LAUNCESTON PLACE (Kensington)LAUNCESTON PLACE (Kensington)

Category: Haute Cuisine

“Pretentious as shit but worth it”-  this is Launceston Place very accurately described with the words of RS.

I have to say –my evening at Launceston Place was highly enjoyable on many levels and it made me very happy. This is how dining out should be.

Most importantly,the food was extraordinary. What really stood out was their incredible attention to detail and the thought that seem to have gone into every little thing.  It was not only that everything tasted like heaven,but also each plate was presented like a work of art.

You have to choose 3 courses from a set menu for 48 pounds. I was not so convinced about this in the beginning as I usually don’t eat desserts,but hadn’t I be “forced”to the last course I would have missed out big time!

For the starters we had the beef tartar with barley,which was mild and full of subtle flavour. The only criticism could be that the beef was quite coarse,which I actually really enjoyed while RS was not entirely convinced. Lovely was the asparagus with snails and sunflower seeds. The sunflower seeds went surprisingly well with the perfectly cooked,crunchy green asparagus. The two lonely snails were unncessary but did not spoil the dish.

The mains were served lukewarm,probably it took so long to make them pretty,but  they were delicious anyway. The lamb with potatoes and wild garlic was a dream. The perfectly cooked medium rare meat literally melted in my mouth. I was in food paradise!

The hot smoked halibut with wild fennel served with a light dill sauce did not quite reach the level of the lamb,but nevertheless was very tasty. There is only one thing I am still confused about:the fish was served on little brown branches,I still have no idea if they were supposed to be eaten or only decoration.. I did eat some of them,they really did not taste of much and I clearly got my share of cellulose…

Now the dessert…  Warm smoked dark chocolate with Laphroiag whisky ice cream was another food heaven moment  –for me,  the Laphroiag ice cream was the superstar among many starts of the evening. I should mention that I love whiskey,the peatier the better…and they manged to pack all these flavours into an ice cream! It was so absolutely delicious! It was also a brave dish as Laphroiag is a very strongly flavoured whiskey and probably not to everyone’s taste. I’m sure the chocolate fondant and also the second dessert (Rhubarb and custard) were good too but I couldn’t say as I had just fallen in love with my whiskey ice cream,sorry

Now back from the seventh cloud to something we did not like very much –the wine list. It was off-putting,pretentious and ridiculously over-priced.  I know,it’s an expensive restaurant,but is this a reason to offer only one wine of each colour under 30 pounds? We boycotted this and went for the  20 pound bottle which was actually really nice.

The atmosphere I find is perfect for a (good) date –not only comfortable and intimate but also –due the little surprise dishes you get served in between courses –you really don’t feel rushed to finish your food quickly.

Overall,this was the most outstanding food I have had this year and I recommend everyone to go there and enjoy Tristan Welch‘s cooking –I hope it will put a big smile into your face too!

• Food:9.5/10
• Service:7.5/10
• Ambiance:8/10
• Value for money:8/10
• Chances of returning: 100%
• Verdict: happy making food for special occasions

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