Roussillon
Above: Roussillon
It would be easy to dismiss Roussillon as something of a ‘has been’. Tucked away down a quiet backstreet on the Chelsea/Pimlico borders, it relies heavily on local trade and many of its regulars are well into their silver years. Sure, the odd younger couple has discovered that this is a great place for intimate dates, but overall, it remains one of London’s best-kept secrets.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The dining room for instance, benefits from the neighbourhood feel. But both kitchen and front of house staff work at the top of their game and deserve more wide-spread attention than they currently get.
Our meal here was just about flawless, the expertly prepared food lifted to new heights through clever wine recommendations from a sommelier who really knew his stuff. Head chef Alexis Gauthier is best known for his way with vegetables and it was indeed a vegetable dish that impressed us the most.
Plain-sounding barley risotto with summer vegetables proved a feast of complementing textures and flavours. This delightfully different dish was made even better with a generous speckling of fragrant black truffle – a perfect match to the 2005 Muscat Sec ‘L’Alexandrie’ from Domaine Mossé in Roussillon, which offered all the aromatics you’d expect from the Muscat grape but without any of the cloying sweetness it usually brings. Mains, too, were quite brilliant – we particularly liked the plate of salt marsh lamb (braised shoulder, roasted leg and grilled cutlet) with spiced aubergine – but desserts were a surprising let-down. Our chocolate soufflé arrived so pale we guessed they’d actually forgotten to put the chocolate in. And let’s hope this was indeed a singular mistake, for a meal as wonderful as this deserves a sweeter close.
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