Eat & Drink
Originally published on Thursday, 7th May 2009
L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon
If you like swanky restaurants you've probably read a fair few reviews of Joel Robuchon's 2 Michelin-starred London outpost. You might also know that JR was just awarded the San Pellegrino Lifetime Achievement Award. What you might not know however, and what certainly came as a surprise to me, is how warm, inviting and darned seductive the place is.
L'Atelier, the gorgeously low lit ground floor counter-dining room is more stylishly cluttered than I expected, with jars of acid green limes and blood red macaroons stacked above the Japanese style open kitchen. Upstairs in La Cuisine, the more conventionally set out bistro-style dining room, it's all black and white chessboard tiles, banquettes and potted herbs. And in neither room is there an ounce of stuffy formality - in fact I think M. Robuchon must be slipping his staff happy pills.
I won't ramble on for hours about the food as I think you probably know the score, but suffice to say my roast Label Anglais chicken with girolles was as perfect as it gets, and the truffled pomme puree (rumoured to be made with 60 % butter) is something else.
Oh, and the bar at the top has a fireplace and its own well-hidden roof terrace that's just opened for the summer.
Altogether the experience has made me realise that dining out right now is all about quality not quantity.
I'm saving up for my next visit.
Hours: Mon-Sun 12.30-3pm & 5.30-11pm
Place: 13-15 West Street, WC2H 9NE
Cost: 020 7010 8600
Web: joel-robuchon.co.uk
Book: 020 7010 8600
