The Vincent Rooms: Escoffier Room
Having dinner at the Escoffier Room in the Vincent Rooms is one of our pre-Christmas traditions. This year that did not work out though, and instead we went in January. The Escoffier is the smaller, slightly fancier dining room which offers tables for up to four people, there is also the larger Brasserie, which is also well worth going to, which will do tables for larger groups.
The Vincent Rooms is a restaurant of the Capital City College — where they train chefs. The meals and service are all done by the students (with suitable supervision). This has little effect on the dishes, but it does sometimes make for a more haphazard service. That is okay though, as we are now used to this, and students learn by doing these things.
The set menu comes in a normal and a meat-free version. Our menu was "A Taste of Italy". Neither of us chose the matching wine menu, it was a school night after all, and my companion was doing “dry January”. I did enjoy a glass with my starter and mains, whilst she opted for some sparkling water.
Our dinner started with beetroot gnocchi — which were nicely fried, slightly red, and had a hint of beetroot flavour. Then followed a minestrone, which was served with Parmesan cheese crumbs. This was my least favourite dish. I thought it was a little too sour, and the Parmesan did not add much, if at all.
After the starters, a piece of moist, but firm, roast Monkfish followed. This was served on a bed of creamed porcini mushrooms. I thought it worked well together, but my wife was less keen as she thought the mushrooms were overpowering. This was followed by the main course, a porchetta served with artichoke purée, crispy crackling, and some kale. I think this also fit well together, and I thought this was my favourite course of the meal.
For pudding, a Sicilian Cassata was served with biscotti, and some poached pears. The cassata was a bit odd, as we hadn't expected a savoury flavour as filling in-between the two sponge layers. A selection of six petit fours finished our dinner, which we enjoyed with a coffee for my wife, and a glass of port for myself.
Although we normally enjoy our meals in the Escoffier, this one was a little underwhelming, but it doesn’t put us off returning.
Lore of the Land
This is our second visit to Lore of the Land, but that was before Friday Night Dinners. On that occasion we went because they make their own beers (Gritchie Brewing Company). This time, we went because of a specific event: a Burns Supper.
Burns Night, January 25th, is when the Scot celebrate the life and poetry of the poet Robert (Robbie) Burns. It is traditional to serve haggis, neeps (swede), and tatties (potatoes); and of course a wee dram to toast with.
But this is a blog about dinner.
Our dinner started with some bannock bread and a Whisky Mac upon arrival. Soon we were tucking in into our starters, some whisky cured salmon tartlets, followed by hand dived scallops with cauliflower purée. The latter was also served with slices of picked cauliflower.
In between the starters and mains we had a whisky tasting of Crabbie and Bonnington malts. To be honest, the whiskies (and especially the 30-year-old one) were disappointing. They were mostly young and had very little flavour. But the experience of a guided whisky tasting was lovely, and other people around our shared table were very much more liking it. I think we are spoiled.
Before we started with our main, the Haggis was "piped in", and announced through Robbie's poem "Address to a Haggis". The haggis was well spiced, the mash was smooth, and the neeps just slightly mushy. Some fried onions were sprinkled on top, and a whisky cream sauce poured over.
After our meal, and during pudding (shortbread with Caledonian Cream and Marmalade) there were toasts to the lassies, and replies to the laddies — a humorous and mostly clean episode.
We enjoyed our dinner, and it was nicer than at Brown's last year. Although the whiskies weren't too much to our liking, we still had an enjoyable evening. I think we'll try to find a different venue for a burns night dinner next year though.
The Devonshire Arms
Not to be confused with "The Devonshire", an extremely popular pub, near Piccadilly Circus, which we also have reviewed.
The Devonshire Arms is a cosy pub situated in Kensington, between Earls Court and High Street Kensington tube stations. The pub itself has the feel of a local, but upmarket boozer—it is Kensington—where everyone (not just the locals) are welcome.
