World Foodie Guide

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon has been on and off my restaurant wishlist ever since it opened in London. However, after going to Taste London in June and sampling their crispy langoustine fritter with basil pistou and baby beef and foie gras burger with lightly caramelised bell peppers, I was finally persuaded to make the journey (a mere five minute walk from work).

The set lunch menu is £25 for three courses, or £19 for two courses, which is quite reasonable in comparison to the standard menu prices. So this is what I and my dining companions set our sights on. A mention about my dining companions – the esteemed The Cockroach Catcher and his wife Bee Zhang, no less! I was very excited to be in their company, as they are well-travelled gourmets…

The restaurant (L’Atelier is on the ground floor, La Cuisine on the first floor, and Le Bar on the second floor ) was practically empty when we arrived at 1pm midweek, and in total, there were about ten diners for lunch. The interior is a sexy deep red and black, with the entire back wall covered with a thick green creeper.

You can sit at the eating counter where you can watch the food being prepared, or at tables perched on high stools. We were shown to a table near the back. A bit strange, considering there were just two people seated at the counter, that ‘L’Atelier is one of the most acclaimed restaurant concepts in the world, where the theatre of a top kitchen is brought directly to the diner‘, and that ‘the philosophy of the counter where you dine at L’Atelier is one of interactivity‘ (I quote from their blurb). Admittedly, it’s easier to have a conversation face to face rather than sitting next to each other…

Onto the more important matter of food. The set lunch menu (see their website) offers a choice of two starters and two mains, with either dessert or cheese of the day. Between the three of us, we managed to try one starter and both the mains, as well as the dessert.

• Oeuf frit aux mendiants et petite salade – deep fried hen egg served with dry fruits, pine kernel and salad. This was the star dish for me. The unusual combination of the egg (with a light outer crust yet still soft-boiled inside) with the dry fruits was sublime

• La truite de mer poêlee aux échalotes pomme purée à l’huile d’olive - pan fried sea trout with shallots, olive oil crushed potatoes. According to Bee Zhang, excellent

• L’agneau en gigot confit, haricots coco aux petits légumes – confit leg of lamb, coco beans. Beautifully presented, the lamb was meltingly tender. However, it was so incredibly salty. Luckily the blandness of the accompanying coco beans helped to balance it out a little

• chocolate fondant mousse with mint sorbet – even though I don’t usually like chocolate puddings, this was rather nice and not too rich. It was needed to compensate for the high salt intake!

The verdict?

Diners are made to feel welcome, even if they don’t order alcohol. The presentation of the food was faultless, and three out of the four dishes scored highly. The salty lamb however was a big negative. I would like to return though, to try some of the other small tasting dishes (the two dishes that I had at Taste London are on their Small Tasting Dishes menu).

Here’s a L’Atelier recipe from head chef Frederic Simonin that you might like, which is taken from the official Taste London book. I haven’t tried it yet, so I hope it makes sense!

Le torteau de crab (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 lime
• 1 banana shallot
• 500g beef tomatoes
• 2 avocados
• 3 gelatine leaves
• ½ bunch chives
• ½ bunch flat parsley
• ½ bunch coriander
• 20cl olive oil
• 150g white crab meat

Preparation:

Peel and dice the avocados. Blend them in a food processor with the lime juice until you get a smooth texture. Add the finely chopped shallot and serve into 4 glasses.

Blend the tomatoes in a food processor and strain them through muslin to retain only the juice. Add the gelatine and pour over the avocado in a thin layer.

Leave in fridge to set.

Chop herbs and mix them into the crab meat along with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Place little mounds of crab meat over the tomato and avocado. Serve immediately.

10 – Perfection, 9.5 – Sensational, 9 – Outstanding, 8.5 – Superb,
8 – Excellent, 7.5 – Very Good, 7 - Good, 6.5 - Above Average, 6 – Average

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Contact details:
L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
13-15 West Street
London WC2H 9NE
Tel: 0207 010 8600
www.joel-robuchon.com

Opening Hours:
Lunch: 12pm-3pm
Dinner: 5.30pm-11pm

Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide

Tags: cookery, cooking, dining out, food, French, L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, London, recipe, restaurant review, restaurants, traveleating