The Comptoir Robuchon in London offers a chance to experience the late great chef’s cuisine in an intimate and more accessible setting than a fine dining restaurant.

For this weekend with friends in London it was Olivier who, as a local, took care of the choice of restaurants. For this lunch he decided to show us the Comptoir Robuchon, one of his favourite restaurants which he has already mentioned here.

As a reminder, the list of articles on this London trip.

The concept of the Comptoir Robuchon

The comptoir Robuchon is a sort of tribute to the late chef. The restaurant is run by people who have worked alongside him for years and offers a menu inspired by the chef’s iconic dishes.

The idea is not to offer starred gastronomic cuisine but rather accessible, almost bistronomic cuisine, in an intimate and friendly setting.

It replaces the late Joel Robuchon’s Atelier, whose concept was perhaps beginning to be dated and which had only moderately convinced us in the past.

The setting

It is a large long room with a long counter where you can also eat.

It is soberly decorated, tasteful and bright (at least at lunchtime).

The menu

The restaurant offers a set menu.

You will notice that for an accessible cuisine the prices are almost at the level of some starred restaurants in France.

There is also the possibility to eat à la carte.

If the set menu seems expensive to you, you will choke on the menu.

The lunch

The different guests will arrive gradually, which gives us time to discuss and get to know the menu.

While waiting to order we will be brought several baskets of different breads which will be a real delight! I want to return just for that. Some are with cheese, others with meat filling… a great variety.

In the end we all opt for the menu with starter, main course and dessert.

For my part, I will take the tortellini, truffle and pecorino as a starter.

The least I can say is that they didn’t go easy on the truffle.

Really excellent, the taste of the truffle and the cheese go together perfectly and the dish has a huge presence in the mouth.

Then the cod with a ginger broth and Bellota ham.

Quite fine, you can feel the ginger which spices up the dish well. The combination of flavours is original but very successful…but when I see the dishes of the other guests I tell myself that I may not have made the best choice.

The purée was excellent but the opposite would be surprising at Robuchon.

But it was still very good and I don’t regret it.

For dessert I wanted to have the chartreuse soufflé but it was sold out, so I settled for the poached pear, cocoa cream and pear sorbet.

Fresh and fine, nothing to say.

At the end of the meal we will be brought delicious madeleines with the coffees.

And so much for this pleasant lunch.

The service

Very attentive and efficient. On the other hand, even though there were 7 of us, we were the only table in the restaurant. There were more staff than customers so there were a lot of people looking after our table.

The atmosphere

Quiet, very quiet as we were alone. Pleasant background music, noticeable but not intrusive.

A very pleasant room that is both intimate and not at all stuffy. The right balance.

Bottom line

An excellent meal in a restaurant that brings back the memory of a great chef without any false notes.

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