Galvin - Bistrot de Luxe

[Andy Lynes]

Apart from Maureen Mills who is handling Galvin's PR and sent me the info that I posted at the top of this thread!

[jennahan]

Had a wonderful lunch at the Galvin yesterday. Unfortunately two mums and two babied dropped out of our party after a rambunctious trip to the zoo, so our party was a more reasonable two mums and two babies.

Although they didn't have high chairs (apparently it had been a miscommunication between myself and the person taking the reservation), they were extremely accommodating in terms of finding a place to put two suv-like prams and two mums. They are working on getting high chairs. They also stated that babies were welcome there, and that they were a child-friendly place. Luckily the two babies had gobbled something to eat during the walk to the restaurant and were worn out from the zoo, thus slept quietly for the entire meal in their respective pushchairs.

The decor of the place is very clean and elegant. Lots of dark wood, brown leather banquettes, crisp white tablecloths, and lots of black and white photographs. The kitchen is semi visible though windows. The back part of the restaurant is a bit dark (no windows), but still pleasant.

The service was extremely accommodating, but perhaps that was because the room wasn't very busy. One of the Galvins (I'm not certain which one) came over to say hello and see how we were enjoing our meal.

The prix-fixe menu consisted of:

Starter: Feuillete of poached egg or Jerusalem artichoke soup, hazelnut brioche

Main: Roast seabream sauce mariniere or Grilled Calves liver, broad beans & thyme

Pudding: Pink grapefruit granite or fromage

My friend and I ordered ALC, and we had the Lasagne of Dorset crab, veloute of girolles and Salad of Roquefort, pear & walnut to start. We then had fillet of sea bass, shellfish Provencale and Frilled Cod, parsely and coco beans as mains and Rice pudding, roast figs & Banyuls for pudding. We shared a bottle of puilly fume and 2 glasses of the very nice house champagne. The total bill came in just under 100 pounds (not cheap, but not bad for London).

The Dorset crab lasagne was georgeous. I won't say more because Faye describes it perfectly in her review. The Fillet of sea bass was seared beautifully, and went quite nicely with the mussels in a tomato sauce. The cod was also excellent, on a bed of pureed parsley with coco beans. My friend thoroughly enjoyed the rice pudding (I didn't taste it as I cannot get my head around sweet milky rice after growing up in an Oriental household). My only complaint about the cheese plate (nice selection of 6 different cheeses and not your usual bland selection served too cold) was that I had specifically asked if I would be able to select the cheeses, to which they agreed, only to serve me a readily selected plate.

I hope this place does really well...it certainly deserves to.

Edited for spelling

Edited September 8, 2005 by jennahan (log)

[Gavin Jones]

Very decent English fantasy of french brasserie.

Same champagne as has undone me at MVH.

Excellent Crab lasagne.

Confit of duck which has actually been confitted - possibly a first in london.

St Emilion au choc for full retrofit.

All well executed.

Pleasingly pear-dropped vouvray sec, decent chinon by the half bottle.

Minor starting out timing glitches - enabled one to enjoy the pleasure of a french accent pedalling backwards to deepest bermondsey. £100 for 2.

[Paul de Gruchy]

Very decent English fantasy of french brasserie.

Same champagne as has undone me at MVH.

Excellent Crab lasagne.

Confit of duck which has actually been confitted - possibly a first in london.

St Emilion au choc for full retrofit.

All well executed.

Pleasingly pear-dropped vouvray sec, decent chinon by the half bottle.

Minor starting out timing glitches - enabled one to enjoy the pleasure of a french accent pedalling backwards to deepest bermondsey. £100 for 2.

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Come on Gavin - tell us how to actually "confit" duck and where other places fall down.

[magnolia]

I went on Friday night and had a very good meal.

1) house Champagne @ £8

2) On the shortish menu, there were at least 3-4/7 or so starters I'd have liked to try, and 3/7ish mains.

I opted for starter of pithivier of pigeon, E orders the dorset crab 'lasagne' - both of which were mention in the FM review. Other appealing dishes were an assiette de charcuterie and a pumpkin soup with girolles (which I decided will be on the menu for awhile).

From the mains, I chose the confit of duck, and E. the oxtail & black pudding.

Pithivier was lovely - if even a bit too generous of a portion size! - a hockey puck of puff pastry filled with lovely, smoky pigeon and sprinkled with chestnuts. Only better pithivier I've ever had was home-made by one Moby.

Lasagne was more like deconstructed ravioli, and less generous than mine but still good. Homemade pasta squares al dente (yay!) and very fresh crab. I only got to taste a crumb...

My duck was excellent. Two huge, crispy legs filled with moist duck meat, falling from the bone - atop a bed of lentils and bits of sausage which had been mixed with a bit of mustard to give it some heat. The only other confit of duck that has come close in the UK was Hotel du Vin's, which serves it theatrically in a cast iron pot. Again, a more generous portion.

