Last month it was someone’s birthday – no, not mine (mine is in August and I’ll give you plenty of warning gift wise), it was Keeley‘s birthday and that called for fizz.
But, not just any fizz. This called for a visit again to that there London, and to Bistro 51 at Taj 51 and a Laurent Perrier Champagne flight, with canapes, before a three course dinner.
I know, spoilt right?
Taj 51 is a complex just a stones throw from Buckingham Palace, with 5 star hotel accommodation, luxury suites and butlered residences, surrounded by 5 dining experiences, including Bistro 51. This is glamorous, exciting luxury. And yet, their Chef’s Special menu, a three course set menu sits at a very comfortable £30 per person. Bargain.
But first – fizz.
Three Laurent Perrier Champagnes, three very different canapes.
We began with a scallop tartare with avocado and dressed with lemon and olive oil paired with Laurent Perrier Brut. The delicate scallops went delightfully with the sharper notes of the champagne cutting through the buttery avocado oil, but not overpowering the delicate flesh of the scallops. Heavenly.
The Laurent Perrier Rose, with it’s trademark bottle (Keeley’s favourite) was paired with smoked salmon and prawns in Marie Rose sauce. The soft fruit of the Rose went beautifully with the fish, but still retained enough acidity to cut through the rich flesh of the salmon.
Finally, the 2004 Vintage Lauren Perrier with it’s more buttery, yeasty flavours was paired with asparagus and ratatouille on toast and left me torn. I loved the delicacy of the scallops, and the richness of the salmon, but the freshness of the ratatouille won me over with the more yeasty of the Champagne options.
Our taste buds tingling and appetites stimulated, we moved onto dinner.
A selection of breads made their way to the table – olive bread, carrot and coriander and pumpkin were accompanied by a heavy creamy mushroom dip. Given Keeley’s aversion to mushrooms, I was more than happy to enjoy this for her, as one of the staff noticed her dilemma and rescued her with some balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
For starter, Keeley had opted for more scallops, this time served with pancetta and cauliflower puree. Bacon and scallops are a natural pairing and the added earthy and creamy notes of the cauliflower went deliciously with the perfectly seared scallops.
I had, unwittingly added more mushroom to our table, with my roasted garlic soup and it’s toasted mushroom bread. The soup was hearty, creamy and though the garlic was the predominant flavour, it wasn’t harsh or unpleasant. It was soft, smooth and the addition of the truffle to the toasted mushroom bread offered another level to such a simple starter.
For main, Keeley selected the Cajun spiced chicken, served with new potatoes and spinach. Lightly spicy, the chicken was tender and moist – but even I had to admit my main, the masala fried fish with aloo and chickpea chaat was the better of the mains.
Spicy, but not hot, the fish was that balance between fried and crisp outside and tender just done inside. Nutty chickpeas balance the sweetness and spice and the fish coped beautifully with all the flavours and yet was still the main act of the dish.
For dessert, I went old school.
Sticky toffee pudding, that on it’s own was incredibly sweet and rich, but with the vanilla ice cream and the crisp crumble, became sheer stodgy goodness.
Keeley had gone for something far more unusual, in the tonka bean creme brulee, with hazelnut biscotti. I’ve developed a bit of an aversion to tonka bean, due to too many unusual sweets being presented at work from people’s travels. This however was without the odd bitter legume flavour and the biscotti just begged for me to take it away and dunk it in an espresso.
I didn’t, as it wasn’t my dessert, but next time…
Taj 51 impressed us with it’s opulence, but Bistro 51 impressed us further. The champagne flight, served with such enchanting and well paired mouthfuls, then a dinner that was both well executed and, let’s be honest, here, ridiculously good value, mean that we know just where to look when we’re looking for a little luxury with tightened purse strings.
Thank you Bistro 51.
With huge thanks to Bistro 51 and with extra thanks to Zomato, for the opportunity to visit – and for setting up the competition on Twitter to win this experience.
As ever, meal supplied, doesn’t ensure a positive review, however, Bistro 51 quite rightly impressed us and I am more than happy to write positively about this experience.