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Wednesday 23 December 2009

London Underground Restaurant #7 – Fernandez & Leluu Revisited


Fernandez & Leluu Revisited

I recently came back to my favourite London supper club Fernandez & Leluu (F&L) for their “White Christmas” evening. This will be a short (ish) review, as I am going back for their NYE Party and will be posting a full review in 2010 of what promises to be an amazing event. 



We started the evening with a delightful selection of different breads accompanied by “Egyptian beetroot dip with paprika, coriander and cinnamon”. The dip was complex in flavour and very delicious. I loved the bright pink colour, which made it look very festive. A “Country Terrine” was also served – it had been freshly made and was meaty and packed with flavour.



To follow, we were served one of the best dishes of the evening: “Fried udon noodles with Argentinean beef fillet, red chillies and bean sprouts”. This was a fantastic dish – the spiciness of the chillies was just right - neither too hot nor too bland – and the meat, perfectly cooked, was melting in the mouth. 



The “Cauliflower & parsnip soup with blue cheese” had also some very interesting flavours. The mild spiciness of the parsnips and the saltiness of the blue cheese combined well, making it a very warming and delectable soup.



A delightful “Russian Salad” was served next. It had been topped with a slice of Serrano ham and a dainty quail egg.



I am not a great fan of meatballs but even I had to admit that F&L’s were rather good. Cooked in cider with prunes and apple, the meat was incredibly succulent and tasted nothing like what I would have expected from a dish of meatballs. It was served with a refreshing salad of “Apple, Cheese and Radish”. I love having my food prejudices challenged like this.



To round off the evening, we had “Croissant & butter pudding with whisky & white chocolate” – it was “comfort-food” at its best, a lovely and stodgy dessert to warm us up and get us ready to brave the horrendous weather outside.



It had only been two weeks since my first visit to F&L - I was again highly impressed by Uyen and Simon’s wonderful food & hospitality, the versatility of their menu and the consistently high standard of their cooking.



Verdict – Fernandez & Leluu’s wonderful cooking and hospitality are second to none. My favourite London Underground Restaurant, serving the best Vietnamese cuisine as well as modern and classic European favourites, I just can’t wait to go back for my 3rd visit! Highly recommended.

4 comments:

  1. Gee, I wish I was in London.
    Thanks for the terrific reviews Luiz.
    We are planning our next underground supper club at the end of January.
    Will you be in LA anytime soon?
    Merry Christmas.
    LL

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  2. How I wish I were! Judging by the quality of your writing and photographs, your supper club must be haute cuisine at its best!

    Merry Christmas to you too!

    Luiz @ The London Foodie

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  3. Your pictures of the evening are lovely. It was a great evening - glad there's several of us singing their praises.

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  4. Fernandez & Leluu now work independently!

    Simon Fernandez is now full time chef patron at ferdiesfoodlab and employs 8 people on a part-time basis. ferdiesfoodlab (a London supper club) is a social banquet where you can meet new people. It serves international cuisine in the east end of central London at the beautiful listed building Toynbee Hall. You can check it out at ferdiesfoodlab.co.uk

    I remember that menu I was so pleased with it!!

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