E's oxtail and black pudding terrine was layered over mash, and was rich, unctuous and very naughty. This was a better match for the wine - an Argentinian Malbec/Corvina blend from Veronese winemaker Masi, which was too interesting to pass up - and at £26, a cheap bet: I didn't even know they grew corvina in Argentina, it's one of the grapes in Amarone (which is what Masi is known for) and the wine makes me wonder whether they could do an Amarone-style wine in Argentina: this was squid-ink black, luscious but just dry enough. As mentioned, not ideal with my duck but excellent with the black pudding and oxtail.

No room for dessert if you can believe it, and I forget what the desserts were...

All told, a really pleasant meal - staff were genuinely interested in our opinions, asked where we normally ate, etc. - and knowledgable about the food and wine. All for £40+ a person. If they hold the prices, this could become a semi-local.

[Andy Lynes]

The interior of Galvin is classic French bistro seen through the eyes of Ralph Lauren. Dark wood paneling hung with tasteful black and white food photography, dark brown leather banquettes and dark slate floor add up to a very masculine elegance. It's easy to imagine city types flocking to the place if it was on Threadneedle Street, but it's no fish out of water up west. The place was packed on Friday lunchtime with a smattering of suits, but many more were casually dressed.

Chris Galvin was much in evidence; greeting what appeared to be a number of industry chums and fellow chefs. He looked like he'd hardly had time to breathe for a week, but was obviously elated. He stopped by our table to thank us for coming (the pleasure was all ours) and said that he and his brother were very pleased with how things were going so far. He told us that Marks and Spencer are making a big investment in the site opposite the restaurant and L'Entrocote, a French bistro chain, is due to open soon just down the road, so it looks as though Baker Street is set to become the new Marylebone Road.

Terrine presse of Pork and foie gras (capitalization as per the menu) was generously layered with the fattened liver and served with toasted Poilane and sauce gribiche. The pithivier of wood pigeon was a single ruddy breast topped with an over-egged mousse encased in beautifully burnished crisp pastry with a few glazed chestnuts served in the side.

Mains of grilled cod, parsley and coco beans and sea bass with marmalade of fennel and white onions both featured an unexpected Mediterranean twist; a splodge of creamy polenta with the cod and a tomato and caper compote with the bass.

A savarin of red berries was a glorious rendition of the sadly seldom seen classic dessert and equal to the cracking version I had a few months ago at The Spread Eagle. Rice pudding with roast figs and Banyuls was a rarified re-mix of a nursery favourite heavy on the figs, light on the grain and looked as captivating as it tasted.

My recent run of luck with wines of the Languedoc continued with a viognier at a very reasonable £16 which bought the final tally to £84.00 including service, water and two double espressos.

Service from the large front of house team was excellent. It was a working lunch and my companion and I were deep in conversation for most of its nearly three hour duration but never felt intruded upon. The otherwise nicely paced meal dragged between starter and main; entirely understandable for a week old kitchen being slammed during a very busy service.

I will return to try the lasagna of crab, the charcuterie, the oxtail parmentier, the confit and especially the St Emilion au chocolat from a menu that already reads like a list of signature favourites. An exciting opening for 2005 and one destined to win the hearts of Londoners.

Website

[Jon Tseng]

Dropped in for an early supper. Thoughts in no apparent order:

Well executed food, although slightly below elevated expectations. Variable seasoning.

Nice service. No problems with my glass of tapwater. Front of house slightly under-staffed - though this was a sun pm - and hierarchical (lady manning the door very much rooted to her post rather than helping out nearby tables ie mine).

Room is a funny shape with an L-shaped bit round the corner at the back. Should imagine it will be a pain to keep an eye on both parts of the dining room when service is busy.

Lots of modish dark wood (viz incognico)... was David Collins involved? I know he did stuff on the Wolesley

There was a lot of empty space in the front area - don't know if this is deliberate or simply because they'd moved some tables out during a quiet service - more spacious than you usually get in a central London resto.

Pig and foie gras terrine - properly cooked with firm pig layered with slightly gelatinous foie gras (as opposed to the hard foie gras you get when its overcooked). No complaints.

Pithivier of wood pigeon. Technically a very accomplished dish - as described above a perfectly rare pigeon breast (would guess it is seared first before being assembled) with some eggy mousse in a pastry case. On the side three chestnuts. Underneath a slick of brown sauce As Andy said mousse a big eggy; slightly extraneous to be honest. Main problem with the dish was there wasn't a kick. The pithivier slightly bland as it was (esp. with the mousse) needed a kick either from a strong sauce or or sweet chestnuts or a sweet top to the pastry (which looked wonderfully browned). Unfortunately sauce under-reduced (an unusual complaint), and chestnuts and top of pastry didn't give a sweet kick. Maybe splitting hairs given the technical proficiency on display, but really felt something missing here.

