It was my very fabulous Mum's 70th birthday a few weeks ago and my brothers and I decided for her present we would treat her to a full day of fun in London. The majority of it was obviously going to be centred around food. Helping us to get through the British Museum, Natural History Museum and a visit to the Southbank, we created an eclectic but very classically British menu in the form of breakfast at the Wolseley, a visit to the food department at Harrods, tea and cake at Claridges and a posh curry at Benares innit.
I've been to the Wolseley a few times and have never been disappointed. Its pretty hard to not love it to be honest, the setting and ambiance are quite glamorous. At 8.30 in the morning the ratio of suits to mere mortals is fairly one-sided but nevertheless you feel warmly welcome and not out of place. The breakfast menu is extensive with all manner of classic egg combos, thick and creamy yoghurt with all sorts, pancakes, french toast, pastries and the more bold and brave dishes such as haggis, kippurs and a caviar omelette (£60!) I had blueberry pancakes that tasted delicious. They were light, fluffy and perfectly sweet.
The service in there from the right staff is excellent but it does sometimes range from utterly charming to indifferent and snooty.
After seeing the incredible Book of the Dead Egyptian exhibition at the British Museum we decided to add in a late addition to the day to visit the food department at Harrods as my 35 year old brother has never even been there. Harrods is certainly not the place it once was and it will be interesting to see if there are yet more tacky add ons now that the owner has changed hands. However, the food halls are still absolutely beautiful and really fun to be in and gaze in awe at. The displays are truly mouth-watering and the range and varieties are comprehensive. No visit to Harrods is complete for me without visiting the jelly belly counter as as a young teenager I used to always have to go and pick out an abundant amount of flavours to take home with me.
After Harrods we drove conveniently up the road to museum district and stopped off at the Natural History Museum to see the phenomenal Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. God I want to be able to take photographs like that. Some of them made my heart ache.
Anyway, I digress. After that and a wander round the hordes of stuffed mammals we left to enjoy what I was most looking forward to the most - tea and cake at Claridges. Now this really is glamorous stuff darling - pristine table cloths, grand piano, suave piano player, champagne for £10 a glass and Frank Lampard and Christine Bleakley at the next table. Oh and Morrissey looking thoroughly miserable.
This is a tea connoisseur's dream with at least 30 different varieties from all over the world and you'd better like tea as you'll probably drink about 4 cups. Accompanying the tea is an array of finger sized treats starting with perfectly formed crustless sandwiches. All lovely and simple such as egg and tomato, smoked salmon, the terribly British cucumber and cream cheese, roasted chicken and ham and lettuce.
The cakes and scones then followed. A tray of apple and raisin scones first with clotted cream and jam. The apple ones were gorgeous and my favourite sweet treat of the afternoon. The plate of cakes weren't really cakes - more like mini deserts and were certainly beautifully presented and well made but I was a little bit disappointed at some of the choices - there was a vanilla custard mille-feuille that was rich and yummy. Then a fruit tart that I thought was a little bit of a cop out. The passion fruit, chocolate and banana mousse with pistachio crumble was very nice but perhaps a little too small to appreciate all the flavours. Finally a chocolate bomb with a lemon curd centre. The chocolate was yummy and the lemon was yummy but lemon curd in a chocolate desert? I thought it was a bit odd.
All that said, I'm just being a bit picky for the sake of it. I loved it here and everything about it - plus I got to stare at Frank and he really is quite a cutie.
Finally after a long stroll along the Southbank and back up towards Mayfair we finished off the day with the ultimate curry-fare; a 2 michelin starred Indian restaurant. Atul Kochar's Benares. This is no ordinary Indian restaurant and actually you wouldn't recognise much on the menu if expecting Masala, Rogan Josh and Balti. This is subtle flavouring with spices and a menu of quality rather than quantity. With only 6 starters and 8 mains, between the 5 Sharff members we were able to sample most of what was on offer.
Starters were very clean and simple. My spice crusted scallops in a grape and ginger dressing were certainly tasty and looked appetising but I struggled to find all of the combinations of flavours that were trying to get out. My main course of lamb shank with gold leaf and chickpeas was cooked beautifully - no question but the subtle spicing just felt rather absent for me. I could have been eating the same lamb shank in a gastropub with some mash. To be honest, this was how I felt about several of the courses - they just felt a little bland. My Dad's choice of roasted roe deer fillet with venison biriyani and stuffed courgette sounded and looked incredible, but again, I just felt somewhat disconnected from what the flavours were trying to achieve. Some were better, especially the side dishes that can often be overlooked. Punjabi paneer with peas was delectable as was the goan spiced courgettes but the more I think about it I struggle to understand how this restaurant is worthy of 2 michelin stars. The prices certainly reflect this (grossly) but I'm not sure the food does.
I feel overly harsh about my first experience with cordon bleu Indian food and perhaps I should open my eyes a little further. People do say fantastic things about Benares. The setting, style and service was certainly exquisite and effortless. Maybe years of eating spicy English curries has deadened me inside......and my taste buds!
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