London: Tea Time in Wonderland

Pub crawls always are a fab idea. Grab a group of friends, share a few pints and choose a theme: historical, micro-brewery…

Or why not gourmet food? The pub renaissance is at its best these days – decoration is back in the race, mixing traditional notes with a splash of colour. Dishes appeal even to refined businessmen who love the relaxed atmosphere of those welcoming places – less stern than a restaurant, easier to make a client more comfortable.

Tom & Ed Martin certainly found the right balance. Each of their 8 addresses offers a top-quality cuisine with an extraordinary atmosphere.  For the London Restaurant Festival, beginning of October, they will take you on a culinary safari. What’s on the menu? A new dish at each stop. Skip lunch before joining.

The meeting point was at Chiswell Street Dining Rooms. Ah, finally a great place just a step from the Barbican where you can share a couple of cocktails! The place was buzzing with activity and it was only Tuesday. Not surprising -  very comfy yet elegant with aniseed touches of colour, a wooden counter, beautiful furniture. Ties came undone quickly. And so we all met around a glass of  Old Eliot,  a clever mix of Plymouth Gin, Lillet,  bitters with a refreshing dash of lemon and coriander. The sky was turning a pastel pink and you could almost think this was still summer…

The orgy then began with very festive canapés. Pictures will be better than words:

Creamy tartlet of leeks and wild mushrooms

Delicious bite of pea purée, crunchy bacon and wonderful seared Isle of Man scallop.

Might look simple but amazing combination of tastes – poached quail egg, enhanced by a pinch of celery salt, bed of truffled duxelle. Unforgettable!

More interesting than a sushi! Complex flavours of the smoked eel, hazelnut of wasabi cream, potato.

A must for any foie gras lover - perfect brioche, Madeira jelly melting in the mouth

The most beautiful way to present Beef Wellington. Dilemna: should you eat it all at one not to miss a single crumb? Or in several bites to enjoy it longer?

All aboard the mini-bus, my friends! The evening is perfectly coordinated. No need to jump on Google Maps in between two addresses – just let yourself be totally cocooned and enjoy the ride.

The Hat and Tun is more classical in deco, hunting trophies on the wall. The space has been well thought of, wall mirror at the back making the room bigger, large bay windows for maximum light. From the outside, it looks ever so inviting. The menu is all about British classics with top quality ingredients yet tonight we are indulged with quite a dish -  the mix of two cultures. This pie is a wonderful bake of Guinness, bacon, mushrooms and… snails. Oh la la! This Herefordshire race is huge and competes pretty well with our Bourgogne ones. I still prefer them with garlic and parsley -very Froggie, I know – but this is quite a discovery to me. Beautiful presentation too, a  nice play on the Guinness pint!

We fell in love with the Montagny 1er cru Vieux Chateau 2008 – poetic tastes of pear and green apple for that sauvignon. We liked it so much we took a bottle with us on the bus. Looking at the London light sipping on it really made us feel glanourous…

Third stop -  the White Swan. Very pub like on the ground floor but go up a couple of stairs and it is all impeccable white table cloths, glistening glasses and shiny cuttlery. Quite a change of scenery in a minute! Our main dish  celebrated the sea. The Cornish turbot needed no knife at all, the flesh coming undone perfectly well, nicely moist, quite tender on the palate after such a rich start. Great idea to serve it with turnips and salsifis, with a stronger note of the butter bisque sauce. And look at those crab beignet! I keep glancing at this picture and wishing I could grab a few – light, fluffly, very aromatic.

We are handed a glass of champagne and invited back on the bus. I don’t think the smiles ever left our face for a second that evening. We toasted  and cheered the fabulous Roche team who organised all this for us. (You rock!). Very VIP treatment -  the bubbliest ride we ever had too!

At The Botanist , the most famous sign on Sloane Square (quite a lovely place for a week-end brunch too), we all felt very festive. Maybe it was the music, or the dimmed lights, being in the heart of London. No one sat down, we mixed and chatted some more, enjoying a gorgeous Tokaji Royal, late harvest, citrus and quince hints. Ideal with the tangy lemon tartlet and gooseberry cheesecake. Mini-portions were just what we needed and the pecan chocolate brownies did not last long. Bonus points for the fig pudding, some roasted in port, which would make and ideal Christmas day desert – very original and in that size, you could indulge in a few.

If you have a little energy left, you could then finish the tour at  The Cardogan Arms for grappa, calvados, armagnac… or even play pool. I stopped there -  what an orgy, I could have rolled back home!

Join the safari on October 05 – much more fun than just having starter-main-dinner in the same place, a great way to mix with gourmet food passionates and the most amazing atmosphere all along. At £49.50, transport included, why would you resist?

Huge thanks to ETM and Roche Communications for an unforgettable evening.

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