As part of our wedding anniversary, my wife surprised me with a reservation in the new London concept of the Joël Robuchon galaxy Le Comptoir, which follows on from L’Atelier, which was closed a few years earlier due to a lack of manpower and certainly due to a certain wear and tear on the concept. We had indeed been disappointed, with Bertrand, a few years earlier, in this London property which was located near Leicester Square.
The concept
The concept is quite simple: it is a sort of best-of of the signature dishes of the now deceased chef that is proposed.
The setting
The setting is very neat, but the tables look more like a bistro than a gastronomic restaurant.
The menu
The menu is quite simple. No gastronomic menu, but cold and hot starters, main courses and desserts.
The meal and the dishes
The meal starts with an amuse-bouche, a verrine of royal foie gras, port reduction, parmesan mousse: a very well-balanced kill, even with the sweet and sour that I don’t particularly like.
The sommelier will come and recommend wines to our taste: my wife will opt for a Riesling that she will love, and I will take a dry but very complex Burgundy Aligoté.
Before the starter, a superb basket of bread and butter will be brought to us, it will not stay long on the table.
We will then have a selection of appetizers to share: the squash risotto, the langoustine and foie gras ravioli that we particularly love, and the pecorino cavatelli. In the end we should have had two ravioles, even though everything was good, it was still a step down from the ravioles.
For the main course, my wife will have the quail stuffed with foie gras, and I will have the sole meunière, which will be prepared perfectly.
For dessert, I’ll go with the soufflé and my wife will take the dessert cart. The soufflé will be light, perfect and not very sweet like I like.
An excellent culinary experience, in short.
The service
The service will be of high quality, but very relaxed. Nothing to do with a starred restaurant.
The atmosphere
As in all London restaurants, the evenings are often animated by DJs. This is the case here, but the music is quite good, and the atmosphere remains at an acceptable sound level.
Bottom line
A very good experience in this new address of Robuchon in London. Nevertheless, the prices are much, much too high for the experience. Even if the cuisine is of a very high standard, the prices are those of a two-star Michelin restaurant.
Articles similaires
Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, London: Disappointing
L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Dubai
Mandarin Oriental London : Festive Afternoon Tea at the Rosbery ‘s
Restaurant 1890 by Gordon Ramsay, Hotel Savoy, London : Excellent !
