The Stafford; La Chanterelle
FM SURE you will be relieved to hear I haven't seen the Scorsese film. Instead my life seems to have been enmeshed in the catches from Loch Fyne, not only in London, at the Stafford Hotel, where they were having a Loch Fyne Festival of oysters, salmon, kippers etc, but also on television, where Floyd was cooking gigot for Johnnie Noble and Harry Secombe was singing about his 'ain folk' in the middle of the loch. Perhaps it was all a plot.
The Stafford (St James's Place, SW1; tel: 493 0111) is a lovely little hotel which can be approached on foot through Blue Ball Yard — one of the three remaining gas-lit cobbled yards in London, and once part of the mews for St James's Palace. The yard leads directly into the bar run by the renowned head barman Charles, a cockney Nicois of great charm; the restaurant is a nice, big, bustling place.
I had arranged to meet A. N. Wilson there and he arrived simultaneously with a Scottish piper's appearance in full cry, skirling like mad through the guests, which gave A. N. great joy and moist eyes. We settled for the set luncheon menu which turned out to be a veritable curate's egg. The oysters, gravadlax, smoked salmon and langoustines, all from John Noble's Loch Fyne, were quite excellent. The oysters are the Portuguese sort, large and creamy. I personally prefer the natives, but these were splendid specimens.
A. N. had roast sirloin of Scottish beef, absolutely perfect in taste and rosiness, served with a truly terrible cold piece of felt masquerading as Yorkshire pudding, whilst I had a good dish of calves kidneys cooked in a wine and mustard sauce. We both had haricots verts (over under- cooked), good poached courgettes and proper roast potatoes.
The dessert trolley produced a curdled creme brulee for A. N., though there were some good looking puddings and pastries and I had a piece of magnificent stilton which couldn't have been better. The set luncheon is £19.25 and the coffee £1.85 extra, which seems a bit excessive. The house burgundy was £9.80 and very good, so the bill for two came to £52.00 including a 15 per cent service charge. If only the kitchen could get its act together (the master chef is Spanish) this hotel, situated where it is, would be a wonderful meeting place. It has a very nice atmosphere and the staff are joyous and helpful and rather reminiscent of the Inverness station hotel.
La Chanterelle (119 Old Brompton Road, London SW7; tel: 373 5522) must be the best value in London. It opened in 1953, and was run by Walter Baxter. It was one of the first of the bistro-type res- taurants to hit London. I remember people queueing round the mews to get in. Fergus Provan took it over in 1980, remodelled it, and it is still going as strong as ever, open every day for lunch and dinner. It is wise to book ahead.
I went there for dinner last Sunday with Richard Fowler, one of those barristers who fly round the world for enormous companies doing mysterious deeds at high levels, quite unlike my own home life. He started with a poached egg tart: sitting on a nest of potted shrimps in a shortcrust pastry case, the egg is covered in Hollan- daise sauce — light and delicious. I chose a delicate timbale of scallops in an exquisite sauce made from sea urchins, the palest pink and mighty fine to taste.
I followed this with an excellent young grouse cooked to perfection. I asked for it rare and rare it was with good bread sauce and fried crumbs, watercress and a very suitable little dish of mashed carrots and chervil — an inspired idea. The barrister chose a vol-au-vent of sweetbreads and mushrooms, a generous great dish looking like a giant crab on arrival, with good puff pastry and delectable filling, though he rather longed for more of the sweetbreads. Beautifully cooked French beans and new potatoes were served with it.
Other good offerings included poached hake, rack of Shrewsbury lamb, calves liver, steak and medallions of pork with paprika. We had fresh peaches with rasp- berry sauce for dessert, one of the best fruit combinations, tart and juicy.
With coffee and a bottle of the house red, a Chinon 1986 and drinks before dinner the whole thing came to £42.20 not including service. The three-course dinner with coffee is £13.50 with an extra £2.00 for the grouse (astonishingly cheap compared to other joints). Splendid place. Hurrah for Mr Provan and his charming staff.
This is my last restaurant review as Nigella Lawson is returning. So farewell and amen: it was great fun....
Jennifer Paterson
Previous page
