Heathrow's Roux

Jet lag aside there is nothing one wants more after landing than some culinary miracle to help wipe out that taste of airplane food. Therefore I was more than exited when I heard that the owner of legendary Gavroche in Mayfair - Albert Roux is opening a Brasserie at Sofitel, Heathrow. I was even worried my casual flight attire would be frowned up on. I was hungry. The journey through terminals would have been complicated had I not had a good guide. Sofitel inside was a boring as an accountant. I did not care - Brasserie Roux met me with a better designed seating area done up in a color known as mulberry burst. "It has to fit in with the rest of the hotel", I reconciled myself as I leafed through the menu. The latter was very regional French and had a lot of what I would call Catalan undertones. Hence the Gazpacho that I'd ordered as a starter. A simple dish the Gazpacho but very easy to get wrong. And they did. It was too sour and oily. I didn't think much of this until the main of duck leg on mash came. It was dry and boring like Sofitel. It was one of those dishes you'd get served by your friend's mother. You 'd eat it thankful for the fact that it's so uncomplicated and you don't need to spend stressful hours trying to forget that strange taste when she mixed up the spices in her ratatouille. Perhaps Mr. Roux does not fly from Heathrow often as he prefers the more budget airlines but perhaps he should take a look at Terminal 5 where at Ramsay's Plane Food manages to deliver the goods despite its remoteness from Mayfair and management.

Paramount

What is open late and does breakfasts? What has a view of BOTH the City and Canary Warf? What used to be an all members bar and is now open to the public? Paramount Restaurant and Bar on top of Center Point. That's right, finally that beacon of tube for the weekend drunkards has become something more than an orientation point by night and an egg holder crying for the recycle bin by day. Center point has finally become a lighthouse for the stylish and food loving public. Paramount boasts a 360 degree, unadultered view of London and a decent chef partial to the good old British menu. There are old classics amongst the starters like a tuna nicoise or a shellfish platter, with something more interesting like haddock and lentil chowder with lemon oil and roquefort souffle with beetroot and aged balsamic. The mains are unpretentious and wholesome, if not somewhat boring. The bouillabaisse and the trio of pork were very good indeed but sank into the limelight in comparison to such exiting cocktail concoctions as Dark Chooclate and Fig Manhattan or roast pineapple and chilli Margharita . Paramount is and excellent casual establishment with surprisingly reasonable prices and excellent personel.

Wapping Project

Little does one expect to find a place of culinary and cultural delight in East London. This is however one of those old "dont judge a book by its cover" tales. Wapping is a dignified, swanky area on the river, quite akin to the trendy refurbished warehouse appartments one finds in London Bridge. Amongst them is a converted hydraulic power station that houses the Wapping Project. An exhibition space with a restaurant and cocktail bar. The Wapping project is definetely an extensive conversation piece - be it the design, the location or the neighbours (one of the oldest bankside pubs located on an old execution spot). The cocktails blew me away - the classics were well performed and honey vodka based mixes delighted the palate and excited the senses. In a mild sense of ubriation I was delighted by the simple down to business composition of the menu. There was something to satisfy every taste in the fushion of starters of roast quail with peach, chicory and walnut or chilled papaya, cucumber and mint soup. The mains were unmistakeably British with an Andalusian twist. Roast pork loin with paprika potatoes and chorizo and Brecon lamb with sweet onion cake were discarded in favour of roast duck on mash. Everything was cooked to perfection and presented beautifully. However the portion size and the combination of ingredients fell a little bit short. Be as it may but the drinks, the desserts and the overall ambience of the place have made it one of my current favourites. Wapping project provides and excellent setting to get toghether and celebrate with friends.