If you’ve been following me here for awhile you probably know that London is one of my favorite cities in the world and I often make any excuse to return . When we began researching for our honeymoon, I was able to find a cheap flight to Athens with an overnight layover in London. A whopping fourteen hours, to be exact. Again, if you’ve been following me here for awhile, I’m not one to take the leisurely route when we get to travel. My style is more go, go, go & “sleep is for the dead”. Naturally, I decided to cram as much as we could into the short fourteen hours that we were there so, being the complete foodies that we are (and it being the start to our honeymoon), I booked us a reservation at the to-die-for restaurant, Pétrus by Gordon Ramsay.
The flight from LAX to London took approximately nine hours. Once we touched down in London it was about 4:00p (16:00) and our dinner reservation was at 8:30p (20:30). We had to make it through a very rigorous customs check (thanks Covid), onto the express train, through Paddington Station and checked into our hotel room at the Hilton with enough time for us to rest for a bit and still be able to get ready. Luckily, all of that took about an hour leaving us with just enough time to get a taxi and make our way around Hyde Park to the Belgravia area, just a short 10 minutes away.
Once seated at the table, there was a welcome letter for us, congratulating us on our wedding. The sommelier came over with a congratulatory glass of champagne and the server shortly after to walk us through the menu. We both opted for the Prestige menu, a multi-course set menu featuring some of Englands most vibrant ingredients. We were then treated to a few amuse bouche to wake up our palates for the incredible meal that we were about to enjoy. There was also complementary homemade bread and home churned butter to go along with it.
To be completely honest with you, these weren’t listed on the menu so I can’t remember exactly what was in them. The first one was a salmon tartar with dill and a salmon mousse underneath in a little crunch tart cup. The second one was a cheese stuffed, potato croquette with wild mushrooms garnished on top. The third one was asparagus in a whole grain mustard vinaigrette and a sweet pea puree underneath served in another little tart cup. Needless to say, they did the job in getting us excited for the meal.
Once we’d finished the amuse bouche we moved on to the actual first course of the meal which presented us with a tomato consumé so packed with flavor it was like biting into a sweet, perfectly roasted tomato and the lemon verbena garnish cut the rich flavor of the broth with an incredibly bright freshness leaving you wanting more and crying when the cup ran out. Serving it in a small tea cup shows is completely ironic to how flavor packed the broth was, which I found to be playful & witty. The course was paired with a bright, effervescent white wine to complement its flavors and Segway us into the next course.
The second course followed up perfectly from the first with a tarte fine; a delicious pillow of puff pastry topped with a luscious and rich romesco sauce, sliced tomatoes from the Isle of Wight, and Rove de Garrigues, and micro greens. The flavors of this hit every area of your mouth. It was salty, savory, sweet, sour, spicy, and just out of this world delicious. My husband is a huge tomato lover and I swear he was happier eating this than he was marrying me, and that’s okay, I understand completely.
The third course consisted of beautifully crafted envelopes of lobster agnolotti served with delicious sweet corn, girolles mushrooms, and lemon verbena bisque, garnished with micro greens. The flavors of this dish were incredibly delicate and so artfully crafted together and the texture of the agnolotti was sheer perfection.
The fourth course played perfectly off the third. This course featured a perfectly soft boiled egg paired with Iberico ham, crunchy parmesan wafers, and micro greens served surrounded by an incredibly delicate champagne foam. When you cracked into the egg the yolk flowed out in a golden river of perfection and mixed perfectly with the foam creating an incredibly rich, salty and savory bite. One of my favorite things of the entire meal.
Moving on to the fifth course of the meal, we were presented with a Cornish cod served with violet artichoke, courgette, pine nuts, and Nocellara olives and a lemon and pea sauce over the top. Words cannot describe how absolutely perfectly cooked this cod was. I mean come on now, cod?! Of all the fish out there cod is the one good ol’ Gordon decided to go with? It was perfect. The fish was so flakey, buttery, and moist it just melted in your mouth the second it hit your tongue. The pairs with the fish complimented the flavors without over powering the fish and brought a rustic, earthiness to an otherwise delicate and extremely light dish.
Course seven was a perfect way to reinvigorate our palates and encourage us to continue eating. This course was a sorbet of Fragola grapes and a verjus granite. The cold, slightly sour, slightly sweet flavors brought an excitement right back to the mouth and made us ready for the many desserts yet to come. Small in size, but powerful in flavor. I absolutely loved this dessert.
Our second dessert course, course eight was a chocolate lovers dream. The beautiful dessert was a chocolate crémeux with dark cherries, Sakura, and yogurt sorbet. We all know that chocolate, berries, and yogurt go well together but this was on another level. The velvety chocolate crémeux mixed with the sharp tartness of the cherries, the delicate floral flavor of the Sakura, and the tang of the yogurt made this one of the most artfully crafted desserts I’ve ever tried. The on textures and temperatures made this a fun one to eat as well.
Wrapping up one of the best (and most expensive) dinners we’ve had in our lives, we sat and chatted with the incredible serving staff for a moment before heading out and strolling our way through Hyde Park to make it back to our hotel room. Our flight out of London took off at 6:05a the next morning and we needed to get as much sleep as we possibly could before we made our way to Athens.
Make Me a Jetsetter 