We had mixed feelings about going to Pied a Terre given our experience at sister restaurant L'Autre Pied but this is a different restaurant, a different kicthen and an extra Michelin star. Accordingly, we thought we should give it a fair chance. We're glad we did and the food it has to be said was very good indeed being intricate in places, perfectly cooked and imaginative in construction, in other words, Pied a Terre fully deserves its stars.
Initially, we had our doubts about the front of house team as menus took some time to come and on asking our waiter why the room was so hot, for it seemed awfully hot - was the airconditioning not working perhaps - he grinned at us and said 'we have the heating on!' and then walked away still grinning like they were playing a juevenille prank on the diners. Through the course of the meal however the service proved itself and two stars of the front of house show were James, the Assistant Head Sommelier who was simply excellent in engaging with us about the wine (more of that later) and Alice, our waitress for the second half of the meal who was incredibly helpful as we sought to understand the dishes in front of us.
The dining room itself was okay but is on the small side giving a slightly claustrophic feel when we first arrived and all tables were taken. While the back room doesn't have any street level windows, it nevertheless had an atrium style skylight window so benefited from natural light. Beyond that, the tables are laid in a traditional white table cloth style.
We chose the tasting menu which priced at £90 for eight courses is we think reasonable money for a restaurant at this level. We note the set lunch menu at £23.50 looks exceptional value for those on a budget yet the food on that menu looked every bit as complex as dishes on the a la carte. We also chose the paired wines, and here, we had a bit of fun because James our sommelier wouldn't tell us what we were drinking till after we had tried the wine with the food. In turn, this allows a bit of fun of an old fashioned guessing game (is it a Riesling? No.) while also allowing you to approach the pairing conception free. James did it all with much character and it added to our enjoyment of the meal.
Starting with the amuse bouche, we had a potato gnocchi with Parmesan, carrot mousse with brown shrimp, and foie gras and poppy seed crisp. A nice collection for sure and a nice change to the veloute that more often than not appears on these occasions. The carrot mousse wasn't entirely to Mrs CC's taste but the foie gras and gnocchi were appreciated by us both.
Initially, we had our doubts about the front of house team as menus took some time to come and on asking our waiter why the room was so hot, for it seemed awfully hot - was the airconditioning not working perhaps - he grinned at us and said 'we have the heating on!' and then walked away still grinning like they were playing a juevenille prank on the diners. Through the course of the meal however the service proved itself and two stars of the front of house show were James, the Assistant Head Sommelier who was simply excellent in engaging with us about the wine (more of that later) and Alice, our waitress for the second half of the meal who was incredibly helpful as we sought to understand the dishes in front of us.
The dining room itself was okay but is on the small side giving a slightly claustrophic feel when we first arrived and all tables were taken. While the back room doesn't have any street level windows, it nevertheless had an atrium style skylight window so benefited from natural light. Beyond that, the tables are laid in a traditional white table cloth style.
We chose the tasting menu which priced at £90 for eight courses is we think reasonable money for a restaurant at this level. We note the set lunch menu at £23.50 looks exceptional value for those on a budget yet the food on that menu looked every bit as complex as dishes on the a la carte. We also chose the paired wines, and here, we had a bit of fun because James our sommelier wouldn't tell us what we were drinking till after we had tried the wine with the food. In turn, this allows a bit of fun of an old fashioned guessing game (is it a Riesling? No.) while also allowing you to approach the pairing conception free. James did it all with much character and it added to our enjoyment of the meal.
Starting with the amuse bouche, we had a potato gnocchi with Parmesan, carrot mousse with brown shrimp, and foie gras and poppy seed crisp. A nice collection for sure and a nice change to the veloute that more often than not appears on these occasions. The carrot mousse wasn't entirely to Mrs CC's taste but the foie gras and gnocchi were appreciated by us both.
potato gnocchi with Parmesan, carrot mousse with brown shrimp, and foie gras and poppy seed crisp
The first menu course was marinated scallops with a salad of golden and purple cauliflower, fresh wakami, argan oil and wasabi creme fraiche dressing. The scallops here were not whole but sliced allowing all the ingredients to mix together letting you know that you should be taking all the flavours togther when you eat this dish. The scallops were exceptional with an almost liquid texture as they melted in the mouth. Some of the best we're ever had really. The colours of this dish too were vibrant and exciting. A good start. The dish was paired with a 2009 Gruner Vertliner, Austria.
marianted scallops with golden and purple cauliflower
Yellow fin tuna tartare with crushed potatoes, olive oil, crutons, avocado creme fraiche, black radish and black olives came next. Another beautiful looking dish with a huge amount of detail gone into the construction. Sauces 'dotted' arond the dish is a regular feature of their plating at Pied a Terre and it does work well as the sauces have sufficient concentration that you don't feel its lacking even in a dot size portion. The crutons were a nice textural touch, the black radish tossed in a vinaigrette was wonderful and the dish overall succulent and flavourful.
