Now where do I start? Well, I was invited to have lunch at Roux at the Landau at The Langham by the lovely Aftab (go check out his blog). I am a huge fan of Michel Roux Jnr, but I haven’t had the pleasure of dining at any of his restaurants… until now. And the fact that Roux at The Landau is a joint venture by the legendary father and son duo, how could I not be excited?
The Langham hotel has been around since 1865 and so has built a great reputation in London for 150 years. And after my visit, I can see why.
The table was beautifully set and everyone was warmly welcomed. I had the pleasure of dining with 4 lovely bloggers, Aysem (PR at The Langham) and 2 other guests who work at a London magazine. Just looking at the menu made me super hungry and it was so hard to decide what to order – everything sounded so good! When offered bread, I couldn’t decide on that either, so went for both sourdough and the mini baguette. Bread is my weakness, and even though I knew we were in for a 3-course treat, I just couldn’t resist – even the butter looked divine.
We started with a little canapé of smoked salmon and cream cheese. This is one of my favourite combinations, so I loved it, especially the generous thick cut of salmon.
I ordered the Onion Consommé with parmesan tortellini and radicchio to start. I really didn’t know what to expect, but it was such a delight. The onion consommé had a slight bitter aftertaste, but that was counteracted by what I think was pickled red onion that I found in each spoonful and the burst of cheese in the tortellini. I really enjoyed this, and thought it was the perfect start to my meal.
My fellow diners went for different starters and they all looked great, with the scallops being a very popular choice.
For my main, I had the Wild Sea Bass, jerusalem artichokes, hazelnuts and brown butter. This was one of the recommendations from our waiter and I couldn’t have been happier with my choice. I never know if it’s okay to describe fish like this, but it was quite meaty whilst still delicate, which I believe is a sign of a fish cooked well. I often look at a menu and wonder how the vegetables paired with the dish will work. But the beauty of this dish was that each component played it’s part, especially when it came to flavour and texture. And who doesn’t like butter? Only crazy people. It brought it all together and I really loved the slight saltiness the potato crisps added to each bite.
Everyone else chose more meaty options, such as the yummy looking Butter roast sirloin and the beautifully plated Roast saddle of venison.
Now, what do I tell you about dessert? Whenever I look at a menu, one of my habits has always been to look at what they have for dessert first. And as soon as my eyes landed on that section of the menu, I knew exactly what I’m going to have. The toffee apple soufflé of dreams. Yes, that’s what I named it. It also came with gingerbread ice cream, so it just kept getting better. The smell of the sweet toffee wafted in the air as it arrived at our table and that’s when I fell in love.
I don’t really know what to say, it honestly became one of my favourite desserts I have tried in London, and for those who know me, will know that I ‘specialise’ in desserts and this is a big deal. I’ve only ever tried soufflé once before, and it was a chocolate one. It was good, but nothing spectacular in my opinion.
Each mouthful of soufflé was like eating soft clouds of deliciousness. You could see the specks of toffee throughout, and combined with the slight tart apple on top, it was heavenly. I liked the gingerbread ice cream, and it provided a nice contrast to the warm soufflé, but I don’t think it was exactly necessary. Personally, I would’ve liked it to have a more intense ginger flavour, but it was still nice and creamy. The portion size of the soufflé was very generous, to the point that some people couldn’t even finish it, which obviously wasn’t my problem at all. If I wasn’t so full already, I may have eaten theirs too!
I managed to try a bite of the bitter chocolate millefeuille, and although it was truly delicious, the rich and intense chocolate would’ve been a bit too much for me after a big meal like this. I also got to try Aftab’s crème brûlée, which was lovely and creamy, but again, too big to end a meal like this.
We finished the meal with tea and coffee and these mini eclairs, where you could see the specks of vanilla in the cream, in a light choux casing – a sign of good pastry work!
After our meal, Jamie Draper, Chef de Cuisine at Roux at The Landau, came out to speak to us and it was such a pleasure to meet him.
We were given a mini tour of The Langham by Aysem and I couldn’t believe how beautiful the hotel was. From the Palm Court and private dining spaces, to their popular award winning bar and the exclusive Langham Club. I actually watched the movie ‘Burnt’ last weekend, which is set in London at The Langham and I couldn’t help but get super excited at seeing parts of the hotel I had just seen days before!
One of the areas I loved was the Langham Club, which also has exclusive butler and concierge service. As soon as I stepped into the Butler’s Pantry, I basically decided that I couldn’t possibly leave. It was gorgeous and full of treats from the Palm Court. It all looked delicious and certainly made me want to come back to try their afternoon tea.
A huge thanks to the lovely Aysem Monaco from The Langham and the Roux at the Landau team for having us. I honestly had a wonderful lunch and have been raving about it to anyone who will listen.
Do also check out the blogs of my fellow diners – they’re awesome:
Lauren – The Lifestyle Diaries
Mehreen – Wrap Your Lips Around This
*We were invited to review Roux at The Landau, but as always, all opinions are my own.
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