Tag Archives: cheese

Cocktails at Archer Street, Soho

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Archer Street Bar has often been recommended to me as a fine cocktail establishment, and though I spend a lot of time in Soho, I hadn’t previously come across it. On a Wednesday evening, the place was unexpectedly busy, loud and rather too dark for my comfort. The raucous midweek crowd had clearly all come to Archer Street to let off steam.

The cocktail menu is not long nor overcomplicated. Indeed at first sight, the choices look limited, but after a quick chat with the exuberant waitress in a spotty dress, the cocktails to go for became glaringly obvious.

Cherry Cherry Bang Bang – Miller’s Gin shaken with Cherry Heering, Orgeat, fresh lime and egg white, £10.50

Art Pop – Amaretto, Southern Comfort and cranberry juice, shaken with fresh lime and pineapple, £11

Miss Saigon – Ketle One vodka, rose liqueur and lychee juice, shaken with fresh lemon and Earl Grey syrup, £11

Some Like It Hot – Jose Cuervo tradicional shaken with passionfruit, red chillies and vanilla sugar, £11

For me, the Art Pop was the winner by far: a sweet but balanced short cocktail with a lovely mix of ingredients. Some Like It Hot was surprisingly tasty, despite the presence of chilli. Cherry Cherry Bang Bang was a fruity refreshing drink and Miss Saigon a failsafe for those not keen on super-strong concoctions.

Along with the piled-high cheeseboard, for a few pre-dinner drinks Archer Street is the ideal venue, especially suitable for cocktail connoisseurs; but if you’re looking for a quiet place to catch up with friends, other Soho venues would suit the occasion better.

More information here.

archerstreet.co.uk

Le Paris, Lutetia Hotel, Paris

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Hotel Lutetia in Saint Germain des Pres is an empire embodying Parisian style and luxury. This grand building was built in 1910 as the first Art Deco hotel in Paris. The stature and elegance remains intact today and it is a very desirable place to stay and eat.

Prestigious restaurant “Le Paris” gained a Michelin star for its spectacular rendition of contemporary French cuisine. The food is offered in a beautiful, intimate dining room, with designs by trendy fashion designer Sonia Rykiel. Harking back to a bygone era, it is a place of seductive sophistication.

Executive chef Philippe Renard has said of his menu: “My passion is to create around seasonal products but especially starting from the traditional cuisine that I like to revisit and to adapt to current tastes. My tendency is to focus on the good product. I campaign for the “eating well” and I am convinced that it is essential to eat everything in small quantities.”

With this in mind Le Paris menu has two options, small or large portions, available from starter through to dessert. A sensible suggestion for foodies with smaller appetites or those wishing to try a range of dishes from the menu. After a glass of bubbly, we were faced with the tricky task of choosing from the dazzling menu.

Our final selection was as follows:

To start:
Erquy scallops marinated with Clementine, with Chablis white wine mustard sauce, old fashioned vegetables and Roscoff seaweed tartar
Landes duck “foie gras” with black truffle mushroom from Vaucluse, cannelloni, and artichoke with hazelnut

For main:
Pyrenees milk fed lamb roasted with thyme, salsify with parmesan cheese and pine nuts, Brussel sprouts mashed potato
“Cros de la Geline” guinea fowl, roasted with Vaucluse black truffle mushrooms, green cabbage with “ventreche” slice of pork and chestnuts

Marie Anne Cantin cheese selection and Poujaran bread

To finish:
Saint-Honore with chestnuts and a light cream with rum and raisins
The “chocolate experience”

The scallops were a challenging raw fish starter with a sort of mustard coleslaw, a bizarre combination of flavours. The foie gras suited us better, a very rich but perfectly balanced dish with a subtle smokiness from the artichoke, the contrasting soft, sweet foie gras and a kick from the wonderfully woody black truffle, ultra-thin, placed delicately on top.

