It took us some time to figure out the entrance of The Greenhouse but we finally sorted it out before my little nugget started to get disgruntled. This was an unlikely address for a dining venue, let alone a fine dining temple which has been welcoming customers since 1977.
There was a small courtyard that led to the entrance of the restaurant at the other end.
Hidden behind the tree-lined courtyard was an amazingly charming and well-spaced dining room.
Current Executive Chef Alex Dilling, who was born in London but raised in America, honed his crafts under Alain Ducasse in New York before taking on the role of Chef de Cuisine at Caviar Russe New York in 2012, earning a Michelin star in 2013. He returned to London in late 2013, and before joining The Greenhouse in 2018, he was the Executive Chef at Helene Darroze’s two Michelin starred The Connaught for a number of years.
It's a great idea to visit The Greenhouse from Tuesday to Friday for lunch because they have one of the best value-for-money set lunch menu in town comfortably priced at £45 (3 courses). Not bad for a two Michelin starred restaurant in central London. There is also a 6-course tasting menu (£85) available for those who want an extensive look at Chef Dilling's ingredient-led approach. Due to our very tight schedule, we had no choice but took the shorter 3-course menu.
The moment our amuse bouche arrived, we knew immediately that this meal would be anything but rustic.
Parmesan cheese tartlet with a hint of black truffle. Pretty strong flavors to start off the meal.
More truffle, this time marinated mackerel topped with black truffle.
We all love some spherification from time to time so this was perfect. Refreshing cucumber gazpacho bomb with a touch of lime and chrysanthemum.
A crisp cylinder of pastry filled with vitello tonnato and chives, topped elegantly with a slice of sardine.
Finally, a white sphere (tasted like white chocolate) filled with smoked eel tartare rounded out the impressive parade of canapés.
Duck foie gras from Andignac in the southwest of France was next. This was poached with milk for 24 hours and then cured with five spice, marinated Cévennes onion, lemongrass, champignon de Paris and lemon thyme for a few more days. It was finally finished off with gold leaf on top.
I would love to have that all to myself but they brought it back to the kitchen and came out with this tiny piece instead.
The duck foie gras had really lovely silky texture coupled with rich and delicate flavor. It was superbly complemented by the acidity of French quince jelly.
Served on the side with the foie gras was a slice of caramelized puff pastry. You could tell they were on top of their game with every single detail. Even a small pastry like this looks extraordinarily elegant (comparing to the brioche we normally get with our foie gras terrine).
Instead of the duck foie gras, mom had the chalk stream trout with bergamot, créme cru and manni olive oil.
A beautifully presented dish with the rainbow trout tartare hidden inside the sphere of créme cru, decorated exquisitely with bergamot and sorrel. A refreshing green apple emulsion and manni olive provided the dish with a sublime finish.
While we were having our starters, little nugget was served with his chestnut pasta which has been tossed in a creamy butter sauce with chicken. The pasta was a tad sweeter than I expected but not bad.
Most of us had the lobster and veal pithivier as main course. A very hearty and rich dish with layers of lobster meat, veal and black truffle stuffed in between. The black truffle purée and lobster jus did a superb job tying everything together while the exotic spices in the pie gave the dish some lovely extra kick.
Instead of the chef's famous radish roll, the baked pastry pie was served with a simple baby gem roll on the side. These were wrapped with a thin slice of turnip topped with a slice of porcini.
I had the suckling pig myself. Interestingly, they chose to serve the succulent pork with blood pudding, crispy potato, watercress purée and grain mustard. Very interesting flavor and texture profile matching rich flavors with rich flavors.
Some curly fries with my suckling pig?
My little nugget absolutely loves these~
Everyone except me went with the Kent mango dessert. Everything here was about mango (well almost everything), mango compote, mango mousse wrapped with a thin layer of mango jelly, and the mango tuile which was there more for decorative purpose only. The only thing which wasn't mango flavored was the lime sorbet in the middle.
A lovely, refreshing dessert with a well-balanced range of flavors and wonderful interplay of textures.
I had the Caranoa chocolate mousse instead and quite frankly, if I could start all over again, I would take the Kent mango dessert in a heartbeat. The scoop of chocolate mousse (right), which has been infused with Talisker 10 year old whisky (I think), came with chunks of hazelnut in the middle. On the other side of the dish was a scoop of smoked vanilla ice-cream. This wasn't a bad combination but if you're looking for something refreshing to end the meal, it's probably not the right call.
At this point, my palate was so messed up with the mix of complex flavors. (By the way, where was our palate cleanser?).
Petite fours included chocolate with coffee, tartlet with cocoa nibs and nuts and my favorite of the three, smoked vanilla macaron.
This was by far the best meal we had in London. Every dish is more visually striking than the last one and the ingredient-driven menu, impeccably crafted combines well with an innovative flourish. It was an experience that was far better than what we had at three Michelin starred Restaurant Gordon Ramsay three days ago. And most importantly, it's much easier on the wallet.
Food Rating: 8/10
Price: £££
Address: 27A Hay's Mews, Mayfair, London, United Kingdom
Closest Tube Station: Green Park
Tel: +44 20 7499-3331
Website: www.greenhouserestaurant.co.uk
Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 1:45pm (Tue - Fri), 6:30pm - 9:45pm (Tue - Sat)
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