Anyone who follows me on Twitter (@itsyourlondon) will know that I’m often to be found out and about trying new restaurants and bars, so I thought I catch my blog readers up on a few good venues I’ve enjoyed lately. So I’m starting a new series of short pieces, a whistle-stop tour around some places I have checked out for you.
Mayfair can be a worrying place to have a meal as the prices tend to be aimed at the larger wallet. However, many of the fine dining venues offer a set lunch which is affordable and allows us ordinary folk to mix with those who have no concerns about a heart-stopping bill at the end of a meal.
Corrigan’s has a good looking exterior on a very smart street just in sight of Hyde Park. The friendly staff welcomed us and no sooner had I sat down before Richard Corrigan himself walked past into the kitchen, so we felt assured of a good meal.
I have a weakness for good warm bread with soft creamy butter so they had me right away with these lovely nutty loaves in mini flower pots.
The starter of ‘Rooftop salmon tartare, oyster mayonnaise and pomegranate was light, flavoursome and very pretty.
A second starter was the ‘Ribble Valley duck croquette with glazed plum’, the fruit giving the duck a clean taste in contrast with the rich but light duck.
I was in the mood for meat so went for the ‘Confit Middlewhite pork belly, kale and applesauce’. For my palate, the kale was a little sharp but the pork was soft and tasty with some crispy crackling but not the sort that takes your teeth with it!
My dining companions preferred a fish main course and chose the ‘Cornish seafood grill with rouille’ which had a good range of fish, full of flavour and perfectly cooked with a light green salad.
Luckily we had saved a small space in order to check out a couple of the puddings which we ordered for the table. The ‘Chocolate cheesecake, chantilly cream’ managed to silence one of our group, always a sign that the chocolate has hit the spot.
The ‘Fine apple tart’ was unexpected visually as we thought a flat classic French tart was coming but this version was full of good apple and the tart was light and flaky.
A final treat was a baking dish straight out of the oven to accompany our coffees with the freshest Madeleines I’ve had the pleasure of tasting for a long time.
Our bill was modest given the surroundings and the quality of the food as their Seasonal Lunch Menu is £25 for 2 courses and £29 for 3 courses. Drinks were expensive but we were not looking for more than a glass each as it was lunchtime.
I highly recommend this restaurant although I cannot guarantee Richard Corrigan will be overseeing your meal!
For more information about the restaurant click here to their website.
Full disclosure: I booked this restaurant myself and we all paid for our own meals. This was not a press trip but just a great lunch out with friends!