40 B4 40-L'Autre Pied

No.36- L'Autre Pied (London W1)

Some days you just know it is going to be a good day, ....and this was one of those.

 

Today we were dining at L'Autre Pied in Marylebone London with our good friends Alistair & Natalie. Alistair is not one for the sun, mainly due to his pasty skin and bald head, so it was no surprise when following the recent good weather he arrived looking like a beetroot on fire.

L'Autre Pied has a Michelin Star, and is the sister restaurant of Pied à Terre, a restaurant we have had the pleasure to dine in before, and where Alistair says he had his best meal ever. Expectations were understandably high.

 

Each year we like to visit a nice restaurant to celebrate the girls forthcoming birthdays. (My wife's birthday celebrations tend to last for a month before and month after!) On this occasion she had seen a great deal on Groupon, offering the 7 Course Taster Menu at £75 for 2, which is around half price.

click image to enlarge

Before dining, we decided to have pre-lunch drinks at the Artesian Bar in The Langham Hotel which was apparently voted 'The World's Best Bar' by Drinks International. The lounge is a glamorous cocktail bar with a taste of exotic Orientalism and nostalgia. We discovered that the bar is named after the 360ft-deep artesian well under the hotel and specialises in exclusive rum creations, but as it was going to be a long day we stuck to some London brewed beer and gin & tonic.

Suitably watered, we made our way to L'Autre Pied.

The restaurant had a contemporary interior and was pretty hot when we arrived. A quick word with a member of the friendly front of house team and the door was opened and the problem over.

As we commenced our dining marathon, it soon became evident why this restaurant holds a Michelin Star. The service was sharp and the dishes created by Head Chef Andy McFadden were simply incredible creations of flavour, texture and art on a plate.

The first course arrived a nice time after we had settled and enjoyed our first drink. We then had the pleasure of the following menu:

7 Course Tasting Menu

• Compressed Cucumber with Black Onion Seeds, Avocado Puree and Cucumber Granita
• Salad of Radishes with Black Quinoa, Creme Fraiche, Fennel and Dill
• Heritage Potatoes with Creamed Jersey Royals, Black Garlic, Onion Jam and Nasturtium.
• Grilled Mackerel and Tartare with Hazelnuts, Apple Tapioca, Celery and Miso
• Roast Suckling Pig with Glazed Aubergine, Ras el Hanout, Green Olives and Sambal
• Apple Custard with Passion Fruit Sorbet and Pistachio
• Strawberries with Coconut, Yoghurt and Lime

As you may have spotted, the menu contained two sweets. so, there was I, anticipating a nine course meal. The first pudding went to plan, as my 'no pudding for me' wife simply passed it to me.  Then, shock, horror, she ate the second one!

 

Thankfully, the bread had been plentiful and delicious. My favourites were the Onion Brioche and Walnut & Raisin, whilst others also enjoyed the Guinness Bread and Mini French Baguette.

Amongst our various conversations, the girls were taking a practical angle, and working out the volume and logistics of washing up the complete cutlery sets provided with each course. Alistair and I had no idea what they were talking about, and concentrated on creative ways of insulting each other, whilst savouring the few bottles of wine that accompanied our meal. It was nice that the Vouvray and Gamay de Touraine were pretty fair value for Central London.

The whole event was completed with coffee and Mini Carrot Cake Petit Fours.

 

The restaurant team had managed to leave a perfect time between courses for both our digestion, and time to chat and enjoy each others company. All to soon it was over, and around three hours later we were on our way in a very satisfied frame of mind.

 

The day was still young, so the natural course of action was to find a cocktail bar. Soon we were inside No.5 Cavendish Square trying some alcoholic concoctions.  Alistair was glowing and almost burst when he cracked a joke about a 'couple of pies'. This was pretty strange, as it was actually funny, not Alistair's normal track record with jokes.

 

Whilst having our cocktails we spotted an outside terrace on the floor above. On enquiring, we were told that this was a private Middle Eastern Shisha Lounge. Having never tried Shisha before, we all decided it was worth trying to see if they would let us in for a new experience.

 

Climbing the grand staircase there was no signage whatsoever, only a closed carved oak door. We knocked, explained we would like to come in, and the guy took us to a table on the terrace.

Around us were a number of groups, all appeared Arabic in origin, and experts in the art of the Shisha. The men were looking cool whilst simultaneously puffing and using their mobile phones, there was also a party of girls in a smoke filled corner, and a TV was playing an episode of Arab Idol. One floor up, and a complete change in atmosphere and continent!

 

The waiter helped us through the menu and we decided to share two Shisha's (Hookah), one flavoured Water Melon, the other a Cherry 'Fruit Head'. We did our best to work out how the Hubba Bubba Pipes worked. Apparently, the bottom vase contain water and the bowl is then covered with a perforated foil sheet on which hot coals are placed. This causes the tobacco in the bowl to heat up and create smoke. By sucking on the hose, the smoke is drawn down through the down stem, underwater and then smoked, .. or something like that.

 

It all looked so easy, but it took real long draws to pull the smoke through, only to create a coughing fit when it hit your throat.  We did our best to look as though we knew what we were doing, but we all failed. Indeed, Alistair ending up drawing so hard his head became a smoke filled receptacle with grey clouds appearing from just about every orifice.

 

Having had our fun, and our lunch now running into its seventh hour, it was time to make for Waterloo station and home. But... not before a quick final drink at The Cabin. How we all managed to share some Hot Chorizo Sausage Rolls and Pork Pie & Mustard I am not quite sure, but it did go well with our nightcap.
 

L'Autre Pied: 5-7 Blandford Street, London W1U 3DB
www.lautrepied.co.uk

Pied à Terre: 34 Charlotte Street, London W1T 2NH
www.pied-a-terre.co.uk

Langham Hotel - Artesian Bar
1c Portland Place, Regent Street, London W1B 1JA
www.langhamhotels.co.uk
www.artesian-bar.co.uk

No.5 Cavendish Square
5 Cavendish Square, Oxford Circus, London W1G 0PG
www.no5cavendishsq.com

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