We had a cheeky half when waiting for our table to be ready. My wife had an alcohol-free Lucky Saint as she's doing Dry January. It's good to see that there were several alcohol-free options on their menu.
After a little wait (we were early) we were seated at a cosy table in the dining room to have a look at the menu.
As starters, we had some Padron peppers, and Wild Boar, pork and ale sausages, served with an English mustard. That sharp mustard, gave you a good slap in the sinuses, as all good mustards should.
From their specials menu, my wife chose the fish pie as her main, which was served with green beans. To accompany it, she had an alcohol-free Amalfi Spritz cocktail made with Lyres Italian Spirit. It looked like an Aperol Spritz, but it did not taste like it.
I selected the trout dish, which was served with salsify, roasted potatoes, and prawns. I also ordered a glass of wine that was recommended on their menu for my dish. To my surprise, a glass of red wine showed up, and not the customary white wine for fish. However, to my surprise and delight the flavours combined well.
After this, we were full enough and had no place for dessert. Our bill came in at £63 as we had a half-price main course voucher, a special for early January, without it would have come in at just under £90. The food was tasty, the service good, and the ambience lovely. A good night out all round.
Le Vieux Comptoir
Situated at the end of a side-street of Marylebone High Street, Le Vieux Comptoir has been serving as a wine shop and restaurant for more than a decade. We first went many years ago, and have returned several times, with friends and family, as well as just having dinner a deux. However, we've not been recently, and so hadn't written a review. We also fancied seeing if it was still as good as we remembered. .
In the run-up to Christmas, we decided to do a re-visit to Le Vieux Comptoir. Upstairs is the wine shop, where you can get a bottle to take down into the restaurant if you wish. But you can also select your wine for dinner downstairs in the cosy restaurant. I felt like a little celebration was in order, so we started with a lovely glass of Cremant, served with some bread and homemade butter, while waiting for our starters.
For the starters, my wife went with the cheeseboard; two slices of four different cheeses, served at the perfect temperature, allowing the flavour of the cheese to come through. I selected the snails in parsley and garlic butter. I have always found snails interesting enough, but would only ever have it at a French place.
For our mains I ordered the confit duck. Sometimes that is exactly was looking forwards to, and in this case the whole week leading up to our visit. I remembered it being excellent on previous visits, and this time was no exception. It was served with roast potatoes, and cabbage leaves with a dressing. The same side dishes accompanied my wife's onglet steak. This was served medium rare, and was splendid. With our mains, we also enjoyed a glass each of a full-bodied red wine.
We still had some space for pudding, and we enjoyed a sharing platter of enormous profiteroles while sipping on a Sauternes dessert wine. It was a great meal, and quite indulgent. Something to do once in a while!
Broken Eggs
A restaurant that focuses on one specific thing, Spanish tortillas. They come in different flavours. From classic (egg and triple cooked potatoes), to courgette flavoured ones, and Jamon Iberico. That, and a few starters and drinks makes for a unique and rustic place, especially when it is cold and windy outside.
We visited Broken Eggs on such a stormy and slightly damp Friday evening, just before a storm would arrive. The restaurant is cosy with a homely atmosphere, with friendly and welcoming staff. Spanish classics on the radio.
We had some Padron peppers and cheese croquettes to start. As is common, the croquettes came as three pieces. Which I always find odd, because many bookings are likely to be couples, and dividing three portions among two can be tricky. However, they kindly offered to produce four. This was good news, because they were excellent, and my wife said she wouldn't have wanted the third one to share.
We however, did share the tortillas. Instead of picking a big one to share, we chose two different flavours to split between us. One with courgettes, and the second one with Jamon Iberico. They were both flavourful, and slightly gooey in the middle. Perfect for scraping up with some bread at the end.
With our starters and tortillas, we also had a bottle of their house red. It wasn't anything special, but on a cold, rainy, and windy evening that it was, it was the perfect accompaniment to our meal.
It was a relaxed evening out, with good rustic food, for a reasonable price.
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