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Sunday 14 February 2010

London Restaurant Reviews - Galvin La Chapelle


Galvin La Chapelle

Recently I was celebrating an important anniversary and decided that it was time to treat myself and Dr G to something a little special. Galvin la Chapelle seemed liked the natural choice.


Housed at St Botolph’s Church Hall, a Victorian grade II listed building, the brothers Chris and Jeff Galvin provide a setting that is magnificent, and can rise to any occasion.


Think high (20 metre) ceilings, exposed wooden beams, long arched windows and massive church-like chandeliers. Freshly cut flowers are ubiquitous. The Galvin brothers have created a highly theatrical space for their restaurant with great elegance.





Front-of-House staff were friendly, inviting us to sit at the bar while our table was being prepared. However, it was not until 30 minutes later, when I reminded them of our reservation, that we were shown to our table. We were surprised by this because by that time (10.15pm), there were plenty of vacant tables.


Service from then on was faultless - our waiter was friendly, efficient and discreet throughout. The menu was short, seasonal and well thought out, and before long we had placed our orders.



Our first starter, the “Lasagne of Dorset crab, velouté of chanterelles” @ £11.50 was a well presented dish, with layers of light and delicious crab mousse interspaced with fresh pasta in a foamy crab sauce. The mushrooms added to the delicate crab flavour giving a rich, earthy, almost truffle-like finish.



The “Terrine of Landaise Foie Gras and leeks in truffle vinaigrette” @ £12.50 was also good and looked fantastic. Although the visual symmetry of the dish was appealing, to my palate, the leek almost overwhelmed the foie gras.


The pièce de resistance however was the “Roast Chateaubriand in Hermitage jus with truffle macaroni” (for two) @ £53. With great aplomb, the beef tenderloin was brought to our table with a whole roasted garlic head, and carved by our friendly waiter. The meat was flavoursome, juicy, and sublimely tender, served with a highly concentrated sauce reduction made with Hermitage wine.




The “Truffle Macaroni” was a splendid accompaniment, the highly scented truffle shavings combining well with the cheesy pasta, an elision I would have never thought feasible.


One of the desserts was the “Selection of French farmhouse cheeses” @ £10.50. I normally order a platter of cheese to finish off the red wine but on this occasion I wanted to see how La Chapelle’s own cheese board would compare to my all-time favourite Chez Bruce’s.

Having to go down a level to where the cheese board was rather than it being brought up to our table was a bit odd. Despite boasting a good range of French farmhouse cheeses, I still believe La Chapelle is not on a par with Chez Bruce’s (where the cheese board is brought to you). The selection I chose was nevertheless quite delicious – they were mostly unpasteurised, pungent and creamy.


This was followed by “Chilled Chocolate Fondant, banana yoghurt ice cream and honeycomb” @ £8.50. We were impressed by the presentation and flavours of this dessert. Bitter chocolate and bananas is, in my opinion, one of the best combinations of flavour in any comfort/feel good dessert. The addition of honeycomb was inspired, giving an extra layer of texture and complexity.


Their wine list was as expected very impressive with bottles starting from around the £20 mark but escalating steeply upwards. The Rhône is one of my favourite wine regions in France (Burgundy being top of the list) and for the occasion I ordered a 2007 bottle of Rasteau @ £39. The Rasteau was as good as I remembered it to be, and partnered our beef and cheeses perfectly.


The total bill was £159 including a serious wine and 12.5% service. Looking at the bill I was pleasantly surprised to see that La Chapelle only charges £1.50 for its bottle of water (normally priced at £4 or above at similar restaurants).


We spent just under £100 for our food bill (or £50 per person), and I consider this to be good value for a restaurant of this calibre. I have, on many occasions, spent similar sums for very mediocre meals in the West End of London.



Verdict – Spectacular setting for any special occasion with food to match. Friendly and efficient waiting service but slightly let down by front of house staff. I will certainly return to try the more affordable 3-course prix fixé menu @ £24.50 (lunch only) or the less grand Galvin Café de Luxe also at the same venue.

Galvin la Chapelle on Urbanspoon

16 comments:

  1. hey! you are supposed to be on holiday! now get back to having fun - Holiday postings are allowed however.

    :-)

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  2. This place looks stunning ! Now I know you enjoyed the combo but the macaroni cheese (albeit truffle enhanced) seems an odd accompaniment to chateaubriand.

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  3. @ Rob - I know but I have so many air and train journeys it is quite a good use of the time I think!

    @ Mr Noodles - i did enjoy it, i would have never thought the combo would work but it did beautifully. It is nice to have one's food prejudices challenged sometimes.

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  4. happy anniversary- for whatever it may be. i must must must go here when i am in London next. i have been wanting to go here for ages, the photos have made me want to go there even more strongly. best wishes, shayma

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  5. Hi Shayma, thanks! We enjoyed that meal and Galvin la Chapelle is the perfect place for a celebratory dinner, or whenever you want to pamper yourself, I really recommend it.

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  6. Wow this looks just wonderful - I'm drooling... And similar price to Chez Bruce so I agree doable for a special occasion (like yours - congrats!). I work very near there so hoping to go soon! Have fun on hols.

    Sasha @ The Happiness Project London

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  7. Thanks Sasha, I thoroughly recommend it and if you work very near I would suggest trying their 24.5 pounds 3-course menu at lunch times. I love Chez Bruce, I think it is stil my favourite restaurant in London, I've been going there for my birthday for the last 8 years.

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  8. Yet another fab review. Good thing I read this after dinner or the pics would have made me hungry!

    Hope you are enjoying your hols,

    Jenn x

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  9. Yet another fab review. Good thing I read this after dinner or the pics would have made me hungry!

    Hope you are enjoying your hols,

    Jenn x

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  10. Hi Jen, the holidays have been great so far despite Dr G having his wallet pickpockted 3 mins before midnight on Chinese New Year! Weather isn't great but we r still making the most of it. Hope all is well. Lx

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  11. How horrible, poor Dr G! I hope that you are discovering lots of wonderful foodie delights to make up for the bad weather. Can't wait to hear about your Korean food experiences :)

    Jenn x

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  12. Hi Jenn, we are in Sapa now, we spent 4 days in Hoi An and had 3 days of cookery classes, learnt loads of stuff which we'll want to try out in London. Off to Korea tomorrow, will let you know how that goes.

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  13. Sounds like you enjoyed the experience as much as I did - although I agree Chez Bruce's cheese trolley is the best.

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  14. I know I read your review before booking it. Chez Bruce's cheese boark is legendary, second to none I would say!

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  15. I have to disagree with you here. The looks are amazing but the taste of the food is pretty average. Not as good as the other Galvins and the portions are RIDICULOUSLY small. Seriously, you'll want to get more food afterwards.

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  16. Hi Anonymous - well, funny that you say that as I was pretty full after my meal at GLC. I also thought the food was quite well made and flavoursome so indeed we will have to disagree on most points. Thanks for leaving your commentary though.

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