13th November 2007
Lucky Found
Tucked away in the trendy, Mod, Carnaby Street is this cozy French restaurant named La Trouvaille (translated, literally "Lucky Find") owned by Thierry Bouteloup and Guillaume Siard.
The décor is cozy, romantic yet modern, filled with stylish Ghost chairs (which I absolutely adore) throughout the dining room upstairs. Absolutely perfect for dates, as I went there on this occasion. Servers mostly speak French, lucky if you go with someone that can speak it, as i did. We had the 2-course Set Dinner (£29 for 2 courses, £35 for 3 courses), normally a bit on the expensive side but I found the price was reasonable for what you get.
For Starters:
SASHIMI DE THON FERRÉ, SAUCE A LA VANILLE ET PURÉE D’AIL FUMÉE
Seared slices of tuna, vanilla dressing and smoked garlic purée
PARFAIT DE PINTADE ET RIZ DE VEAU AUX MORILLES
Guinea fowl and sweet bread parfait with morels
The vanilla dressing was more of a vanilla pod infused grapeseed oil, never thought that would go with tuna but it does, brings out the sweetness in the fish and brought that warm feeling in the palette. The fish was perfectly cooked, only was seared on the outside, still pink on the inside. The Parfait, was actually more like a terrine, but that was also nicely done.
Entrées:
CANNON DE MOUTON « HERDWICK » ET SAINT JACQUES, LAITUE BRAISEE,PUREE DE CHOUX FLEUR ET SAUCE CARDAMOME
Filet of Herdwick mutton and seared scallops, braised lettuce, cauliflower mash and cardamom sauce
RABLE DE LAPIN ROTI ET FOIE GRAS POELÉ, FLAN DE MAïS, JUS AU THYM
Roasted saddle of rabbit and pan fried foie gras, sweet corn flan and thyme jus
Both mutton and scallops were perfectly cooked, mutton was served medium, very tender. Scallops were laid on top of the creamy delightful cauliflower mash that just melts in your mouth. A little disappointed was the cardamom sauce, which i didn't find it very cardamom-y. The rabbit was tender (though this was my first time tasting rabbit, and only had a small bite), foie gras was served on a bed of spanich. The best thing about this dish was that Sweet corn flan, which is half between a mousse and a soufflé, makes you on Cloud 9! We didn't ordered dessert as the dessert list was a little too rich after a decadent meal. For wine, I think we had a bottle of 2003 Domaine du Cros, Vieilles Vignes Marcillac.
The menu is quite creative and I like their unusual pairings like: pastry wrapped scallops with sea urchin sauce, veal with kumquat jus, pigeon with mint pea mash, artichoke and chocolate sauce. There are vegetarian options. Presentation of the dishes were excellent. I was DYING to take pictures before I ate but i had to hold myself back (had to remember i was on a date). I definitely recommend this restaurant for that special occasion with the very special someone, needless to say, with food that great, the date went very well for those of you who were curious. ;)
Loading...
Add your comment
Post to facebook
Share with friends
(8/8 found this review helpful)
