Review of L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon in London
by Andy Hayler
Food Rating: 6/10
Last visited:
September 2006
Smart
décor, if rather 1980s, with lots of red velvet
curtains and black lacquer. Unlike L'Atelier
Robuchon in Paris, this has some tables as well as
sitting around the bar, though the same bar stools
are used throughout. Space is “intimate” according
to an interview with Joel Robuchon, though “tightly
packed” would be another view. The menu offers
either small portions or a conventional set of
starters and main courses; we went for the tasting
mini portions. There is just one type of bread,
rather bland country bread that was just a little
chewier in texture than ideal (4/10). Crab and
avocado salad was two small pairs of rounds of
avocado with crab sandwiched between, served with a
few spots of red pepper sauce (5/10). Fried
langoustine was delicate and served with a smear of
pesto sauce and a little deep-fried basil as garnish
(7/10). Langoustine ravioli wrapped in Savoy cabbage
was less successful, topped with a little black
truffle, and with a tiny amount of shellfish sauce
(5/10). Mackerel tart was very good, with delicate
pastry and tasty mackerel, topped with black olives
(6/10). Raw tuna with a little finely chopped tomato
was of good quality (5/10). Two miniature
beefburgers with foie gras was good, the steak of
high quality and cooked with lightly caramelised
bell peppers (6/10). Two small pieces of quail on
the bone were very tender, stuffed with a little
foie gras and served with a little truffled mashed
potato (7/10). The mashed potato was reminiscent of
Robuchon’s famous version, but was nowhere near as
good.
Tarts of chocolate and passion fruit had reasonable
pastry and high grade fillings, but a vanilla and
cinnamon tart was less successful (6/10). The coffee
glace dessert was very intensely flavoured coffee
ice-cream topped with coffee mousse and a melting
coffee tuile, served in a glass; at the base was a
chicory jelly, which worked very well; the glass
stood in a dish of silvered coffee beans (6/10).
Service was friendly but a shambles. There were lots
of waiters, mostly French, but they were completely
unable to keep tabs on who had ordered the various
dishes. Overall it was all just a little
disappointing, given the high price tag, and
certainly less good than Atelier Robuchon in Paris.
It would be interesting to compare with Maze, which
may well have the edge. Frederique Simonin may have
got two Michelin stars at La Table de Joel Robuchon
in Paris, but he has a long way to go before getting
anywhere near that standard here. The service in
particular seems inexcusably bad, and little details
like a typo on the main menu “whitting” instead of
whiting are careless.
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