This is the first post that is subject to our own new disclosure policy that you can read here; we hope that readers will find it useful. The disclosure table can be found at the end of the post.
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La Trompette is part of the Nigel Platts-Martin 'empire' that includes The Square and The Ledbury, together with Chez Bruce and the Glasshouse. In total then, it is a truly excellent stable of restaurants with more awards than most restaurateurs will see in a lifetime. La Trompette itself has held a Michelin star for several years.
La Trompette is also in Chiswick, five miles as the crow flies from Piccadilly Circus but a seemingly long journey all the same in London traffic or on London tubes. With Mrs CC unable to participate on this occasion, my dining companion is again Twitter foodie @CityJohn.
The restaurant itself is well presented, offering the classic style of pressed white table cloths and 'relaxed formality'. The staff also come across well providing a pleasant greeting on entry and throughout the meal, they are professional, courteous and friendly.
With a rare dose of summer sunshine, we're able to sit outside which is quite pleasant and enjoying the lovely walnut and raisin bread, I'm also incredibly impressed by the value offered by the wine list, it's great to see restaurants making wine affordable and therefore drinkable.
Food at La Trompette is equally affordable, with the lunch menu being £22 for two courses, £26 for three. The dinner menu looks to be mostly the same as the lunch menu though with a few more options and a higher price point. Most likely because of its non central London location, this particular lunch service was far from busy though I can imagine it's a different story at evenings and weekends when almost certainly this place would be packed full.
For starters, I choose the Rare grilled tuna with sauce vierge, celery and black pepper creme fraiche, and CityJohn opts for the Foie gras and chicken liver parfait with dressed lentils and toasted brioche. On the tuna dish, it is the tomatoes that are the star of the show: small, ripe and bursting with flavour. Overall its a nice plate and as is the case in all the dishes presented to us today, portion sizes are excellent, bordering on generous. The staff do well to offer an additional brioche for the parfait mid way through and both starters are enjoyed.
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La Trompette is part of the Nigel Platts-Martin 'empire' that includes The Square and The Ledbury, together with Chez Bruce and the Glasshouse. In total then, it is a truly excellent stable of restaurants with more awards than most restaurateurs will see in a lifetime. La Trompette itself has held a Michelin star for several years.
La Trompette is also in Chiswick, five miles as the crow flies from Piccadilly Circus but a seemingly long journey all the same in London traffic or on London tubes. With Mrs CC unable to participate on this occasion, my dining companion is again Twitter foodie @CityJohn.
The restaurant itself is well presented, offering the classic style of pressed white table cloths and 'relaxed formality'. The staff also come across well providing a pleasant greeting on entry and throughout the meal, they are professional, courteous and friendly.
With a rare dose of summer sunshine, we're able to sit outside which is quite pleasant and enjoying the lovely walnut and raisin bread, I'm also incredibly impressed by the value offered by the wine list, it's great to see restaurants making wine affordable and therefore drinkable.
Food at La Trompette is equally affordable, with the lunch menu being £22 for two courses, £26 for three. The dinner menu looks to be mostly the same as the lunch menu though with a few more options and a higher price point. Most likely because of its non central London location, this particular lunch service was far from busy though I can imagine it's a different story at evenings and weekends when almost certainly this place would be packed full.
For starters, I choose the Rare grilled tuna with sauce vierge, celery and black pepper creme fraiche, and CityJohn opts for the Foie gras and chicken liver parfait with dressed lentils and toasted brioche. On the tuna dish, it is the tomatoes that are the star of the show: small, ripe and bursting with flavour. Overall its a nice plate and as is the case in all the dishes presented to us today, portion sizes are excellent, bordering on generous. The staff do well to offer an additional brioche for the parfait mid way through and both starters are enjoyed.
Rare grilled tuna with sauce vierge, celery and black pepper creme fraiche
Foie gras and chicken liver parfait with dressed lentils and toasted brioche
We both opt for fish for the main, Roast loin of cod with sweetcorn and chorizo, shrimp, lemon and oregano butter emulsion, with the other order being Black bream with piedmontese peppers, fennel, squid and shellfish vinaigrette.
The Bream seemed the better of the two dishes, with the fish perfectly cooked and the plate coming together well. However, when it came to the cod, while a nice piece of fish, the skin had not crisped up and the supporting ingredients let the plate down with both the chorizo and shrimp adding surprisingly little to the dish. As such, it was a fair main course but one that failed to elevate itself to become a talking point.
The Bream seemed the better of the two dishes, with the fish perfectly cooked and the plate coming together well. However, when it came to the cod, while a nice piece of fish, the skin had not crisped up and the supporting ingredients let the plate down with both the chorizo and shrimp adding surprisingly little to the dish. As such, it was a fair main course but one that failed to elevate itself to become a talking point.
Black bream with piedmontese peppers, fennel, squid and shellfish vinaigrette
Roast loin of cod with sweetcorn and chorizo, shrimp, lemon and oregano butter emulsion
Desserts were a highlight. The Dark chocolate marquise with vanilla ice cream and raspberries was, as speaks a chocolate lover, satisfying, with a perfect texture to the marquise and a lovely biscuit crunch to the base. The Strawberry sorbet with strawberries and meringues perplexed us with its looks initially, and we both believed it would be better suited to a different presentation, but the quality of the dessert was excellent, especially the strawberry sorbet.
Dark chocolate marquise with vanilla ice cream and raspberries
Strawberry sorbet with strawberries and meringues
On finishing the food, we both found that we felt the same way about meal we had just eaten: as a neighbourhood restaurant, this is a great place to eat and if we lived in the vicinity, we would for sure frequent it regularly. But as a Michelin star holder, did it offer anything extra, something for us to get really excited about to lodge itself in our brains? In both our views, no. We know that the one star category captures a wide range of restaurants, but our meals at no starred restaurants like Coq d'Argent and Magdalen were at the same level in our view on technique, inventiveness and flavour. One star luminaries like The Elephant or Martin Wishart meanwhile seem to be a step up from our experience.
But Michelin aside, it was an enjoyable meal at a good price in nice surroundings with pleasant staff. If you're in the neighbourhood, it's definitely worth a visit, but if you otherwise have to travel to get there, it's less clear that it's worth that extra effort.
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But Michelin aside, it was an enjoyable meal at a good price in nice surroundings with pleasant staff. If you're in the neighbourhood, it's definitely worth a visit, but if you otherwise have to travel to get there, it's less clear that it's worth that extra effort.
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