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October 3, 2023 Michelin Star, French, Mayfair, London

Hélène Darroze at The Connaught

I’ve been meaning to write about this fantastic restaurant for awhile now. Hélène Darroze pulls no punches at her 3 Michelin star lush restaurant housed in the epic Connaught hotel. This meal became one of the more memorable meals I’ve ever had due to my love of starting any fine dining meal with a glass of Champagne, a decision that would come back to haunt me, but more make me chuckle. More on that later.

The tasting menu covers everything, but on this particular occasion they were doing a supplement of Wagyu which I obviously got involved in, they are also famous for their Baba, but since it requires a ton of planning and prep they request you order it at the start of the meal. I’m glad we did because it was by far the most alcohol infused dessert I’ve ever consumed, absolutely delicious but my god, I would not be able to drive a car after consuming that.

The dishes are all expertly prepared and presented, the setting is very formal but not so much that you feel overwhelmed or even out of place. This is a restaurant that takes the experience of dining there very seriously, and as a diner I can only be grateful. The wagyu is some of the best I’ve ever had outside of Japan, I mean I’m not exaggerating when I say I didn’t really need a knife to cut into this perfect cut of meat. The lobster and shrimp dish were equally memorable, the shrimp in particular looked like art.

Before I sign off, I did want to finish my champagne story. Like any self respecting fine dining establishment, the meal started with a champagne cart, and the sommelier very kindly explained all the various options to try. He sold us on a rose champagne which normally wouldn’t entice, but Ann decided to go for it. As you may know dear reader, I love being sold to, so the last thing the chap mentioned was a very unusual champagne, produced in small batches. Without hesitation I went “Sure, I’ll try that”. Both champagnes were fantastic, but I ended up preferring Ann’s one, so much so that I got myself a glass as our meal progressed. I paid the bill and we went on our way, as our afternoon went on Ann asked in passing how much the meal was, when I told her she immediately got her audit hat on and said that doesn’t make sense. We checked the bill (because I never look at these things) and realised that “unusual” champagne was in fact a 2004 Salon champagne which was £150 a glass…

If you come visit us, I sadly won’t be stocking this at home, however I do normally have a bottle or two of the Billecart Brut Rose on standby and I’d happily pour you a glass, how does £35 sound?

Price per head: £500 with a fuck off glass of champagne

ShrimpShrimp

LobsterLobster

WagyuWagyu

Up next Osteria Francescana Claude Bosi at Bibendum
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