Le Cercle

Last Saturday, Peter Jones was heaving with early Christmas shoppers, and Sloane Square was criss-crossed by crowds of purpose-driven Londoners. It was time for a late-ish lunch, around 2pm. The Botanist, catty-corner from The Royal Court Theatre, was wall-to-wall with Sloanies, paying too much for weekend brunch. The new Duke of York shopping area, anchored by the Saatchi Gallery, now offers plenty of places to refuel, but we were headed for nearby Wilbraham Place and Le Cercle. A tony outpost of the Club Gascon group, whose restaurants in Smithfield are a mecca for lovers of foie gras, Le Cercle offers one of the best lunch deals around. At just £15 for 3 courses, or £19.50 for 4. Now, admittedly, the plates at Le Cercle are not groaning with food - the concept is more along the lines of small plates - but after 3 or 4 courses, you certainly come away satisfied. You enter the restaurant at street level and descend to the double-height dining room - an almost perfect space, classically speaking - with floor-to-ceiling sheers that create a feeling of intimacy. We were seated at a cozy banquette raised ever so slightly above the main floor, with a full view of the dining room to our right and, on our left the wine cellar. Though strongly tempted by the a la carte dishes we stuck to our guns and chose exclusively from the set menu: The most ethereal Pumpkin soup with a scoop of anise-flavoured cream was so light it was like eating clouds, while baby cheese-filled ravioli floated in a foamy shellfish cream that had flavours lingering long after the last forkful. Then a house-cured salmon with a creamy carrot puree (where the only misstep was the addition of too much whole grain mustard) was overshadowed by the confit of haddock with cauliflower puree and samphire. The haddock was beautifully prepared, and slid submissively off the fork onto the tongue while the puree was silken and subtle. Now completely at the mercy of the chef, we then enjoyed a ballotine of roast chicken, wrapped in pancetta and stuffed with forcemeat, napped with a foamy foie gras sauce and a scattering of impossibly tiny brunoise of vegetables. Yes, I know that's the second time I have said foamy, and it's true the chef likes his foams, but what saves it from pretentiousness is the purity of flavours. A slightly disappointing choucroute - too much sauerkraut and not enough variety of meat - can be forgiven. I couldn't resist the 4th course and plumped for the chocolate fondant with mint ice-cream. This was no ordinary mint ice-cream, this was pure, intense, real, fresh peppermint held hostage in a custard base, and was the perfect foil to the oozy, dense chocolate. Can you believe that the set price includes tea or coffee - even espresso, normally a restaurant's favorite profit area? Fora little more than £50 (a glass of wine pushed us over the edge) we had eaten an incredible meal, and spent the same as we have done in the past for mediocrity. Le Cercle is a winner - especially as the set menu is available on a Saturday.