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L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon: stylish value

24/5/2013

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This post is part of our restaurant deal series: 7 days, 7 restaurants, 7 deals. 7 bargains? where we seek out value deals on the London restaurant scene.

The offer

Set lunch, 3 courses, £35. This offer is also available as a pre theatre deal (17:30-18:00) and a post theatre deal (22:00-23:30).

Booked with

Direct with restaurant

Why I chose it

Whether it's just my cookies, but the set price lunch at L'Atelier is one of the deals I have seen most frequently advertised on the web.

Downsides or drawbacks

None apparent


What I ate

- amuse of Parmesan cappuccino with port reduction and foie gras
- Poached egg then deep fried with Parmesan emulsion and green asparagus
- Maine lobster cooked with smoked bacon served with fregola sarda (sup £7); friend had a standard beef dish being Black Angus beef chuck cooked a la plancha served with bacon peas and mint
- Chou pastry filled with vanilla mousse, raspberry coulis and sorbet

Food quality

The food was first class, indeed, I think I enjoyed this more than our previous visit to L'Atelier (not blogged). Nice bread basket to start, as well as an amuse of Parmesan cappucino that is the regular amuse even on the most expensive menu here. This tasted better than I ever remember and might have even been the meal highlight, so very good. It really served to set the meal apart from lesser restaurants right from the beginning, a smart move.

My starter of 'poached egg then deep fried with Parmesan emulsion' was stunning and was such a beautiful plate to find on the set lunch menu. On the main, my friend opted for the Black Angus beef chuck cooked a la plancha served with bacon peas and mint which was considered to be excellent, especially high praise for a friend who rarely chooses the beef option. Slightly naughtily, I chose the lobster which carried a £7 supplement and contained half a lobster sitting on the fregola pasta beads giving texture and a little more substance to this also excellent dish.

Desserts tasted fantastic for sure, and the lemon mousse was presented in stunning fashion. My chou pastry filled with vanilla mousse, raspberry coulis and sorbet though did feel a set lunch dessert rather than a two star spectacular.  

Food quantity

Portions were appropriate and we left full up. The glass of house wine (£6) seemed a smallish measure however, more tasting menu size (most restaurants fill your glass up when it gets this low).

Service

We were looked after by two staff, one who was excellent, another who seemed a little brusque and having ordered the set lunch menu, I thought I detected something of a look when I followed through with an order for two glasses of the house wine.

Meal deal verdict

This is another great 2 star deal where you really feel like you are eating some very special cooking. The amuse and the starter alone made this lunch worthwhile. (A different) lobster dish is on the a la carte menu at £42, and generally eating three courses here a la carte is going to be close to £70 suggesting a 50% saving.

Score

8/10
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bread basket
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amuse of Parmesan cappuccino with port reduction and foie gras
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white asparagus cappuccino, peppers flavoured with basil
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Poached egg then deep fried with Parmesan emulsion and green asparagus
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Black Angus beef chuck cooked a la plancha served with bacon peas and mint
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Maine lobster cooked with smoked bacon served with fregola sarda (sup £7)
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chou pastry filled with vanilla mousse, raspberry coulis and sorbet
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lemon mousse with acacia honey jelly and basil sorbet
L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon on Urbanspoon
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