dines at Pierre Koffmann's...

Age has its drawbacks, but it also brings its rewards. I'm lucky enough to have eaten in each of Pierre Koffmann's London restaurants - one meal at La Tante Claire remains on my favourite five meals of all time. Pierre now presides over a lower key restaurant at the Berkeley Hotel, and remains on my list of favourites. As I was organising a lunch to meet my new chum Charlotte Lynham and we had lots to discuss, I wanted a room which where the food would be delicious, but where conversation could flow. Frankly, I rarely need an excuse to go back to visit Monsieur Koffmann, and so the booking was duly made.  

The restaurant is bright, comfortable and always very cheery. I'd identified my guest as a coeliac on the booking notice, and once we had been seated, the waiter discreetly inquired who was who. Charlotte was offered two kinds of gluten free bread, a white bread, and a seeded variety. At every stage of the meal Charlotte was advised which dishes contained gluten and what the alternatives might be. As Charlotte was effectively barred from the bread, I was offered the whole fabulous selection to myself. The star for me was the rosemary brioche feuilletée - light, amazingly crisp, the rosemary neatly punctuating the richness of the buttery brioche.

Determined to get to the pistachio soufflé on the dessert menu, I opted to have two starters. Charlotte decided to join me as, having mentioned that she loved the game pie, the kitchen had kindly saved a duck pithivier for us to try before our mains.  

To start I had fresh crab with a celeriac and apple remoulade. The dish arrives hidden beneath the carapace of a spider crab, which is lifted to reveal a beautiful delicate tower. The lightly dressed crab sits on top of a layer of crisp and slightly tart apple remoulade. The tower is topped with frisée, and disks of radish, all contributing to a light, crisp dish. Charlotte had the langoustines and scallops with shellfish broth, which I'll come to in a minute.

As a middle course, we were brought the aforementioned duck pithivier.  With the finest layer of perfectly scored puff pastry, the interior of the pithivier contained finely diced meat, placed on top of a rich unctuous red wine jus. It was rich, intense, but didn't overwhelm the senses.

Charlotte decided to try the squid Bolognese-style as her main dish, and I managed to steal some from her.  The squid had been cut into the finest, flattest tagliatelle, and served with a bolognese sauce.  The sauce had been enriched with squid ink, intensifying the flavours.  I thought the squid tagliatelle was absolutely exquisite, and frankly much nicer than pasta - perfect for coeliacs!

For my main course I had the langoustines and scallops with shellfish broth.  The broth is presented inside another spider crab shell, and is delicate yet deep and earthy.  The tender and barely cooked langoustine sit with scallops and clams in a shellfish bisque scented with finely sliced chives.  The bisque is a much lighter and brighter one than I've ever had before, and supported the delicacy of the shellfish, rather than overwhelmed it.  Nestling amongst the bisque were also tiny little croutons, and we noted that these had been left out of Charlotte's dish - the attention to detail in the kitchen is duly noticed out in the restaurant.

To celebrate the Epiphany, the lovely staff brought me a slice of Galette des Rois.  This traditional holiday cake is made with layers of dense frangipane and crisp pastry, and here the top was beautifully scored and glazed. Charlotte was offered a lemon sorbet, and found that delicious.

Finally, desserts.  I've had Pierre's pistachio soufflé with pistachio ice-cream on many occasions, and have even described it in this blog as my joint favourite soufflé of all time. Today's offering did not disappoint: a most perfect combination of pistachio paste and egg whites, the soufflé is presented whole and then pierced with a quenelle of pistachio ice-cream.  This slips through the centre of the soufflé, creating an even more luscious layer of pistachio scented foam.  As the soufflé dish is lined with shavings of dark chocolate, the outer layer adds the necessary bitter and slightly salty counterpoint to the soufflé.  It remains in first place on my soufflé leader board.

The staff again advised Charlotte which dishes would be most suitable for her.  She plumped for the chestnut and chocolate mousse.  This is beautifully presented and the mousse is sandwiched between three layers of crisp chocolate.  I couldn't tear myself away from my soufflé, but Charlotte said that the mousse was delicate in flavour, and the portion just the right size to satisfy without overwhelming her palate.

More than fully sated, we sat for a while absorbing the atmosphere of the room, drinking tea and coffee.  

I've been to Koffmann's on several occasions, and the standards are definitely going up. I find the restaurant reliable, the staff extremely courteous, and the food of an extremely high standard. I've always loved it, and I look forward to seeing it gain the recognition it deserves.

