Oh la la.. a perfect fondant au chocolat
If you have followed my adventures in Paris, you know how much I love rustic French cuisine, and how much I dislike Heathrow security’s fashion sense. Though it’s difficult to find well executed brasserie food in London, I think have discovered a pretty good spot to satisfy my French food cravings without spending a fortune; Brasserie Blanc, a collection of stylish and informal restaurants by über famous Michelin starred chef Raymond Blanc.
As you probably know by now, I am not a huge fan of chains, but I was very pleasantly surprised by Brasserie Blanc. I visited the Charlotte street branch last week, housed in a historic three floor building in the heart of Fitzrovia, with a group of people, which allowed me to sample quite a few dishes of the traditional French menu, with a slight British influence.
For starters we sampled the selection board; a velvety chicken liver parfait (my favourite) perfect with the sweet red onion marmalade; followed by rosette de Lyon (a French version of Salame Milano), some home-smoked salmon, horseradish dressing, cucumber crème fraîche, carrot vinaigrette, celeriac remoulade, and a few escargots cooked in herbs and garlic, a perfect rustic combination, thankfully not to garlicky.
For main, I ordered my favourite brasseriesque dish, juicy hand-cut Steak Tartare, dressed with hot Dijon mustard and Tabasco. Highly recommended, if you like raw meat.
Some of the other guests went for slightly more conservative options such as the Casserole of lamb’s kidneys or the Roast Lincolnshire free range pork belly and crackling with roast apple and green apple sauce.
The dessert menu features some pretty interesting options, including the Pistachio soufflé with chocolate ice cream, the stunning Winter Pavlova, beautifully served with cinnamon apple, cranberries and toasted almonds or the tempting French, British an Irish cheeseboard.
However, my favourite was the quintessentially French Chocolate Fondant, perfectly cooked with a hot deliciously melting centre and pistachio ice cream. How can you resist?
My verdict, Brasserie Blanc is a good option for a business lunch if you are out and about in Charlotte street and crave a well executed steak tartare. Service is attentive and professional.
Lunch for 2 £40.
