Taste of Launceston Place

For a special occasion meal I have only a handful of London restaurants on my list. They’re high end and totally reliable, Launceston Place on a quiet backstreet in Kensington is one of them. It’s not a brash trendy restaurant and is all the better for it. It’s fairly low key, simply and tastefully decorated. It has a small bar area, two smallish dining rooms and a private dining area. The service is impeccable and friendly. The Head Chef Tim Allan during his tenure has seen the restaurant gain both a Michelin star and 4 AA Rosettes. We have been here several times over the space of 6 years before and after the aforementioned awards and Launceston Place has always been excellent. I am sure the team will keep up the good work when Tim Allan moves on to The Wild Rabbit in the Cotswolds in a few weeks time.

On this visit we had originally planned to have the Market Menu but the huge slightly daunting wine list and the tempting Tasting Menu changed my mind. I can rarely resist menus with matching wines and Launceston Place’s new Sommelier Piotr Pietras choose some stunning ones to match 5 of the 7 courses that made up our Tasting Menu.

We started with some excellent bread, two tasty canapés and a beautiful Tomato Consommé with goats cheese and micro basil. Our next course was Duck Egg with slow cooked bacon and pea cappuccino which was just full of flavour, this was served with a stunning Pinot Gris (2013 Lismore Vineyard, Ata Rangi, Martinborough, New Zealand). Next was the Glazed Duck Breast with smoked eel, beetroot, foie gras, walnuts, endive and cherry also served with a white wine (2004 Clos du Papillon, Domaine des Baumard, Savennieres, France). The forth course was our absolute favorite, a stunning Scallop dish, with glazed Chicken wing, truffle cassonade and apple blossom, perfectly matched with a beautiful Riesling (Heymann-Löwenstein, Uhlen R, Schieferformation “Roth Lay”, Mosel, Germany). Then for the main course we had Salt Marsh Lamb with white polenta and parmesan, Morteau sausage and carmalised cauliflower matched with an elegant full bodied Roija (2003 Reserva Viña Bosconia, Bodegas Raúl López de Heredia, Rioja, Spain)

The Lamb course may have looked small and delicate but it had big flavours especially the tiny slices of Morteau sausage. It was very filling, so much so that we had to sadly bypass the cheese course to leave room for dessert. The first dessert was Amalfi Lemon served in various ways including as granita and ice cream, a very refreshing and tasty palette cleanser. The next dessert was Raspberries with custard, arlette aerated white chocolate and coconut. Aerated white chocolate is a fantastic ingredient to include in a dessert, loved it. The matching wine for this was a Rudera Noble Late Harvest Chenin Blanc 2010 from  Stellenbosch, South Africa. We then finished the meal with a small selection of Petits Fours.

After our delicious lazy 3 hour lunch we strolled down to the nearest tube station Gloucester Road and used our train journey home to have a little nap. We took the slow train from Victoria Station as it’s nearer to the restaurant, so our return trip took 2 hours but the high speed train from St Pancras does the trip to Ramsgate in an hour and 20 mins making day trips to London for lunch an expensive but fairly easy option 🙂

UPDATE: October 2016, Launceston Place no longer has  a Michelin Star.

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Wyatt & Jones – Good Food & View

When a restaurant advertises that they make their own bread, smoke their own fish and butcher their own meat, I go in with great expectations. When a restaurant has a beautiful view I tend to lower my expectations on food quality, as there does seem to be a unwritten rule that says the better the view the more mediocre the food is. Wyatt & Jones fortunately break that rule – there is nothing mediocre about their food, its quality shines through. First we had some of their lovely home made bread – I would recommend the walnut and cranberry but don’t have too much and spoil your appetite for the rest of the meal. My companion then ordered Beef cheeks with mustard mash and kale, it was a lovely balanced dish, the mustard in the mash being a beautiful accompaniment for the beef cheeks. The portion was large enough to enable me to eat quite a bit of this dish, along with the haddock, bubble and squeak and duck egg that I ordered. Haddock with bubble and squeak is a delicious classic brunch dish and Wyatt & Jones do it well. We accompanied the food with a couple of glasses of pretty decent wine. Then to finish we ordered a couple of desserts, a pear and almond bake topped with Rum & Raisin Ice Cream and a Caramelized banana with salted caramel mousse – the caramel based dessert was so moreish that I was loath to share.

The service was excellent too, attentive and friendly. The decor and open kitchen are stylish and modern with a degree of warmth that emphasizes that this is a one off restaurant and not a stylized chain restaurant. Come the Summer I suspect getting a table here is going to be difficult but I will look forward to popping in off season for a relaxing brunch. This is Modern British food at its best in a beautiful location.

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The Corner House – Minster

The Corner House is a restaurant with rooms in the lovely village of Minster near Ramsgate. The head chef is Matt Sworder who worked in several London restaurants training with Gordon Ramsay (La Noisette), Anthony Demetre (Les Deux Salons) and Adam Byatt (Bistro Union) before returning home to his roots in Kent.

The Corner House, formally Mortons Fork has always had a good reputation locally, but with its re-branding, refurbishment and new chef, it has upped its game.  It has two dining areas with a bar and kitchen area in the middle. I liked the entrance where you walk in and see all the freshly baked bread. There is a real warmth to the place. The staff are friendly and efficient, nothing is too much trouble. The food is distinctly British and locally sourced.

