Fancy food stylings en français

Samuel Furse

As avid readers of the Comment section will know, I recently finished my PhD. I had not thought much about what came after, as there was a peculiar type of feeling that it might never end, for a while. It did, and in so happening I wanted to celebrate. The agèd Ps (they do not yet know I call them that) offered to take me out for dinner to mark it. As someone interested in food I leapt at the opportunity and looked for a restaurant that would be a chance to try some new things but also to see food done really well. Yes, I wanted to see some originality too, I like to think of my own cooking as at least a touch original so it felt like an opportunity to find some new ideas as well. So, in choosing a place I whipped out my iPod touch and cranked up the Good Food Guide 2011 application (expensive at £4.99 but it has paid for itself now) to search for somewhere. I should say that for a restaurant to even get in the Good Food Guide is an achievement: their ‘lowest’ rating is not an insult. I lit upon going to The Kitchen, W8. This is styled as a Modern European Restaurant and on paper seems unpretentious, and has even been awarded a Michelin star and a GFG rating of 5. At £32 for three courses, it is not outrageous for what Michel Roux and others call ‘high-end’ dining. A once-in-a-life-time celebration and my parents were paying.

We were not interrupted halfway through a mouthful and asked "if everything was alright"

I was instantly impressed with the initial aspects of the service. I am not keen on people asking me how I am. Not my friends or family you understand, I rather expect it of them, but if people in shops or service staff in restaurants or random people in call centres in far-flung parts of the world ask me how I am I find it irritating. My opinion is that it is an imposition that they are trained to ask. So I was pleased that these staff did not do that, but instead were well-informed about the dishes and the wine, and that the arrival of the dishes was slick, well-timed and effortless. On top of this, we were not interrupted halfway through a mouthful and asked "if everything was alright" as happens at some restaurants. I cannot tell you what a relief this was. This was balanced beautifully by attentive but unobtrusive waiting staff who were very accommodating and ably waiting several tables.

The food was of course something I was interested in, though a bit of fizz was also required. We had a champagne I had not heard of: Champagne Billecart-Salmon which was very good as, unlike lesser bottles; it lost neither its vibrancy nor its sophisticated flavour between the beginning of the meal and the end. I like to finish a meal with a glass of champagne as well as start it with one. My dad ordered a pleasing Rioja so we were all set. This played well with my meal:

Tartare of Venison, Pickled Beetroot, Onion Marmalade and Walnut Cream

Roast Wood Pigeon, Tart Fine of Smoked Onions, Endive, Pear and Foie Gras

Spiced Financier, Roast Pear, Salt Caramel and Beurre Noisette

Petit Fours

Though in truth, one could have had virtually anything from the List and still come out of the evening beaming. The venison I had to start was restrained and well balanced, the wood pigeon to follow was beautifully textured and layered and moved me to eat spinach for the first time in probably 20 years. The combination of flavours in the pudding is not one I can forget. The petit fours – one might almost think of them as an afterthought – were just right. They were of course chocolate, but with a good weight of salted caramel and hazelnut. This combination was put together so well that it could not be improved upon. It is fair to say that I have a sweet tooth but the way this meal was put together and served out meant it felt as though the food just got better and better.

The last thing that also pleased me—and would doubtless please my colleague in this section, Charles Betts, is that no service charge was added to the bill. The List of Comestibles suggested it might, but it was not. Of course we ensured that our waitress was taken care of, and deservedly so, as the evening was beautifully arranged. Like any good restaurant they are very accommodating but they know what they are doing and it shows. A well-earned Michelin star, I look forward to returning.

Kitchen W8 is found at 11-13 Abingdon Road, London W8 6AH.

Charles Betts

If you have ever wondered what the Dark Ages must have been like, look no further than the British railway network. Strikes, delays, signal failures and so much more. And the piss-take service doesn’t even come cheap. How the French embarrass us with their TGVs – literally standing for “Very Fast Trains” – imagine if our rickety UK carriages were called that… at best it would be taken as a poor joke wryly reflecting our national penchant for cynical wit. Oh, the indignity of it all.

Most shameful of all is that, at the right time of year, a train to Paris on the Eurostar can be comparable in cost to one to Birmingham. A city that is famed for Notre Dame and Montmartre versus one celebrated for its new Selfridges and the shocking Alpha Tower. A city that has sixty-five Michelin starred restaurants versus one that has three.

And what’s more, Paris has one of the best bloody restaurants I have been to. Le Boeuf Sur le Toit provides a totally authentic French meal that I’m always grumbling I can never find in London: unpretentious, cheery staff, perfectly cooked steaks, and crispy vegetables.

The restaurant has a beautiful Art Deco interior, and offers impeccably fresh seafood

A stone’s throw away from the Champs-Élysées, the restaurant has a beautiful Art Deco interior, and offers impeccably fresh seafood – the most stupendous oysters, available in different sizes and from different provenances. Not least the Spéciales Gillardeau, considered to be the crème de la crème among French varieties, as well as the Fines de Claire - another favourite among Parisians. Their scallops on the half-shell with girolles are heaven sent.

The place is the epitome of honestly delicious brasserie food, and its king is the Chateaubriand steak with sauce Béarnaise and a hearty side portion of chips. People in London rave about Sophie’s Steakhouse, but they quite simply don’t know what they’re yakking on about – a bit like that chap with the egg-shaped face on Masterchef. You know, the one who looks like a burglar and repeats whatever the other judge – who looks far too thin to be trusted as a Michelin starred chef – says.

But the greatest triumph, the truest charm of Le Boeuf, is the jazz pianist who assaults the keys and croons away in a New Orleansian drawl every Friday and Saturday night. The whole place comes alive, oozing and buzzing with atmosphere. People stomp their feet and put their hands together as he bellows out his own versions of Basin Street Blues and Take Her to the Mardi Gras. It doesn’t get much better than this – top food, top staff, top music. When it comes to great dining, ambiance definitely matters just as much as the grub.

Admittedly, heading to Paris for a day trip to have a decadent dinner is a bit OTT for the average student whose definition of a stonking night out is going to Infernos, motorboating some chick, and falling asleep in a pile of his roommate’s regurgitated pot noodle banquet. But even that costs quite a bit. So why not treat yourself and your other half to something special for a change?