L'escargot

[Scott]

Went to L'escargot last night.

Picasso room. very formal feel, understated deco surrounds. perhaps prefer the light airy elegance of the main room downstairs, but no matter.

Service was merely ok, we waited a little too long for our wine to be re-poured, and a little too long to have our order taken. They were certainly keen to help and when we asked for a little delay between entree and main course they responded well, later asking if it was ok to set the kitchen on our mains. The bread boy didn't speak much English beyond "white or brown?", after Putney bridge this has become a bug bear of mine - though at least he wasn't our main waiter.

The food? very good indeed. Fully realising the potential of the kitchen I suspect, which is classical French, at a strong single star standard.

Amuse: Warm seafood broth. delicious, creamy broth with morsels of squid, mussel and scallop. The broth redolent with salt and garlic in a real Moorish sense. superb.

Entree: Pithivier of Pigeon with chestnuts. tender pigeon brest 'wellington' with a chive, crème fraiche filling. this was powerful gamey flavours, well defined, again with heart attack rendering texture. The pastry rich and an intense jus rounding off a lovely, well balanced dish. But balanced at the higher end of the flavour spectrum. flavour meet texture, texture may I introduce flavour.

The kitchen showed an adroit touch with another's smoked salmon filled with crème fraiche and oscietre caviar - ethereal & light delight. Rabbit & foie terrine was less successful, flavours a little muddled.

Mains: Again I won! Angus Tournedos, ox tail, on pommes mousseline with heavy red reduction. bring me a cardiologist now I tell you!

rich intense flavours of the oxtail contrast with an almost lithesome beef, the silky mash that MPW does better than anyone, and a sauce strong enough to bring it all together. Another big meaty dish, with intense flavouring. Comfort food ala francaise.

Others had a beautiful duck, and a slightly overcooked venison. the roast chicken with truffle is a classic, I have had it better and worse than here.

Pre dessert: elderflower sorbet with apple foam. uncomplicated, unfussy, clean and tasty. not remarkable, but given the richness of my earlier dishes I needed some cleansing!

Desserts were correct and accomplished, but perhaps no more. Charlotte of quince and blackberry. Quince was lovely, as was the blackberry sorbet, the poached blackberries in liqueur were a tad uneventful.

The plate of chocolate was however remarkable, contrasting textures and sweetness reportedly enough to hold your interest all the way through.

todays hangover was brought to you by a couple of bottles of Jean Marc Pillot Chassagne Montrachet 'Morgeots' 2000. Beautiful wine, fragrant, complex, with an underlying intensity of lemons with a mealy texture.

Followed by another couple of 1993 Chateau Potelle cabernet sauvignon - very backward styled Californian from Mount Veeder. Showing development, but still some dark fruit and hints of game coming through. Well structured, ripe moorish tannins and it spanked my ox tail with the right amount of vigour. giddy up!

An unmemorable Coteaux du Layon completed this mornings suffering.

certainly dinner at L'escargot is elegant dining, without the modern twists that can mar some French kitchens. I was impressed, and very solidly 1 star. Without ambitions or perhaps ability to rise higher.

[Suzi Edwards]

Followed by another couple of 1993 Chateau Potelle cabernet sauvignon - very backward styled Californian from Mount Veeder.  Showing development, but still some dark fruit and hints of game coming through.  Well structured, ripe moorish tannins and it spanked my ox tail with the right amount of vigour.  giddy up! 

.

i've never eaten here...can't really work out why not either. will go onto my list now. can you give me an idea of the pricing?

btw, forgive my ignorance, but what does "backward styled" mean?

[Scott]

Tarka,

the food is around £42 per head for 3 courses. £4 coffee & petit fours.

No real supplements except the lobster.

Backward is this instance for a wine, basically means dense and brooding. Deeply flavoured, tannic wine, often with lowish acidity. These wines will usually need some period of aging before they are approachable - elements often not integrated when young. I like to think of them as sitting low in your mouth, whilst a 'bright' wine, say a burgundy, sits quite high in your mouth. These are non literal terms, of course.

With the potelle in particular, it is not a fruit bomb, but less ripe - 12.5%, big tannins just starting to soften up, whilst the fruit itself is showing more tertiary development.

[Andy Lynes]

Without ambitions or perhaps ability to rise higher.

Do you think that is necessarily a bad thing? The food you describe sounds pretty damn good to me and if the service had been its equal then could you ask for more?

[Scott]

Andy,

couldn't agree more, it was bang on.

The point I was making was that it was a single michelin starred restaurant, performing well, that probably doesn't even want anything more. An excellent restaurant realising their potential fully.

I don't think they are plotting a raid on the second star off the michelin shelf, which is a virtue in many ways.

I have a lot of time for those restaurants whose potential and output seem closely matched - I find less variability.

[Andy Lynes]

And I wonder if they would have anything to gain by trying for or gaining a second star other than possibly unrealistic expectations from their customers.

[Scott]

And I wonder if they would have anything to gain by trying for or gaining a second star other than possibly unrealistic expectations from their customers.

agreed.