Restaurant review: L’Autre Pied
The internet is currently awash with voucher sites and offers such as groupon, vouchercloud, time-out etc, that provide fantastic deals on eating out at hugely discounted prices. I picked up one of these deals for a seven-course tasting menu at the Michelin starred restaurant L’Autre Pied in London for half the normal price and took my wife for Sunday lunch.
The restaurant is located a short walk from Bond Street tube in a pretty little street. The atmosphere was very relaxed and the decor smart and simple. We were given the menu to consider and allowed our imaginations to try and work out what the simple named dishes would taste like. This was whilst feasting on an endless selection of freshly baked breads including mini baguettes, Guinness and rye, parmesan and olive, and onion brioche.
Each and every dish was perfect in size and presentation and every mouthful was a delight. The starter was Compressed Watermelon with Frozen Gazpacho, Black Onion Seeds and Basil (pictured, right). There was small bite-size chunks of fresh sweet watermelon interspersed with crushed frozen gazpacho. It was very light and fresh and a great palette cleanser to start the meal. The third course was Salad of Heritage Tomatoes with Dried Olives, Balsamic, Herbs and Belper Knolle. This was a selection of red and green tomatoes perfectly seasoned accompanied by dried olive crisps, onion powder and a subtle balsamic glaze running through the dish. It was again very fresh and summery and I could eat this every day of the week.
My favourite dish was from the vegetarian menu and was Smoked Goats Curd with Hazelnuts, Apple Tapioca, Celery and Miso (pictured, top). The cheese was served warm and was so creamy it simply melted in my mouth. The hazelnuts added a crunchy texture to the dish and the tapioca at the bottom was soft and sweet. A resounding success and I would love to eat this as a main course on a future visit. In the non-vegetarian version the goats curd is replaced with Grilled mackerel and tartare.
Of the two desert courses, I preferred the first, Apple Custard with Honeycomb and Pistachio, Raspberry Sorbet and Rose Water Meringues (pictured, left). The custard was light and creamy with the sorbet running through the middle. The pistachios and honeycomb added a crunchy texture and it had a middle eastern feel with the rose water meringues.
Seven courses sounds like a lot but in this type of establishment it is about quality over quantity. Each dish had been carefully thought out to balance every other dish and to make an overall culinary experience showcasing the very best they have to offer. We left with our bellies full, our brains trying to process all the tastes and textures we had experienced and large smiles on our faces. I highly recommend this restaurant and will definitely be returning.
The restaurant is located at 5-7 Blandford Street, Marylebone, London, W1U 3DB. The seven course tasting menu is normally £62 per person. They also do a very reasonably priced three course lunch for £25.50 (£29.50 on Sundays). Visit their website for more details.
Review by 25ThC