Yellow fin tuna tartare with avacado creme fraiche
Most two star restaurants are going to want to have foie gras on their menu somewhere but the problem they face is doing something original with it. PT's combination of roasted foie gras with rhubarb curd, hazelnut crumble, parsnip and vanilla custard was very different and the acid in the rhubarb cut through the foie gras richness to allow a very different foie gras experience. Indeed, even on the wine, James served a 2009 Ribeiro, Vino do Campo, Galicia, Spain which was a dry rather than a sweet wine and it worked well.
roasted foie gras with rhubarb curd
The last of the white wine dishes, we had pan fried John Dory, squid tagliatelle, fennel salad, mandarin and cardamon gel and fennel pollen. Here the John Dory is crusted in chervil, with fennel foam and fennel pollen in the centre. With some seemingly unusual combinations (fennel and cardamon), the acidity of the mandarin really lifting the dish and the John Dory and squid cooked perfectly, this was a another delicious plate.
John Dory with squid tagliatelle
The next dish looked beautiful, a herb crusted saddle of Sika venison with roasted celeriac puree, fresh walnuts, caramelised pears and red wine sauce. Sika venison should be more tasty venison (than versus say Red) as it has more fat within the muscle tissue. Surprisingly though, the meat itself had almost no venison flavour and could have been any protein, could have easily been beef. The other elements of the dish, especially the red wine sauce allowed for an enjoyable plate but the venison taste was missing. The piece of meat though was cooked perfectly so it was a small shame that the dish did not deliver to its full potential.
Herb crusted saddle of Sika venison
A plate of two cheeses followed next, one a goats cheese, Mothais a la Feuille from the Loire Valley. This was a soft cheese that melted in the mouth and was unlike normal goats cheese which is attributed to the maturing process in a very humid cellar as opposed to a dry cellar which is the norm. Also served was Epoisses de Bourgogne which is a pungent unpasteurised cows milk cheese. Both were absolutely delicious and served with poppy seed, and walnut crisp.
Poached pineapple
The first of the desserts was a poached pineapple, mango puree, spiced savarin, coconut sorbet and sesame tuille. The dish overall was pretty rather than beautiful. We enjoyed this dessert, with Mr CC enjoying the pineapple best and Mrs CC the coconut sorbet (something for everyone it seems) but it didn't have the sophistication of some of the truly wow desserts we've experienced such as 'Milk' at Apsleys which is something of a benchmark.
bitter sweet chocalte tart
Finally from the menu we had bitter sweet chocolate tart, stout ice cream and Macadamia nut cream. The honey roasted Macadamia nuts amused me the most here with crunch and flavour while the chocalte tart itself was nice enough though again, perhaps not hugely memorable.
A vertical stack of petit fours followed with little macarons, chocolate cups, jellies and other less clearly identifiable items. More up my street than Mrs CC's, these were enjoyable but after the preceeding eight courses, so little room left, even for treats.
We did have a very good meal here. The venison lacking flavour was our only quibble but we can't blame the kitchen for that, it was cooked perfectly and the other elements of the dish still allowed for an enjoyable plate. This is clearly then a kitchen that can cook, can invent and can plate beautifully. James and Alice both added warmth and a human touch though the other waiters were professional and knowledgable even if they didn't engage to the same extent. We would probably go back to Pied a Terre for good food though for 2011, The Square is increasingly looking like our 'go-to' 2 star restaurant where the dining room is spacious, the staff friendly and the kitchen equally competent.
It also has to be said that we're still a little cross that the incident at L'Autre Pied was never remedied for they had promised that they would contact us to provide a resolution (they didn't) and they said that when we came to Pied a Terre they would do something to make up for our previosuly spoiled meal (and they didn't). We can't fault the kitchen for this and clearly the incident has slipped through the cracks for the management team. The problem is, with the matter never properly settled for us, in a coin flip situation between Pied a Terre, The Ledbury or The Square, it's PT that will likely lose out when we choose where to eat; situation resolved.
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It also has to be said that we're still a little cross that the incident at L'Autre Pied was never remedied for they had promised that they would contact us to provide a resolution (they didn't) and they said that when we came to Pied a Terre they would do something to make up for our previosuly spoiled meal (and they didn't). We can't fault the kitchen for this and clearly the incident has slipped through the cracks for the management team. The problem is, with the matter never properly settled for us, in a coin flip situation between Pied a Terre, The Ledbury or The Square, it's PT that will likely lose out when we choose where to eat; situation resolved.
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