Le Gavroche Restaurant

The list of chefs who have passed through the kitchen since the restaurant opened in 1967 is a who's-who of talent, and the legacy of the Roux brothers' is the impact that many have gone on to make in UK restaurants. Le Gavroche itself has remained a bastion of a certain kind of French classical cooking, one of luxury, refinement and quality. It matters not that this is a basement restaurant - somehow that adds to the sense of exclusivity. The bar and dining room are elegant and comfortable in a traditional kind of way, the tables set to the nearest degree with crystal and silver, and the service, headed by Silvano Giraldin, is impeccably formal and almost telepathic - they seem to know what you want before you do. The cooking of Michel Roux Jnr, who took over way back in 1991, is true to the values of yesteryear but is not stuck in the past. The bilingual menu still has old favourites such as soufflé Suissesse, but a lighter touch can be seen in roasted fillets of John Dory in a light broth with fennel, mussels and garlic croûton. There is a Menu Exceptionnel with matching wines or a carte, where artichoke filled with foie gras, truffles and chicken mousse precedes stuffed pig's trotter with roasted vegetable salad, fried celery and parsley leaf. Finish with hot passionfruit soufflé with white chocolate ice cream.

From Park Lane into Upper Brook St, restaurant on right
Nearest station: Marble Arch

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