Review: Mirazur, Menton, Cote d’Azur

Beetroot rose

Beetroot rose

The important question to answer: is a meal at Mirazur worth 380 euros per head? That’s just the menu, no drinks. Although this being France, the wine list had options all the way down to 60 euros!

Anyway, the answer is “no” by any objective measure. I’ve enjoyed two or three tasting menus every bit as accomplished recently for well under half the price. I guess you’re paying for the “World’s Best Restaurant” moniker and the three Michelin stars.

Well, to be fair, you are also paying for a bloody amazing view of the sun setting over the Cote d’Azur through the enormous floor-to-ceiling window walls, for immaculate but actually warm and friendly service, and for some really splendid loos.

Razor clam chawanmushi

Razor clam chawanmushi

Also really exquisite presentation. There were more simply beautiful dishes served at this meal than I’ve seen at any other table. Maybe it was all the flowers…

The Mirazur tasting menu is themed and rotates with the lunar cycle; leaves, flowers, fruits, roots. I’m sure the lunar cycle thing is very important. Stop rolling your eyes, oh cynical reader! But I do have to respect the dedication to theming. We landed on flowers and flowers ran through every course of the menu, in inventive and often delicious ways. There were some truly stellar touches. Geranium infused oil to dip bread in was absolutely exquisite, strongly yet sweetly perfumed. There was a langoustine dish in three parts, and the stuffed head was absolutely belting. The other two parts were both very nice.

Artichoke tart

Artichoke tart

But I did find myself using the terms “very nice” and “lovely” through a lot of the courses. And I really wished I could be going “phwoar!” or “oh… WOW!” more often. The main course was an artichoke tart (artichokes being flowers, yar?) and I thought that was a brave and imaginative choice. Unfortunately it wasn’t really a pleasurable eat, the myriad of artichoke slivers on the tart looking quite beautiful but also quite dried out and chewy. The raw artichoke salad and the little artichoke tortellini in broth were both much better. Very nice.

So, yeah. Mirazur is in a stunning spot, and has given itself an ambitious and inventive theme. You will certainly have a splendid feast of highly refined French cooking, it will look utterly beautiful and you’ll be very well looked after. You can decide if that’s worth around £350 per person before drinks.

Mirazur sunset

Mirazur sunset

Moilee with roast monkfish

Start by frying…
* 1 big shallot finely chopped
* 2 garlic cloves
* 1cm piece of ginger
* 12-15 curry leaves
* 1 tsp mustard seeds

Once the shallot is soft add in…
* 1 tsp turmeric
* ground up kaffir lime leaves
* 1-2 red chilli, finely chopped
* 1 tsp ground coriander
* 1 tsp black pepper
* 1/2 tsp ground cardamom

Then add…
* 200ml coconut milk
* 100ml dashi
* 1/2 tsp salt

Let this simmer for 20 mins, adding a bit of water if needed. Meanwhile roast monkfish (or another white fish) for 8 mins at 200c. Tip any pan juices into the moilee. Add the fish to warm through, and some tomatoes chopped in big chunks.

Herb flavoured oils

These are really easy to do, so thanks to chef at Aulis for explaining how!

Take a great big bunch of your herb, chop it roughly and throw it in a blender. Add plain olive oil, or you could try rapeseed oil, maybe 200ml for a big bunch. Oh: if your herbs need washing first, make sure they are all dried out.

Now you blend the herbs in the oil. Keep the blender on for several minutes, basically until it has actually started getting really warm to the touch. The heat is going to activate the herbs in the oil so keep it going like that for a minute or so.

Then strain your herb oil through muslin into a jar or bottle or something. If you keep it in the fridge it’ll keep for weeks and weeks (though you might need to remember to get it out 15 mins before using it, as it can go solid in the fridge).

Basil oil… dill oil… wild garlic oil… endless ideas! Just drizzle the oil on your food sparingly as they are super-strong.

Oh, one more idea. Mix one of these oils with two parts extra virgin olive oil, and it’s great for dipping bread into!

Review: The Loch & The Tyne, Old Windsor

Mother

Mother

The signature dish at The Loch & The Tyne, Adam Handling’s big rambling dining pub in Old Windsor, is a starter called ‘Mother’. It’s a splendidly savoury dish of thin slices of baked celeriac formed into a package around a creamy-gooey interior that includes the warm earthy flavour of truffle, the odd zing of apple and the unexpected sticky dollop of date. The whole thing works very well, although I would have loved the celeriac to be a tiny bit more soft and yielding.

Mains were a bit more pub-driven, although always executed with a lot of class and a twist (you’d hope so at £30+). I went with the steak, and it was a beautifully full-flavoured bit of rib eye with a top crust of butter with gently warming chillies diced finely into it. Very nice too. Top-drawer chunky chips and an excellent peppercorn sauce. Maureen’s duck breast was an absolute wallop of flavour, all coming from the duck itself and how well it had been charred and

Tarte tatin

Tarte tatin

cooked to a perfect rosy hue. This was dish of the day. Can’t fault the boulanger potatoes either, although the chips here were king. One tiny duff note: we ordered a side of charred hispi cabbage with anchovy. The anchovy was done as a cream sauce, soaked into the cabbage. I am here to report that anchovy and cream is yucky.

Brilliant palate cleanser of rhubard sorbet with custard whipped cream. And then a truly scrumptious tarte tatin. In contravention of the current trend for wafer-thin slicing this one was made with big hearty chunks of pink lady apple. It worked. The pastry was crisp with stickiness.

All this is great, but you’ll be putting down £60 each for three courses before drinks. Putting The Loch & The Tyne in a strange place where it’s more expensive than any pub dinner has a right to be, but not really into serious fine dining territory. For me it’s a bit expensive, but I doubt the good folk of Windsor and Ascot really notice.

Duck

Duck

Review: Evelyn’s Table, Soho

Evelyn's Table

Evelyn’s Table

We snuck into Evelyn’s Table just a month before they won their first Michelin star, so it’s quite possible that the price of the menu has already gone up a tad! But it was a great menu, and a bargain when we ate, so I’m willing to bet it’s still well worth the price of admission.

Evelyn’s Table is a twee little room below a pub in Soho, with counter dining at the open kitchen for 12 guests. It’s really very snug and if you like to sprawl semi-conscious in a comfortably upholstered chair while the wine pairing eases you into a pleasant post-prandial stupor… then this isn’t for you.

Scallop

Scallop

We had quite a sociable evening with friends, so I’m in the embarrassing position of not being able to go into much detail on the dishes. The dog ate my notes, sorta thing. But this blog actually exists as much for me to remember where I want to return to as anything else, so I need to write down this: I would very happily return to Evelyn’s Table, they cooked up a bewitching menu of inventive dishes that put the mmmMMMMmmm into mmmMMMMmmmodern British cooking.

The scallop, carrot and cardamom was a sublime combination, just enough sweetness to lift the scallop without going too sweet. The roast sea bass was even better, bone marrow and a dark Roscoff onion broth making for a startlingly savoury/umami accompaniment to the fish. The main course was quail, and it was a blindingly well roasted bird, three different pieces served to us, with turnip to accompany and a bright orange clementine puree that I loved. The main pud was a spiralised apple tart tatin, elevated above its brethren by the addition of yuzu. The floral-citrus hit of the yuzu bounced off the sticky-caramel apple very beautifully.

So, yeah. Go, go, go… as soon as the hype subsides enough for you to find a table!

Quail in the pan

Quail in the pan