Galvin La Chapelle (London)

This is the type of place where they begin with 'A little champagne to start?' Normally we find this pushy upselling deeply irritating, but here the service staff have sufficient natural charm and are sufficiently un-stuck-up that we didn't feel all that pushed after all.


Moreover, the Maitre d' on the day was from Aberdeen and we ended up discussing the cheapest way to get to Scotland - which identified us as cheap bastards and put paid to any hopes of selling us expensive drinks.


We went for an a la carte and a prix-fix menu. While waiting we were entertained by the kitchen theater, in full view from our table, and had the chance to slowly take in the enormous, complex, almost overwhelming space of the room.


Two starters of terrines were both pleasantly moist and rich and dense in flavour. One (of game), from the fixed price menu, was more basic and offered a more obvious, saltier, punch (the side raisin puree was remarkable, however). The other, of guinea fowl, ham hock and foie gras, played on softer, more subtle and complex notes, the red onion marmalade oozing luscious sweetness. Both  were impressive in their own way.










A well executed grouse was suitably potent and flew quite high, though perhaps not as high as others (for flavour and texture) we've tried this year, here, here and here.





A simple dish of lamb, green beans, carrots and a rich fondant potato from the prix fix had deep flavour enclosed in a meat that didn't yield so easily, and supported by a classy jus; all in all a stunning dish when considered as part of a £25 menu.





The famous rhum baba' with chantilly cream (vanilla) certainly did not disappoint with its big alcohol cut and ethereal dough.





The prix fix dessert presented a tough choice between Tarte Tatin and a well presented and well kept cheese (Chaource). No prizes to guess what we chose:





Service was extremely well organised, relaxed and, as we said, charming: a very smooth machine. Compared to their cousins at Windows, while also formally attired they tend to create a less formal atmosphere.


This place reminds us a little bit, for the style of cuisine, of Koffmann's, although, to our taste, not quite at the same stupendous level. We wouldn't say it is an ultimate destination or worth regular long trips, but it is worth trying once if you are far, and worth returning if you are close. Here kitchen, Front of House and ambiance combine seamlessly to yield a pleasant, relaxing experience. We spent around £150 including very well made coffees, water, an a la carte and a prix fix menu, and a wine in the forties. Having ended on the high note of excellent espressos and petit four, we are indeed tempted to return for the tasting menu.





Home

Archontico Papadopoulou (Kornos, Cypurs)

Forget the autumnal gloom, here's is our second installment from our late Summer Cyprus holiday.  

Moving up one notch in refinement from the wonderful, basic Ladas taverna, tonight we drive up to the village of Kornos, a stone's throw away in the woody inland from Limassol or Larnaca, to try a new and ambitious opening. The restaurant is set in a fascinating mansion over a century old, which housed the Papadopoulos family and shop. 

The charming hostess – the current generation of the Papadopoulos – gives us a tour of the mansion showing us many interesting objects found during the restoration and the rediscovery of the place: vases and other crafts, photographs and...but look, Man is already in the cellar, almost fainting at the musty sweetness of the perfume of Commandaria emanating from a very old, huge vase – we are told this is the oldest remnant of Commandaria in the island!! 

Man has to be dragged away forcibly before he falls in. This is an emotional beginning.

The bread with sesame was fresh, fragrant, well-made, and also pleasant was a sort of gazpacho served as an amuse bouche.

We were very curious to try one of the pasta dishes – we learned it is traditional in this part of Cyprus. We opted for ravioli, which were accompanied by other irregular bits and pieces of pasta -as in the old family kitchens, where nothing was to be thrown away. The pasta was well-made, and it was covered in a pleasant, yogurty-feeling sauce, creamy and quite light. The filling of the ravioli was intriguing, presenting our palates with flavours that are unusual to us, just a little on the salty side for our taste. 

A dominant theme of the evening were the sweet-salty contrasts. As in a main of pork cutlet, 

which had been marinated probably in honey to great effect, so much so that although the dish presented several faults to the fussy tasters (the meat was overcooked and hence slightly hard and dry, the tomatoes were on the contrary undercooked and frankly not too good), ultimately a sense of deep satisfaction prevailed, so spot on and beguiling was the taste.

In the other main, an old recipe of pork cubes stewed with beetroot, 

the coriander was not a mere side detail but it became a protagonist, lavished in large amounts and thus suffusing everything with fiery freshness. This lifted the rich, spicy, sumptuously greasy dish, certainly not one for the lily-livered, but a real dish from the heart and the tradition.

The same powerful role was played by the coriander in a very different offering as a starter, a huge mixed salad where once again sweet and salty played with each other in a myriad of variations.

We concluded with a dessert consisting of a sort of millefeuille which alternated phyllo pastry and the sweet Anari cheese, very typical of Cyprus (it is produced together with Halloumi, which more special to Cyprus than Feta -  or so we are told), worked in a fluffy cream. 

It was a fitting conclusion, together with the best Cyprus coffees we've had in the island,

to a sweet dinner.
 This is a place run with obvious passion and a clear sense of mission, that of reviving the Cypriot culinary heritage. They have basically all worthwhile Cypriot wines - which can be extremely pleasant, hic - on the list (some 150 of them) and even a fully dedicated Commandaria bar – where you'll find samples that would be hard to get in any other part of the island. 

Although there is some elegance and formality in the ambience, don't set your mood on 'fine dining' or look for too much finesse of presentation as if you were in a continental Michelin star venue, because then you'd be disappointed. Just enjoy the warm hospitality, the beautiful setting and especially abandon yourselves to the rich flavours that this cuisine brilliantly recreates from the tableau of the Cypriot tradition. 

We paid less than 100 Euros including a bottle of local rose' (called Poze') in the low twenties, which makes this lovely...well let's call it 'trattoria' in the best Italian sense, good value too. Had we had more time, we would have loved to return to try more dishes. And more wines.

Home

Pommard Les Petits Noizons 2005

Bought at a forgotten price at the excellent Majestic a couple of years ago and just rediscovered, with great pleasure, in a dark corner of our cellar (or, more prosaically, wine fridge), but safe in the knowledge that this Burgundy from Domaine de la Vougeraie would set us back around £100 in a standard UK restaurant and we certainly did not pay near that much, we enjoyed this Pommard, though to our somewhat untrained palates and eyes felt as if if could have stayed in the bottle for a few more years

 The colour is quite dark for a Burgundy, we smell earthy notes and cherries. On the palate, there is something big and important but unfinished going on, quite a lot of acidity, and tannins that feel still a bit unruly to us.

That said, it was bloody good.


Home