Petrus has been sitting on my list for
a while, just haven’t found the excuse to make a booking. Then it was decided that we
don’t need an excuse for an occasion, or an occasion to take me out for dinner.
How spoilt I am.
We were introduced to the menu as the nibbles were brought to us. The steamed chicken oyster was subtly fragrant and tender, which was a nice contrast to the fragile rice cracker with a potent wasabi kick.
Then the bread made an entrance from a sack, with freshly churned butter as well as olive oil. Next came the amuse bouche tomato tartar with aged comte as our
sommelier decanted our wine. I almost forgot how much I like being fussed around.
Foie
Gras Parfait with golden beetroot, port and voatsiperifery pepper
The parfait was wrapped in a beautiful
deep purple coat, luscious velvety without being too dense; whipped to the
perfect consistency to go with the warm brioche on the side. The foie gras
flavours were powerful and intense, with touches of sweetness that complemented
well. The not-a-typo-but-unpronounceable-pepper was ultra subtle, just a tinge
on the nose to give it small twist.
Roasted
hand dived scallops peas, lettuce, lardo di Colonnata, crème fraiche and lemon
thyme
Seeing the scallops was on the tasting
menu, I decided this over the rabbit loin.
This is a familiar dish; most French
restaurants are serving something similar on their menu. As expected, the plump
scallops were perfectly roasted to give a crispy edge and a creamy, semi-cooked
centre, paired with crunchy peas minus the raw earthy tones. The toasted lardo
was a touch of finesse for me, giving the subdued nuttiness without overloading
the grease.
Herdwick
mutton cooked over charcoal with vadouvan, smoked aubergine, mint and sheep’s
yoghurt
The mutton loin was cooked to a beautiful medium, soft, bouncy and succulent with subdued gamey flavours. There was a Middle Eastern touch to the dish with the smoked aubergine and minty yoghurt, both worked really well with the meat. It reminded me of the lamb dish I had at Typing Room, only this version was much more controlled, the sweetness was more reined in and the smokiness was less overpowering. It was a balanced ensemble.
Black Galloway ox cheek with alliums, smoked bone marrow and shallot sauce
Compared to the mutton, I thought the
ox cheek was less impressive. The cheek was slow-cooked to a delicate tenderness,
with the shreds of meat disintegrating into the smooth puree as Mister pressed
his knife onto the ball of meat. The sauce was light but concentrated with bovine
flavours, which the shredded cheek mopped up. It was still slightly leaning
towards the dry side for me, I wish there was more melty, gelatinous cartilage
that intertwines the lean muscles, or that the sauce infiltrated the mass more
to moisten the cheeks. Perhaps my version is nowhere near as refined and
elegant, I daresay it’s more rustic and comforting.
Pre-dessert:
Chocolate
sphere, milk ice cream and honeycomb
This arrived at the table as a perfect
sphere and was sparkling with golden speckles. Then the server slowly poured
warm chocolate sauce over the thin shell, which melted away to reveal the ball
of ice cream and nuggets of honeycomb inside. It was extremely rich and indulgent,
and guiltily satisfying.
Chilled
melon salad with Lavender Ice Cream
I only wish I could say this had the
same dramatic effect as the chocolate sphere. A much lighter dessert with an
array of melons rounded off with honey dew puree; the lavender ice cream was a delightful
touch that added much fragrance to the fruits.
I had a wonderful evening at Petrus. The
team was attentive and professional without being cold; we were adequately
looked after without feeling intruded. The cooking was meticulous and skilful,
all dishes were executed with precision. There may not be any daring moves in
the recipes, but everything was exuding finesse and sophistication. Petrus had
good food, great wine and together with the fantastic company I had, I could
not have been happier.
1 Kinnerton Street
London
SW1X 8EA
Tel: 0207 592 1609

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Recently we visited the USA with bus tours from boston to washington dc after that we had an amazing experience at Petrus. The services were awesome and the food was delicious. I went there with my wife on her birthday. Luckily we dine at the chef's table where the sounds of pans clattering were. We taste Chocolate sphere that was fabulous. That was the remarkable birthday for my wife.
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