• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
  • Contact us
  • Guest Content
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Elevenses
  • Business
  • Food
  • Travel
  • Property
  • JOBS
  • All
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Sport
    • Tech/Auto
    • Lifestyle
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Set For Life
      • Thunderball
      • EuroMillions
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Food and Drink

Restaurant Review – Launceston Place

It’s often believed that expensive cuts of meat are superior to the often overlooked cheaper cuts available. However, in almost every case, it is the cooking process that’s the most important when meat is concerned. A well cooked piece of offal with almost always taste better than a badly cooked expensive slab of flesh, with […]

Jon Hatchman by Jon Hatchman
2016-08-26 08:00
in Food and Drink, Restaurants
TLE

Launceston Place

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

It’s often believed that expensive cuts of meat are superior to the often overlooked cheaper cuts available. However, in almost every case, it is the cooking process that’s the most important when meat is concerned. A well cooked piece of offal with almost always taste better than a badly cooked expensive slab of flesh, with a pork dish from Kensington’s Launceston Place acting as a fine example.

Tucked away on a street of the same name, the Michelin-starred Launceston Place is by no means a new addition to Kensington’s thriving fine dining scene. However, last year saw the appointment of new Chef Patron – Raphael Francois, having previously held positions such as Executive Chef at Helene Darroze at the Connaught. Taking over the ground floor of a Georgian townhouse, the dining space is decorated with elegant minimalism, punctuated by works of modern art. There’s also a comfortable amount of space between tables, which is refreshing in an age of sky high rates and a constant increase in competition.

Francois’ new menu is very much a celebration of modern European cuisine, with an extremely flagrant focus on high quality ingredients. To begin, both starters were of an exceptionally high class, setting the bar impossibly high for what was yet to follow. A scallop the size of a toddler’s fist was served with a melody of ripe blackberries, peas and their shoots, arriving alongside a miniature cocktail shaker. This contained a nuclear green pea mojito spiked with a generous splash of white rum, shaken at the table and poured atop the dish in place of a sauce. As expected, the freshness of peas worked especially well alongside the delicate raw scallop and the piercing sharpness of the blackberries. Next, a Hen’s egg was cooked to perfection for exactly one hour in a water bath at 63 degrees  and joined by asparagus spears, prosciutto and mushroom duxelles. As a result of the egg’s cooking method, the soft yolk worked like a rich sauce in perfect harmony with the other ingredients to provide a plate of rich, earthy goodness, with a particularly brilliant balance of flavours.

TLE
Sea bass, pickled butternut squash, seaweed, pears.

Next, a fillet of sea bass had escaped from the pan a mere matter of seconds before being overcooked, presented alongside marbles of pickled butternut squash and pear. The combination of the earthy squash and sweet pear did work in perfect harmony with the well-seasoned tranche of fish, but although adding further depth of texture, the grains of toasted rice were unnecessary. These brought very little to the dish, besides an appearance similar to that of something recovered from the fisherman’s bait box.

Then came my pork dish, chosen as an avid lover of pork belly, which when cooked properly is arguably the tastiest cut of pig, by quite some margin. Instead, the belly that the menu emphasised with its bold type font was the size of a domino, with a chop of expensive Iberico pork instead taking the dish’s central focus. Taken from the Iberian breed of pig fed on acorns, resulting in a distinct nutty flavour to the pork, plus a beautifully marbled fat, the chop came as a pleasant surprise – arriving at the table beneath a glass dome of smoke from singed hay. This particular breed of pork is amongst some of the world’s finest, and thus deserves to be cooked properly, at the very least – alas, this was not. Being of such astounding provenance, it is safe for Iberico pork to be served pink, delivering an incredible depth of flavour and succulence. Instead, the pork had been so overcooked that even a sabre toothed tiger would have struggled to chew through the meat that ended up going back to the kitchen half eaten. A crying shame, given that it was served and presented with such theatrical charm and that the tiny morsel of pork belly was cooked so impeccably well. I’d choose a cheap, fatty slab of well-cooked pork belly over a poorly executed cut from an expensive breed at any given occasion.

To finish, my companion’s dish of chocolate, cherry and pistachio was delicious, comprising blobs of chocolate accompanied by a tart cherry sorbet and crumbed pistachio cake. Meanwhile, I was unable to resist the temptation of the cheese trolley, with around 25 choices, served with our waiter’s depth of knowledge. And like the rest of the meal, Head Sommelier Piotr Pietras’ wine pairings were remarkable, making his reputation as one of the industry’s finest seem understandable.

Launceston Place demonstrates an exceptional amount of promise, from the mostly brilliant service, a dumbfounding wine list, and food that’s for the most part good. Alas it was the slightest of errors that sadly marred the mains section of the menu.

Launceston Place can be found at 1A Launceston Place, London, W8 5RL.

–

RelatedPosts

Restaurant review: Bow Street Tavern, Covent Garden

All You Need to Know When Hiring a Private Chef

Restaurant review: The Cocochine, Mayfair

Round up of Food and Drink News and Events

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Commercial enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

© The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE thelondoneconomic.com - All Rights Reserved. Privacy

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Lottery Results
    • Lotto
    • Set For Life
    • Thunderball
    • EuroMillions
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE thelondoneconomic.com - All Rights Reserved. Privacy

← Benares To Launch New ‘Street Food’ Styled Bar Menu ← The beginning of the end? Huge NHS cuts across England
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Lottery Results
    • Lotto
    • Set For Life
    • Thunderball
    • EuroMillions
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE thelondoneconomic.com - All Rights Reserved. Privacy

-->