The mains were both enormous portions, we opted for the larger size which in retrospect was definitely a mistake. Comforting, juicy meat paired with cheesy vegetables, the lamb was absolutely delicious, but my favourite part of the course was the brussel sprout mashed potato, which was surprisingly tasty, creamy and addictive! The guinea fowl was lovely too, a bird which is not used enough in restaurants. Again this recipe included black truffles as they are in season, and was placed on a bed of complimenting soft cabbage with salty pork.

Wines were chosen by the sommelier as we went along, a selection of winning French varieties. Although the restaurant felt very smart, with guests only speaking in hushed voices, the staff tried hard to make our meal more relaxed and less formal, for which I was very grateful.

Mouthfuls of caramely delight arrived as a palate cleanser, the ideal mix of creamy ice-cream, mango and spun sugar. The Lutetia desserts were spectacular, amazing constructions carefully arranged to look as impressive as they tasted. My chocolate experience was a heavenly trio of puddings, rich but manageable. The Saint Honore cake is a famous French treat that our waiter insisted we tried. It was light and airy, decorated immaculately with edible gold leaf.

The gastronomic delights of Le Paris are served up in an enchanting setting which will take you back to the glamorous 1930’s. A wonderful restaurant in a magnificent hotel, both are well worth travelling to experience.

More information and book here.

Thanks to the Paris Tourist Board, more information here.

Champagne & Fromage, Covent Garden

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Cheese and Champagne are two of the greatest pleasures in life, so a restaurant serving almost solely these two things, sounds like heaven.

It is heaven. A minute little café with artisan jams and jellies on the shelves, bottles of Champagne stacked and a fridge with gorgeous cheese of every kind.

I sat down on a cute wooden table, alone, as my date for the night was stuck at the hairdresser. These solitary moments presented me with the perfect opportunity to chat to the Co-Founder and Co-Director, Maud Fierobe who explained the idea of the boutique restaurant and talked me through each of the sparkling Champagnes on offer. After listening to my preferences, Maud delivered a pretty glass of bubbly, the sensational Lacroix La Reserve (60% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Meunier) – delicious fruity taste, light and incredibly moreish. This champagne suited my palate perfectly, Maud kindly clinked glasses with me… to avoid me saying ‘cheers’ alone!

French Bubbles, as the eatery is affectionately known, is a lovely rustic place to hang out, couples huddle over effervescing flutes and friends chuckle with mouthfuls of cheese. We tried a cheese board and charcuterie platter first, moving on to the insanely tasty tartine afterwards. Everything was divine: immaculately chosen and presented food. Each guest ordering a cheese board is allowed to choose from the epic selection, I was overwhelmed by the diversity and found it almost upsetting picking just three from the array. Eventually I decided on Compte Extra Vieux (36 months), Brie de Meaux and Chevre de St Claude. My only disappointment was the absence of Manchego, but as a French restaurant I must excuse them for omitting this famous Spanish cheese. The board promptly arrived garnished with grapes, membrillo and chunks of bread. Comte is a hard, nutty cheese, the Brie rich and creamy and the Chevre delicately flavoured and fresh. The charcuterie was a hit too, wafer thin slices of peppery salami and meats of the highest quality, I savoured every mouthful.

A lovely rose champagne, Pertois-Moriset Rose Grand Cru (85% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Noir) arrived to accompany the tartine. This bottle was fragrant with an obvious hint of strawberry, very elegant and satisfying. We chose the Montbeliarde tartine with Montbeliarde sausage the gooiest melted Morbier cheese and a shallot confit. Tartine is a toasted slice of traditional French sourdough,“Pain Poilane,” topped with fine French cheese. Ours felt very naughty… oozing cheese, meat and a generous smear of mustard, just like a posher and more exciting cheese on toast.

Champagne & Fromage started life as a pop-up and thanks to obvious popularity has deservedly gained a permanent place in Covent Garden’s Opera Quarter. I am so glad it stayed and we are able to enjoy this brilliant concept. Perfect for a bite pre or post theatre, I will definitely be popping back in to get my cheese and Champagne fix.

More information here.

http://www.frenchbubbles.co.uk/Champagne-Fromage/