main at £42 (which was probably one of the reasons every single table I could see had ordered it) and was thankfully a joy.  The sauce from herbs and meat juices was simple and divine, the chicken itself utterly succulent and with lovely, cripsy skin and the supporting, squidgy new potatoes to decorate the rest of the dish were the perfect vehicles to mop up all sauce.  As chicken goes this was beautiful and a small amount of relief from all the oil and juices came from a simple offering of salad with vinegarette which was just the thing needed.  Other mains on the menu included veal T-bone and saddle of lamb, both £58 to share for two and one of those will be attacked next time.

It was hard to resist the chocolate souffle and especially the tart tartan, but I did and opted for cheese.  The three cheeses consisted of the blue vein, Fourme d’ambert, a particularly impressive goat cheese (Pont d’yeux) and a cow-based Tomme aux 7 fleurs. The latter, decorated with 7 kinds of flowers on the ends, had these from mallow, marigold, blueberry, safflowers, rose blossoms, strawberry leaves and trigonella.  It would be a stretch for me to say I could identify each of these on the palate (as I absolutely could not), but they did give a pleasant herbal taste to the already delicious nuttiness of the cheese.

The wine was a reasonable carafe of Vin de Table (La Poetes) for £28 and the coffee was from the renowned Monmouth brand who have stores nearby in neighbouring Borough Market and Bermondsey (the original being in Covent Garden). The final bill came to £52 per head which, with a sizeable carafe of wine is a reasonable offering.  The main going-away present is that for this, you are having no fuss, well-prepared and unpretentious food that is patently the sort of food that virtually everyone will want to eat.

Food Grade: 72%