A French reinvention
RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK CLUB GASCON
partner Vincent Labeyrie arriving from their native south-west France had a mission to spread the word about the ingredients and wines that define that area.
I can’t remember if I told Jonathan Meades, then restaurant critic (much missed) of The Times about the new venture or he me, but we were both highly enthusiastic in our reviews. Almost 20 years on I find myself in a bit of a pickle, undoubtedly some of it due to meals in the meantime in Hackney, Haggerston and Holloway.
Attack and invention are palpable right from the start with the presentation of MIAM which apparently stands for “mon n invitation à manger” or, in other French h words amuses-bouches, brought ht unbidden to the table. They are e dramatic — one like cubes of coal balancing on a piece of coal — and mostly delicious, especially the thin biscuity truffle sandwiches, grapes in a glaze that traps chopped nuts and fennel seeds and
slender pastry
Sunday night Chinese is at Mayfair Garden, starting with lobster dumplings and chilli sauce. console tables topped with shellfish tartare.
An eye for colour, delicacy and transfiguration proves a constant hallmark of the kitchen, resulting in small but perfectly formed assemblies such as marbled foie gras, fig and argan oil; roasted sturgeon, leeks, crispy bone marrow and craster (smoked fish) sauce — a particular favourite of Philip Leigh; braised veal sweetbreads, lobsters and and cuttlefish tagliatelle; mallard consommé, chestnut pulp, white truffle and aromatic pears.
These are chosen from three fairly selfexplanatory sections on the à la carte titled Gascon, Season and Garden where prices ranging from £15 to £39 and order of appearance indicates whether a dish is designed as a first or main course. Daintiness is a watchword. Foams are not resisted and in tweely described Dover sole, crab and friends billows of bubbles contribute to a not-altogetherwelcome retro feel. At the same time, Delia would reel away from the dots of sauce that spatter some plates.
Desserts we try of citrus soufflé with confit kumquat and frosted vinegar and a gilded chocolate confection called Millionaire are straightforwardly delec t able. The mini strations of sommelier Julien Sarrasin, who masterminds a copious cellar stocked in the main with wines of south-west France are as tactful as they are creative, with the suggestion of a previously unheard of white Chateau Talbot a particular highlight. His love for the job shines out. I am currently reading a book called Cork DorDork by American journalist Bianca Bosker and if wasn’t such a graceless description of a wine maven it would bbe applicable to M Sarrasin.
I would love to give Pascal Aussignac fofour or five stars almost as much as I sususpect he would like the Michelin GGuide to give him a second after 16 yeyears of holding just the one, but at prpresent there is too much anachronistic ffoolderol. At lunchtime a third, cocomparatively excellent value menu is alsalso offered which makes choosing eveeven more of a performance. To stay fit (andan incidentally almost preternaturally young) Pascal practices fencing. My lunch companion offers the conclusion that perhaps there should be less parry, more thrust.
@Fay_Maschler