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 3^rd visit! Highly recommended.