Confit of duck. One duck leg (how comes maggie gets too??? maybe they thought she needed feeding???) on some lentils. On the side a stir-fry of cabbage and carrots with 3-4 little cubes of montbeliard-type sausage in there (too little). Stir-fry over-salted. Lentils and fudgy brown "sauce rouennaise" nice. Confit a bit under-salted, but good crispy browned topping. Very much does what it says on the tin.

Overally decently executed if unexciting food. To be honest a slight disappointment giving the awesome reputation the Galvins had at Orrery/Escargot. Really think the menu could do with some prepping up with some more exciting ingredients (sweetbreads... pork belly... pigs trotter... scallop/langoustine... the usual stuff which gets foodie heartbeats racing). Having said that I'll come again, but for the ambience as much as the food.

cheers

J

[Andy Lynes]

Lots of modish dark wood (viz incognico)... was David Collins involved?

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Interior design is by Design LSM Ltd of Brighton.

[Andy Lynes]

Overally decently executed if unexciting food. To be honest a slight disappointment giving the awesome reputation the Galvins had at Orrery/Escargot. Really think the menu could do with some prepping up with some more exciting ingredients (sweetbreads... pork belly... pigs trotter... scallop/langoustine... the usual stuff which gets foodie heartbeats racing). Having said that I'll come again, but for the ambience as much as the food.

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I agree that I'd return as much for the ambience and the service as the food, but I think that's a good thing. I think they are aiming for the mainstream with the restaurant rather than narrowcasting at a foodie audience. That said, there is no reason for them not to include some more left of field items - if Racine can serve tete de veau then I'm sure Galvin can dish up a trotter or two.

Maybe they are playing it safe on their opening menu, it is after all their first business venture and their own money they need to see a return on. Once they become confident that punters will continue to walk through their doors, maybe they will get more adventurous with the menu, but I'd like to work my way through this one first!

[Mark Donnelly]

Went yesterday (24th) for dinner with my wife. Although new, the restaurant felt like an old favourite. Call me old fashoned, but but I am really tired of minimalist designer restaurants or bistro restaurants that are nothing more than poorly run family affairs. Since I work in the City, Andy's comment above is spot on: would love Galvin to be in the Square Mile.

As mentioned above, the room is "L" shaped. Try to avoid the back ("_") of the room as it is very dark and seems separated from the main room.

Tables are small. With a decanter, water, et al sitting on the table, there are table placements aplenty. In addition, the've taken the bistro element too far in the chairs. They're just posh versions of standard bistro-type chairs (ie not very comfortable after sitting for more than an hour).

My wife and I both opted for the crab lasagne. This was superb. Etheral discs of pasta layered with flecks of white crabmeat, built up in a tower. Served in a deep bowl style plate it came with a lovely crab bisque sauce (8/10). at £9.50 I though this was good value for money in London (for example, crab salad at the New Angel in Dartmouth is £12). More please.

For mains my wife opted for salmon filet while I opted for the oxtail and black pudding parmentier.

The salmon was disappointing. Although a very generous sized portion, it was over cooked and lacked flavour. It sat on a bed of leeks and came with a grain mustard sauce that was over seasoned. This dish just lacks everything (5/10).

My oxtail parmentier was very black and very generous. It sat on a bed of pommes puree and came with a very sticky oxtail sauce. A real winner (8.5/10). And at less than £10 very good value for money.

For puddings we decided to share some cheese and a pear tart (obviously not at the same time). The cheese "tray" offers a fairly limited selection of soft, hard and blue cheeses. The waiter gave us a generous portion of each cheese, so much so that we had to ask for some to be taken back. A great way to finish off the red wine.

The pear tart was nothing more than ordinary. Very ordinary frangipane and pastry of no note (5/10).

Service was very friendly, if a little erratic.

Bill for two came to £133 including service at 12.5%, a Margaux at £45 and two glasses of Vougnier (sic) at £11. The wine list is limited and caters to all price ranges. It seems to have a very limited selection by the glasse, though.

All in all, despite a new menu with some disappointing dishes, I think/hope Galvin will be a huge success. The overal philosophy (simpler food in a comfortable avuncular setting) is one I support. It should build a loyal following very quickly.

[tony h]

Not wanting to be left out of an egullet gold rush I popped in for lunch last friday

My wife and I both opted for the crab lasagne.  .....  Etheral discs of pasta layered with flecks of white crabmeat, built up in a tower.  Served in a deep bowl style plate it came with a lovely crab bisque sauce .

