Apsleys at The Lanesborough
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| Quail with dried fruit |
From his 3-star restaurant La Pergola in Rome, Heinz Beck has dived into the crowded waters of the London dining scene. Like so many new openings lately - Bistro Bouloud and the soon-to-open Blumenthal restaurant both at the Mandarin Oriental, Pierre Koffman at The Berkeley, and Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester to name just three - Beck has chosen to swim in the safe confines of a luxury hotel. This is no kiddie’s pool though – with one star already under his wing despite being open for only a year, Beck has his sights firmly set on achieving 3 Michelin stars here too. His long-term associate, Executive Chef Massimilliano Blasone (most recently at Castello Banfi in Tuscany), is heading the day-to-day operations, executing Beck’s “light cuisine of Mediterranean flavours” and laying the groundwork for those extra two stars.
For the time being the Festival lunch deal price of £21 for 2 courses or £28 for 3, is the everyday lunch deal and I can only say “why aren’t you there”? In fact, while there was a decent number of occupied tables when we were there, it staggers me that more people aren’t taking advantage of this blinding bargain.
The restaurant is an atrium, with a glass barrel-vaulted roof, so at lunch it is full of light and for dinner presumably those 3 giant chandeliers make up for the lack of natural light. The decor is muted tones of champagne and claret, and the tables are set at a comfortable distance allowing for privacy.
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| Halibut with tomato panzanella |
Shortly after being seated we are presented with menus and that’s when we discover the daily menu deal. There are lots of staff and suddenly one appears with a presentation of a glorious white truffle – safely ensconced under a glass dome, the truffle is offered up for our admiration and titillation: should we want, this can arrive in a dish of our choosing. Ok. Thanks. We’re here for the cheap seats deal, and daren’t even ask how much this might be, shaved to an inch of its life, over a steaming plate of pasta. Best not to be tempted, really. We thank the waiter for sharing this with us, but no, thanks. Instead we turn back to the menu and choose: tagliolini with cacio, pepe and something that’s almost impossible to describe but turns out to be fried breadcrumbs infused with tomato, and a warm seafood salad. Followed by halibut with tomato bread and yellow peppers – intriguing – and roast quail with dried fruit and wild mushrooms. First, though, an amuse bouche arrives: a trio of a deep-fried ball of shredded veal confit resting on a cheese fondue, a shot glass of parmesan soup (with an impossibly tiny brunoise of carrot and celery) and a ‘sandwich’ of cod. Each small tidbit is simply delicious. Then our appetizers arrive and the pasta is a comforting skein, cheesy and with those delicious breadcrumbs but the seafood salad wins points for prettiness. Slices of scallop, perfectly tender octopus and plump shrimp are artfully scattered on the plate among salad leaves, slivers of papaya, cubes of new potato and tomato concassé that I think has also been confit’d such is its intensity. We’ve also ordered a half bottle of Pouilly Fuisse which is wonderful with the salad and manages to stand up to the tagliolini. It is a tough assignment when it comes to the halibut dish however as the yellow peppers are a very spicy ragout. Overall the halibut is a disappointment: the fish has been sliced and stuffed with what is essentially panzanella (a rustic bread and tomato salad) so that it’s sort of an inside out sandwich. This has resulted in somewhat dry fish as well as the panzanella being the dominant taste. The quail wins hands, no sorry, legs down. In fact the legs and the breast have been separated – the breast stuffed with apricot and plum and served rare, the legs treated to a sweet glaze and then roasted and laid on a bed of pureéd potato. Again the plate itself is a work of art, and pleases the eye as much as the palate. A glass of Seresin New Zealand Pinot Noir is right on, picking up both the fruit notes and the earthy mushroom flavours.
My note-taking has attracted the attention of one of the Maitre d’s, and we engage in a conversation about food and fine dining. Daniel has been here for 6 months and, coincidentally, worked previously at La Pergola for a short time. He is an enthusiastic foodie, and we share restaurant recommendations. It’s a very pleasant interlude – very often staff at this level are courteous but aloof, especially in a hotel restaurant situation where they will rarely run into a customer twice so where’s the incentive to befriend anyone?
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| Double Chocolate Brownie with Zabaglione |
I had decided to forgo dessert, so we order a relatively low-cal sounding milk cremoso with polenta cake and raspberry sorbet, to share. It arrives, however, with an ‘on-the-house’ companion – the double chocolate brownie with zabaglione and custard gelato – how can I resist? The milk cremoso is a creamier version of panna cotta, and the sorbet is the very essence of frozen raspberries, but again, it’s the chocolate that wins out: a delicate sliver of dark chocolate mousse topped with a cigarillo of white chocolate mousse and a shot glass of the frothy zabaglione. Mmmm, thank you Daniel.
A seductive assortment of mignardises accompanies the inevitable coffee order: a square of chocolate with honey, a lemon curd shortbread, a small coffin of gianduja, a disc of sugared raspberry, a chocolate coffee bean and an almond cream nougat. Thank goodness these are all minute or we’d be in serious danger of belt busting.
These are the kind of touches that raise a restaurant like Apsleys above the crowd, and that are certain to bring those extra stars. That they do this on a cut-price lunch deal is even more impressive. I’m sure the next time we come the dining room will be full as it deserves to be and we'll be fighting for a table.
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