Pierre Koffmann
The Berkeley Hotel
Wilton Place
Knightsbridge
London SW1X 7RL

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HORS-D’ŒUVRES 

SOUPE DE POISSONS, CROÛTONS ET AÏOLI 

Provençale fish soup with croutons & aïoli — £9 — 

CRABE, CÉLERI-RAVE ET POMME RÉMOULADE 

Fresh crab with celeriac & apple remoulade — £15 / £24 — 

CASSOLETTE D’ESCARGOTS, CHAMPIGNONS SAUVAGES ET PERSIL 

Snails, wild mushrooms & parsley — £12 — 

ARTICHAUTS ET HARICOTS VERT, VINAIGRETTE NOISETTE 

Artichokes & green beans, hazelnut vinaigrette — £11 — 

FOIE GRAS CHAUD, BETTERAVES ET CACAO 

Hot foie gras with beetroot & cocoa powder — £15 — 

PATÉ DE CANARD ET RIS DE VEAU SUR CROÛTE, SALADE 

Encrusted duck & sweetbread paté & salad — £10 — 

COQUILLES ST. JACQUES À L’ENCRE ET BROCOLI 

Hand dived scallops, ink sauce & broccoli purée — £16 / £28 — 

CALAMARS FAÇON BOLOGNAISE 

Squid Bolognese-style — £10 / £18 — 

TERRINE DE FOIE GRAS, BAGUETTE ET BRIOCHE 

Terrine of foie gras with baguette & brioche — £15 — 

LANGOUSTINES ET ST. JACQUES, NAGE DE COQUILLAGES 

Langoustines & scallops with shellfish broth — £12 — 

JAMBON NOIR DE BIGORRE, RADIS BEURRE 

Noir de Bigorre ham with radish butter — £14 — 

BOUDIN GASCON, BETHMALE, OIGNONS ET BETTERAVES 

Gascony-style black pudding with Bethmale cheese, onions & beetroot — £9 — 

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ENTRÉES 

LOTTE RÔTIE, LENTILLES DU PUY ET SAUCE BORDELAISE 

Roasted monkfish with Puy lentils, Bordelaise sauce — £26 — 

CABILLAUD EN POT-AU-FEU, SAUCE VERTE 

Cod with herb sauce — £23 — 

SOLE POÊLÉE, GRENOBLOISE 

Dover sole Grenoble-style — £40 — 

PIED DE COCHON, TANTE CLAIRE 

Pig’s trotter stuffed with sweetbreads & morels — £28 — 

ENTRECÔTE DE BŒUF USA AU POIVRE NOIR 

USA rib-eye steak with black pepper sauce — £29 — 

DAUBE DE JOUE DE BŒUF, GRAND-MÈRE 

Home-style, braised beef cheeks in red wine — £24 — 

QUASI D’AGNEAU EN CROÛTE D’HERBES 

Herb-crusted rump of lamb — £27 — 

CÔTE DE BŒUF ÉCOSSAISE, SAUCE BÉARNAISE (FOR TWO) 

Scottish rib of beef on the bone with Béarnaise sauce — £54 — 

RAIE BOULANGÈRE, BEURRE D’HERBES ET OLIVES 

Baked skate with herb butter & olives — £22 — 

HOMARD ÉCOSSAIS, ÉPICES DOUCES ET RATTE 

Scottish lobster with mild spices & ratte potatoes (600g) — £60 — 

FLÉTAN SAUVAGE, LÉGUMES RACINES ET CITRON CONFIT 

Wild halibut with confit lemon & root vegetables — £29 — 

PIGEONNEAU D’ANJOU RÔTI, JARDINIÈRE DE LÉGUMES 

Roasted Anjou pigeon with mixed vegetables — £26 — 

ROGNONS ET RIS DE VEAU AUX CHAMPIGNONS DES BOIS 

Veal kidneys & sweetbreads with wild mushrooms — £25 — 

CANETTE DES DOMBES LAQUÉE AU MIEL MILLE FLEURS 

Honey glazed duckling — £26 — 

LAPEREAU RÔTI, HARICOT MAÏS ET CHORIZO 

Roasted young rabbit with beans & chorizo — £23 — 

POULET DE LAVERSTOKE PARK FARM RÔTI, CROÛTONS PERSILLES (FOR TWO) Roasted organic Laverstoke Park Farm chicken with parsley croutons (Allow 45 mins) — £54 — 

All our fish are wild & ingredients come from sustainable sources 

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LÉGUMES SÉLECTION 

HARICOTS VERT 

Fine French beans 

CHOU-FLEUR 

Cauliflower 

GRATIN DAUPHINOIS 

Potato gratin 

PURÉE DE POMMES DE TERRE 

Mashed potatoes 

BROCOLIS 

Broccoli 

ÉPINARDS 

Spinach

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SOUFFLÉ AUX PISTACHES ET SA GLACE 

Pistachio soufflé with pistachio ice-cream (Allow 15 mins) – £14 – 

GLACE POUSSE TOUT 

Armagnac & Agen prune ice-cream – £10 – 

ŒUF À LA NEIGE CARAMÉLISÉ 

Caramelised floating island – £9 – 

MOUSSE DE MARRON ET CHOCOLAT 

Chestnut & chocolate mousse – £9 – 

TARTE TATIN 

Tart Tatin with vanilla ice-cream – £10 – 

BABA AU RHUM, ANANAS 

Rum baba with caramelised pineapple – £10 – 

PAIN PERDU, BANANE RÔTIE 

French toast & roasted banana – £9 – 

GLACES ET SORBETS 

Laverstoke Park Farm ice-cream selection & sorbets – £8 – 

PARFAIT AUX CACAHUÈTES 

Peanut parfait – £9 – 

FROMAGES 

Selection of cheeses – £15 –

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EARL GREY 

ASSAM BLACK 

MUTAN WHITE 

SENCHA GREEN TEA 

LEMON or MINT VERBENA 

CHAMOMILE FLOWERS 

ROOIBOS CHAI 

WHITE VANILLA 

GRAPEFRUIT 

JASMINE PEARLS 

ENGLISH BREAKFAST 

CAFÉ your choice

– £3.50 –