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Mine came with a girolles sauce which was sadly lacking in seasoning. Perfectly smooth sauce but it may have been better with a few girolles left in the sauce. but yes - lots of crab which was very good. also shows that they are constantly refining/tweaking the menu

I went for the porc noir - huge chop with extremely smooth mash - perhaps too smooth & refined for such a, & I hate to use the term, "rustic" dish. satisfying nonetheless

the choc mousse was quite solid & had a hidden ball of alcohol soused mazipan-like ball in the middle - pretty good.

Over all i got the impression of very confident cooking but prehaps too refined for the tag bistro - but maybe better for it

PS - was it me or are the chairs uncomfortable?

[Andy Lynes]

I had a corner banquette table so neither my companion and I had chairs. The table didn't seem particularly small either (although I can't really imagine they have different sized tables) so maybe thats the one to ask for if you can.

[Andy Lynes]

Matthew Norman on Galvin:

"it was a delight not to be laboured with any facetious amuse bouches, those mini-cups of frothed-up soups that seem about half as amusing as the cup of cold cat sick they so closely resemble"

" no "cappuccino of syphilitic mountain yak with pickled girolles""

"His salmon wasn't great, what little there was being ringed with capers ("Satan's bogies", as his wife-to-be knows them)"

Yawn.

[PoppySeedBagel]

I had lunch there on Thursday - as did Simon Hopkinson, though sadly not at my table. My friend C & I were ladies who lunch for half a day, and we both really enjoyed the lunch and the shopping afterwards. We both ate the set lunch, which was tremendous value - 3 courses for £16 or £17.

We both had the celeri remoulade with Bayonne ham to start - the C R was slightly more picquant than I like, but the whole dish worked well, and the ham was lovely. I had the monkfish & mussel casserole - beutiful, fresh fish in a delicate creamy sauce. C had calves liver - very simple but delicious she said. We both had 'profiteroles praline cream' for pud. They were good - if I were being picky I'd say the pastry was a little undercooked, but the whole dish was a good combination of flavours. The food was really very good, particularly for the price.

It was old-fashioned in many ways - lots of creaminess, and in fact the prix fixe menu itself leant perhaps a bit too heavily on cream, but it is actually rather nice to have that occasionally. We loved the feel of the place - although there were only about 2 other women in the place - they clearly will have to change the menu if they are to attract the true ladies who lunch.

The service was fine, and nicely quirky. It didn't feel that we were in London, and we shall both definitely return, and will happily have the prix fixe menu.

[Andy Lynes]

I had lunch there on Thursday - as did Simon Hopkinson

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He's gettnig about a bit these days, any idea who he was dining with?

[PoppySeedBagel]

No idea I'm afraid Andy

[jayrayner]

No idea I'm afraid Andy

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I hear he was drop dead gorgeous, the kind of chap women want to have and men want to be.

[Jon Tseng]

No idea I'm afraid Andy

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I hear he was drop dead gorgeous, the kind of chap women want to have and men want to be.

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So is the only thing worse than being recognised not being recognised?

ps finally made it to The Gallery the other week. Blimey they fill you up!

[Andy Lynes]

No idea I'm afraid Andy

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I hear he was drop dead gorgeous, the kind of chap women want to have and men want to be.

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Giles Coren?

[jayrayner]

No idea I'm afraid Andy

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I hear he was drop dead gorgeous, the kind of chap women want to have and men want to be.

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Giles Coren?

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Must be him.

[camp_dick]

I hear he was drop dead gorgeous, the kind of chap women want to have and men want to be.

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I do my best to keep Hoppy entertained whenver he comes up

[jayrayner]

ps finally made it to The Gallery the other week. Blimey they fill you up! 

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What did you have? I've only eaten in the restaurant once; I tend to pillage the take away for ribs and chicken

j

Edited October 12, 2005 by jayrayner (log)

[rjs1]

No idea I'm afraid Andy

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I hear he was drop dead gorgeous, the kind of chap women want to have and men want to be.

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It was you, wasn't it?

[Jon Tseng]

What did you have? I've only eaten in the restaurant once; I tend to pillage the take away for ribs and chicken

j

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Fatal mistake of ordering two starters - 1) deep fried prawns (remarkably, identical to the ebi-katsu you get at wagamamas - I assume this is another example of the Portugese-Asian cross-infection a la tempura and hong kong egg tarts). 2) Plus a chorizo. Came on one of those stands with a flame underneath. Does what it says on the packet

Then a humungous tureen of mixed shellfish stew (mussels, squid etc etc) baked with bits of bread in it which soaked up the gungy broth. Tasty and far, far too much.

One comment - the restaurant matches definitely Hakkasan in the "looks a complete dump outside but has an extremely random restaurant dumped in a strange corner in the middle of nowhere" stakes.

So the take-out is good then? I'll bear that in mind!

J

[jayrayner]

No idea I'm afraid Andy

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I hear he was drop dead gorgeous, the kind of chap women want to have and men want to be.

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It was you, wasn't it?

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Clearly you recognised me from the description. Which is to say, yes