L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon
This is the long awaited restaurant by Joel Robuchon, the very man who Gordon Ramsay trained under in Paris, and I have to say it is everything that you would expect and more. The interior is magnificantly designed, where counter seating & an open kitchen focus attention on the food. The menu was at first, a little confusing however our very nice, non-patrionising waiter with a surprisingly good sense of humour and patience of a saint, explained the options to us. You are given the choice of either ordering 4 dishes per person from the tasting menu, two dishes from the tasting menu and one main dish, one starter and one main dish or opt for the full tasting menu which at £60 per head, we of course didn’t and decided upon the two tasting dishes followed by a main.
Our appetisers which included, a ravioli of langoustine, baby beef and foie gras burgers, mackerel tart and scallops were nothing short of magnificent. This was a great way to try each of the dishes, but with each mini-plate costing an average of £11, you would expect nothing less than magnificent. My colleague who has to be one of the biggest carnivores I know and went straight for the steak as his main, could hardly contain his excitement as a board containing the entire rump was presented for him to choose the cut himself. A lovely touch if ever there was one. The fore mentioned steak was one of the highlights as it was presented on a plate all of it’s own, no sauce, no frills, it didn’t need it, just what has to be the best steak we had ever eaten.
Our waiter, who by this point had warmed to our banter, recommended some fantastic desserts including a very serious chocolate choice, and 5 individual tarts, along with some exquisite dessert wine to wash it all down with. At £130 a head, this restaurant is by no means cheap however, I must confess it is probably one of the best ones I have visited in a long time.
