Le Gavroche

Ive always been curious about what lies behind the mysterious front entrance of this Mayfair restaurant, plus its two Michelin star rating only stoked the curiousity. Returned home from work on a Friday after a very long week and passed out, only to awaken to the lovely yet impatient girlfriend filing her nails directly over me.....”naaaah, so what are we doing tonight? I really feel like sushi.” I was asked in a heavy Finnish accent. Bleary eyed, I reached for my phone and despite some heavy namedropping was rejected with the intensity my laziness deserved by both Nobus, Umu and Zuma. “Did you try Sumosan?” I was asked, with each vowel heavily accentuated as only the Finns can do. “Id rather eat at Itsu” I responded, nervously glancing at the time slowly approaching 10pm.....Running out of options, I called Le Gavroche expecting a similarly stern rejection. Surprisingly, I got a table seating us in 30 minutes....

Fortunately, having lived in Paris for two years I know and can do French stuffiness with the best of them....so we went counter-stuffiness with the girlfriend going in jeans and killer heals and me throwing on a bright pink sweater with a trendy Aquascutum blazer. Le Gavroche, was as expected, stuffy but the service good and quick with a set of twin 50+ waitresses with dyed red hair that confused the hell out of us. The food was excellent and truly top notch. I had the fish soup which brought back memories from the summer spent in Normandy and she had the scallops. For the main, I had Venison with chocolate sauce which was cooked just right while she had Cod which she described as excellent. For desert, she had the soufflé and I had the cheese plate, which was the only disappointment of the night. The cheeses were too hard, including one of my favourites, Livarot.

All in all, a great last minute save with some fantastic food. Two stars fully deserved, but an ambiance better placed for whispered conversations than racous banter amongst friends. Impressive wine list, however only focused on France and Italy. A Mayfair institution, but one to bring the parents on their yearly dutiful visit to the island.

Ranking:

Food – 9/10

Service – 8/10

Ambiance – 6/10

Value – 6/10

Bill for two £196

43 Upper Brook St
London W1K 7QR
020 7408 0881