In our social circle, Mr.N and I are known as “the foodies”, something which is both a compliment and a curse. Curse? Well, when you get text messaged for the tenth time in a month by friends asking where they should take their Italian food loving fiancé for his birthday or where they should take their visitors for a quintessential British culinary experience, the pressure starts mounting! Being a corporate lawyer, I am no stranger to pressure but these requests are often more stressful than a corporate completion! It was no surprise then that we were gifted a dining experience at Raymond Blanc’s classic two Michelin starred French restaurant, Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, in Oxford. Our friends who very generously gifted this to us attended a wedding at the luxury country house and were blown away. Expectations were high.
We drove up the long driveway which immediately signalled ‘wow’ factor. It was just before Christmas and the trees on either side of the walkway leading up to the mansion were decorated beautifully. It felt like I was a character in Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden. We were greeted and led into a small cosy room to join other diners waiting to be taken into the main restaurant. Now, here is what surprised me. We waited more than ten minutes before our drink order was taken and there was no “may I take your coat from you?”. In a two Michelin starred restaurant, surely these are just a given? Anyway, we ordered the five course dinner menu and at an eye watering £138 each I was expecting the unexpected. Looking around I noticed a family of three, their daughter probably no older than 14 years of age. At 14, a treat for me was a trip to Pizza Hut! We were presented with four entrées each and the only one that I distinctly remember was the delicious steak tartar.
We were eventually escorted into the restaurant, the crowd were as I had expected, middle aged well-to-do looking couples. There was no air of stuffiness in the restaurant, it was very relaxed and even the service was quite laissez-faire, if you wanted it to be. The interior décor inspired by Blanc’s French heritage is charming, crisp white panels and fans decorate the ceiling of the conservatory, it really is beautiful. We were offered a choice of breads, I went for the sun dried tomato and it was so good that I just had to go for seconds, a decision that I would come to regret three courses down the line. Our first course was the fresh crab salad with pieces of grapefruit, mango and a red pepper sorbet. It was refreshing and summery and having never tried a savoury sorbet, I was impressed but felt the strong pepper flavour overpowered the crab.
Second course was a wild mushroom and truffle cream risotto garnished with specks of white truffle. Mr.N and I are fans of black truffle (so much so that we mix it into our M&S macaroni cheese at home because we’re a bit pretentious like that) however, we had never had the luxury of tasting white truffle. It was fine and don’t get me wrong, it lifted the dish to an extent but as to why the addition of this ingredient turns an ordinarily £10 dish into a £50 dish baffles me. Truffle, many years ago, was a poor man’s dish and in recent years it has soared in popularity amongst the elite due to its rarity. The risotto was pleasant enough and by this point we were starting to feel slightly stuffed.
The third course was spiced monkfish which was absolutely stunning, packed with flavours and the fish itself was cooked perfectly. It was at this point that I was just thankful I had worn a slightly loose fitting dress because I could feel that dreaded food belly emerging. Fourth course came out and this was a most aesthetic dish, a roasted fillet of Aberdeen Angus beef, a braised Jacob’s ladder coated in red wine jus with tiny yet divine beads of onion purée. I actually didn’t know what a Jacob’s ladder was and it is merely another term for short rib which is a popular cut of beef. I was sold. It was the most tender and juicy piece of beef I had ever tasted. The fillet was equally delectable. I still think about it now. I only started eating beef properly when I met my husband. My maternal aunt had accidentally fed me a whopper from Burger King when I was about 10 years old. Being a Hindu by religion, eating beef is forbidden, however, I prefer to say that it is merely frowned upon. Yes, that’s the justification I will use, your honour.
Our fifth and final course arrived in the form of a pear Almondine with a caramel croustillant (a posh way of saying a crunchy piece of caramel), ginger sauce and pear sorbet. I personally dislike all things pear related so this dessert was not my favourite but Mr.N seemed to enjoy it. Finally, the food marathon was over. Phew, I thought. I had to make the obligatory visit to the bathroom, you just know in these sorts of establishments their bathrooms alone probably put most people’s houses to shame. I wasn’t disappointed. It was the sort of bathroom I imagine Marilyn Monroe had in her ultra chic dressing room.
I noticed the diner next to us who I came to learning through my epic eavesdropping skills was a dentist and apparently a Le Manoir regular. Maybe it’s not too late to switch careers, I thought to myself. The dentist and his nephew (I think they were celebrating the nephew also becoming a dentist) were bestowed with petit fours at the end of their meal, obviously. I waited, the bill came, no sign of petit fours. I have concluded that it either has to be your anniversary or you need to be parting ways with a whopping £350+ every couple of weeks to partake in the exclusive petit four club. Noted.
I am glad that we were afforded the privilege of experiencing this classy French establishment and the food was truly wonderful especially that beef which makes me salivate now. Having been to other fine dining and Michelin starred restaurants, however, which have been just as incredible and where we have paid less than £100 a head, I couldn’t help but feel slightly swindled. I think you pay more for the stunning décor, the scenic gardens and awe inspiring country house rather than what is on your plate.
Ratings
Food: 8.5/10 Atmosphere: 9/10 Value: 6.5/10
If this restaurant were a fictional character it would be…. Holly Golightly, Breakfast at Tiffany’s- charming, beautiful and ambitious but not entirely flawless.
London Lawyer Eats 