The home made bread is really good. We also found a couple of gems on the menu. The Beetroot cured Salmon, cucumber jelly and horseradish cream starter was excellent as was the Duck breast with spiced puy  lentils, peppers and pea shoots. A couple of the other dishes were more ordinary – the Venison Steak and Chips, and the Asparagus with Egg were pretty conventional, so on my next visit I will definitely try and go for the more exotic options.

Desserts were a highlight, we had a lovely white chocolate cheesecake and delicious home made Brown Bread Praline Ice Cream served in a Kilner Jar. You can see how much we enjoyed our desserts from the empty plate/jar in the photograph 😉

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Le Weekend in Sandwich aka La Baguette :)

Le Weekend is an annual event held in the lovely historic town of Sandwich. usually around about the first weekend in June. It’s quite amazing – the sleepy town of Sandwich wakes up and is full of people. The shops and cafes spill out onto the street, it’s all very continental, especially when the weather is as good as it was on our visit.

The highlight of Le Weekend for me is the French market, which is the real deal, full of French produce sold by French people. I bumped into some Ramsgate friends who were also visiting the Market. They have a house in France and are very familiar with French Markets, they were suitably impressed commenting that it was actually a lot better than many Markets in France. Praise indeed!

I could not resist the wonderful aroma and bought the most succulent and tasty garlic prawns I have ever had from one of the vendors.

The Cafes in town were pretty full, but I managed to get a seat in the wonderful NoName Deli (which is not just there for Le Weekend).  I ordered some of their excellent coffee and a piece of Normandy Tart and did a bit of people watching.

Other activities that occur over Le Weekend include Live Music and a Medieval Fayre.

It was a lovely day out and so nice to hear all the French accents, like being on holiday for the day. I must remember not to miss “Le Weekend” next year, although I do think they have missed a trick not calling the event “La Baguette” 🙂

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Weekend at The Albion House Hotel : Ramsgate

Despite the title of this post we were not actually staying at the newly opened Albion House Hotel. Although we did find ourselves spending a substantial part of the Weekend there. We started with Champagne Afternoon Tea on the Saturday and returned the next day for our Sunday Lunch.

The Hotel which is open to non residents is quite lovely, perched up on the East Cliff of Ramsgate. The building has been substantially renovated during its conversion to a luxury boutique hotel, it now combines Regency splendor with lots of innovative modern designer touches courtesy I believe of Fontaine Decorative a local company who source stunning French Furniture and Decorative items.

The Hotel is in preview mode at the moment. The plan is to concentrate on the Town Bar and the Hotel Rooms themselves before they make full use of the Dining room. They also have some exciting plans for the Cellar.

Champagne Afternoon Tea

Afternoon Tea is in the Town Bar.  Sandwiches, Tea and Champagne are served at your table. Cakes are laid out buffet style on the table by the window. It’s very much a case of eating as much as you want, as extra sandwiches are brought out on request. The Earl Grey Tea I ordered was particularly good, it’s from a company called Canton Tea and had a strong Vanilla flavour.

Sunday Lunch

The Sunday Lunch menu is pretty much as expected, a small selection of starters, a couple of meat, fish and vegetarian dishes for the main course with dessert options and/or cheese to complete the meal. Lunch and Dinner are served in the Dining Room located at the front of the Hotel. It’s an attractive room with beautiful large fire places and quite spectacular views of Ramsgate Royal Harbour – an ideal place to watch the sun set.

We ordered the Pork belly, scallops, apple puree & red vein sorrel and Wood pigeon breast with frisse & oak leaf salad. The Wood pigeon was served only slightly pink (so if you like it pink, best to say when ordering). We followed this with some nicely cooked Lime & jerk spiced sea bass, potato cake and samphire accompanied by a rather nice bottle of Albarino – the hotel has some excellent options on their wine list. Then for dessert we had Dark chocolate torte with white chocolate cream and raspberries and Vodka, lemon & lime posset with mixed berry compote, accompanied by a couple of glasses of Dessert Wine.

The Hotel is a real asset to the area and we look forward to returning soon as we still have to work our way through the bar snacks in the lovely Town Bar 😉

UPDATE : June 2015 – Had some decent platters from the Town Bar Menu, a meat and a fish one (see above picture). The menu also included Sliders and Salad options.

UPDATE: August 2015 – They have extended the Town Bar menu, there is now a daily brunch menu from 10:00 – 16:00.

UPDATE: July 2016 – The layout and menu structure has now changed, the Dining room and Town Bar are now called Townleys, a more casual menu is provided.

UPDATE : August 2021 – Townleys renamed The Dining Rooms.

UPDATE : August 2022 – Have made several visits now for Breakfast, Dinner & Cocktails.  They continue to serve well cooked fairly traditional British food and the Cocktails & service are also very good.

 

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Vinylhead Cafe – The Coolest Cafe in Thanet (Closed)

UPDATE – Under new Management from 8/3/19 – now called Eats ‘n’ Beats

If approaching Addington Street from the coastal side, you will find the VinylHead Cafe at the far end of the street. The Cafe has a fantastic ambience.  I actually think that it is the coolest cafe in Thanet. It attracts a lot of Artists and Musicians and at the weekend there are occasional Open Mic sessions and live music.

Vinylhead is licensed and serves good coffee and homemade cakes. For more substantial food check out the kitchen menu.

Another highlight is the attractive outside courtyard with its stylish seaside themed mosaic and huge cantilever parsol.

UPDATE: Closed – Premises now leased to the Seasbird Cafe Bar.

 

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