Roux at the Landau, London

3.03.2015

I love January. It is the best month of the year. Why? Two words, birthday and food. Never ever mention a girl's age, it is always a secret. So to celebrate my birthday, Mr. T treated me a meal at Roux at the Landau.

The elegance of The Langham hotel draws excitement upon arrival. Greeted by an array of manificent collection of wine through glass cabinet into the stunning dining room with white linen and silver cutlery. Roux at The Landau is a collaboration between father and son team Albert and Michel Roux, in 19 years. They bought in the talented Chris King as Chef de Cuisine, formerly at La Gavroche (another Michel Roux's restaurant) and Thomas Keller's Per Se. Hearing the name, you know you are in for a treat.

Tasting Menu

Amuse Bouche - Cheese Profiteroles

Onion Bread

White Baguette

Starting our appetite with an amuse bouche of Profiteroles filled with a cheesy creamy sauce. A nice little nibble. I would recommend to eat in one bite or else the sauce can easily dribble everywhere. A selection of bread was offered, we had the onion bread and white baguette with salted butter.

 Seared diver caught scallops, choucroute, juniper beurre blanc, nori

Crisp Blue prawns, Hass avocado, black olive, spiced mango-basil dressing

Sauvignon Blanc, Isabel Estate, Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand, 2012

As I'm allergic to prawns, I was offered the scallops dish in replacement. The scallops was cooked perfectly topped with a small amount choucroute (sauerkraut) and delicious with the beurre blanc sauce. Mr T had the prawns, it was good but not amazing. Paired with a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, the perfect balance to the evening.

Roast Cornish squid, salt-cod brandade, ink vinaigrette, Espelette pepper

Côtes de Provence, Domaine Gavoty, Cuvée Clarendon, Provence, France 2010

The roast Cornish squid was cooked perfect along with the brandade, but with only one small piece of squid. The ink vinegaratte was not needed, it didn't add anything to the dish and partially you can't taste it and seems like dried out on the plate. Not too sure where the Espelette pepper come into the dish. It was paired with Côtes de Procence.

Denham Estate venison, peppered young parsnips, sour cherries

Côtes du Luberon, Château Val Joanis, Rhone Valley, France 2011

First time having cherries in a main course with venison. The meat cooked well, soft and tender nevertheless deep in flavour with the gravy with a kick of sourness from the cherries and a creamy parsnip mash scrapping the last drop of meat juice of the plate. Fantastic compliment from a glass of Côtes du Luberon.

Honeyed Brillat Savarin, praline vinaigrette

Coteaux du Layon, Domaines des Deux Arcs, Loire Valley, France 2013

Brillat Savarin is a soft cow cheese from the region of Normandy, France. It's luscious, creamy, faintly sour and a touch of saltiness. A ridiculously crisp and hard biscuit (or was it a cracker?) sat underneath the cheese which I didn't particularly enjoy, but I liked the surprised shaving of black truffle. Coteaux du Layon, a sweet wine that bought sweetness into the cheese dessert dish.

Bitter chocolate millefeuille with maple ice cream and salted pecans

Pedro Ximenez, Bodegas Gutierrez Colosia Spain

Last of the dessert was my favourite dish of the night, the heavenly intensive bitter and dark chocolate millefeuille was sumptuous. Layers of different chocolate textures with the mouth-watering maple ice cream, match in heaven and bought to life by a Pedro Ximenez sherry. The presentation was elegant too.

Petit Fours - pâte de fruits, dark chocolate truffle and vanilla macaron

Gran Cru Chocolate from La Pâtisserie des Rêves

A special surprise from Mr T, birthday cake from my favourite patisserie. I loved it, eventhough we were already full from the meal but we still managed a small piece of it each. Thank you for making my birthday so special.

It was a Friday night, the dining room was actually quite empty less than half full. Service was immaculate, attentive and perhaps relaxed for not being busy. One would have thought Roux at The Landau would had a Michelin star but infact with only one AA rosette and no stars. After the meal, I'm not surprised. The food is straightforward, but does not stand out even with the best of the ingredients chosen as good as it is. With a grand dining room, the price does make your wallet in tears. With the Roux name and the prestigious hotel, I had slightly higher expectation of the food hoping it was a night to remember. Maybe next time, I will just stick the best bar in the world Artesian just across the hallway.

Score Rating: 3/5
Price: £115 tasting menu with wine pairing/head + service

Part of the meal was complimentary from the Langham Supper Club, inevitably we paid for one tasting menu and 2 wine pairings.

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http://rouxatthelandau.com/

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