This was everything you could ever want from a Michelin Star dining experience. A fabulous location , the food was stunning , the wine pairings were amazing and the service was absolutely impeccable. So when you put all this together it quite simply made for an experience that will live long in the memory.
It all started on arrival at The Connaught Hotel where the staff gave us a warm welcome. We then headed to the restaurant where manager Mirko and the team were waiting for us. After a brief chat he escorted us to our table in the right hand corner giving us the best view of the whole dining room. Here we met Lorenzo who along with some new members of staff would give us a style of service that is second to none. Sommelier Lucas started preceding’s by pouring us a complimentary glass of champagne to welcome us back to Helene Darroze.
We were then given the menu which is a tasting menu including optional supplemented dishes. We looked at the menu while enjoying first a consommé followed by some delightful snacks including Sea Bass & Pumpkin , Purple Beetroot with chicken liver parfait and Vacherin mont D’or , celeriac , black winter truffle.
Now it was time to meet Melina our sommelier for the day who’s bubbly personality and knowledge simply added to a fantastic afternoon. After a little discussion I decided to choose the All Around the World wine pairings. My wife decided to go with wines by the glass. The first wine of the pairings would be a fabulous Slovakian Riesling. This I would enjoy with the first course of Langoustine with retour d’hanoi , radish and ginger a light , fragrant and refreshing dish.
The second course was Onion with lomo iberico , fumaison , sourdough and lemon thyme. This dish was perfectly balanced between the lightness of the consommé and the richness of the sourdough and iberico. This course was paired superbly with Shafer 2018 Chardonnay from the Napa Valley. This was followed be a nice surprise in the addition of a beautiful Foie Gras dish paired with a Maley sparkling cidre.
Next to arrive was the very popular Scallop with tandoori spices , carrot , citrus and coriander. This was paired with a Paolo E Lorenzo 2020 L’Erta from Tuscany. This was to be followed by an amazing Turbot with calcot , caviar and dill. The pairing for this course came courtesy of France . A Meursault 2018 Domaine des Comtes Lafon.
Now it was time for the main course. This was the Pigeon with parsnip , medjool date and ras el hanout. This was paired with a beautifully light Barolo 2016 Cerequio. We then decided to have an additional Cheese Course a mixture of the finest British and French cheese with fruit bread , breadsticks , honey chutney and salad. My wife enjoyed a glass of port while I presented with a Mondeuse Trdition 2007.
Now we moved on to the Dessert section which started with a Bread Ice Cream before we enjoyed the Rhubarb paired with a Kracher 2020 Auslese sweet wine from Austria. We then finished with chocolate heaven. It was Chocolate with madagascar pear and green cardamom. The pairing for this dessert was a fabulous Matusalem Sherry from Spain.
Now we would be in for a nice surprise as we were invited by manager Mirko to go down to the kitchen and see executive chef Marco and the team. Here we got the chance to personally thank the team for the stunning tasting menu.
We would then head back to the dining room to finish with coffee and petit fours. The coffee would be scientifically made by Lorenzo and the petit fours would include a Pistachio Paris Brest , a chocolate tube and a mini doughnut.
This brought to an end to what I can only say was a truly outstanding dining experience and with the new strong members of staff joining the team you can be rest assured this level of consistency will continue for years to come. So if your looking for somewhere for a special occasion I can’t recommend Helene Darroze highly enough. Looking to returning myself later in the year.
Thank You Mirko , Marco , Lorenzo , Melina and all the team for an absolutely amazing lunch and look forward to seeing you all again soon.
My Hospitality Life 