I thought I should put some effort into this forum considering it's one I regularly browse, so here's a mini review of the above. The girlfriend and I went there for lunch yesterday as it was my birthday and also our anniversary. It's only the second michelin-starred restaurant I've been to, so I don't profess to be a 'serious' foodie on that scale -- I just know I like cooking and eating 
Firstly the setting. Wow. I hadn't heard of the Connaught before, until we started browsing lunch deals at michelin-starred places for our treat. The hotel is absolutely stunning, but more on that later.
It's a fantastic deal they do for lunch. £42 for 3 courses, including 2 glasses of wine. For 2-starred food that's very impressive in comparison to the others.
So, what did we have?
After sitting down we were treated to an amuse-bouche which was a shot of cauliflower purée topped with anchovy foam. This came with a olive (corn?)bread muffin which was lovely. The shot itself was extremely strong. In fact I didn't really like the foam which was very intense, but we kinda figured out that maybe you were supposed to down it in one.. as once you got through to the sweet cauliflower purée it was rather nice. So, a bit of a strange start.
To start we both had (this is the only dish I can find on the website): We were expecting (for whatever reason) some kinda of artichoke salad-ey thing which was not far off what was initially put down before us. But the main part of it was the veloute which was then poured over to create a soup. Wow. Incredible flavour, so utterly rich it would almost be inedible after a few mouthfuls had we not had the wine to cut through it. Stunning. The sweetbreads were amazing in it, as was the ham which cut straight through it.
Unfortunately the other menu options we had on the day are not online, so in short.. My girlfriend had a pressé of chicken with black truffle mashed potato and assorted bits and pieces (sorry). I had stilton-crusted venison with celeriac purée, champignons, glazed onions and lardons, with a grand marnier mexican molé sauce. And how gorgeous it was. Venison cooked to perfection; it was like cutting through butter. A slightly salty tang on the crust from the stilton and then the luscious celeriac purée, all brought together with easily the deepest flavoursome sauce I've ever had. Utterly tremendous I could have eaten it in about 5 seconds flat
To finish the girlfriend had a rhubarb crumble with lemongrass ice cream with a biscuity thing and a rhubarb tweal. By all accounts that was lovely -- Besides trying the ice cream I didn't get a look-in Amusingly though an old couple at a table across from us repeatedly wanted to tell the waiter that 'it was not a crumble'. Erm.. ok! I had a chocolate ganache which was very nice. It came with an interesting galangal cream on the side which if I was honest I could have had more of. The chocolate and everything with it was so stunningly rich it was almost too much. In fact the lemongrass ice cream my girlfriend had would have been perfect! I've never had much of a sweet tooth, mind. Sorry if I can't describe in any more detail!
After that we had some tea and coffee which came with a choice of petits fours. We had a coffee and chocolate macaroon, a lime and coconut marshmallow and a truffle each. Lovely
We were also given a little box with a small plain cake in to take away which was a nice touch.
After we picked up our coats I decided to ask the concierge if we could have a look around the hotel (why not!). The hotel is stunning -- from the outside it's everything you'd want from a 5-star Mayfair hotel. It's got the look about it of sheer class. The foyer is amazing, with an absolutely stunning wooden staircase (you have to see it, really). Apparently Ralph Lauren had a copy of it created of it in his house. So the concierge was really happy to take us all around the hotel.. the spa facility, the swimming pool, the other restaurant and most importantly the bars. The Cuborg Bar looks quiet interesting (apparently it specialises in old-school cocktails which sounds great), but the standout attraction had to be the Connaught Bar. I'm not exaggerating when I say that both mine and the girlfriends jaw almost hit the floor when he took us in. It's a thing of 1920s art-deco beauty. It's absolutely dazzling. I can't find a picture online that does it justice. Drinks might be £25+ a pop (at a guess!?) but it'd be well worth it. I was stunned. Easily the most opulent surroundings I've ever been in.
All in all we'd highly recommend it. Total bill for two was £117 including service which as said, is a bargain. Obviously you could easily spend twice that, or more. If you wanted an introduction to michelin starred food without being too far 'over you head' this would be a good choice. Maybe a little intimidating due to the area and surroundings, but worth the effort. The only comparison I can make is to La Trompette in Chiswick which I'll be honest felt a lot more 'accessable' for someone having a one-off treat.
Amusingly, the old couple mentioned above had their main courses brought 10mins before ours and after the waiter talked them through what was what on the plate which was a nice touch. Once he was gone the lady mentioned to her husband that she thought the waiter was about to stick his fingers in the food when he was pointing and describing! I'd actually agree with her. When he was describing my food he was about 1 inch away from when he was pointing! I'm surprised no-ones told him off for that before..
Apologies for no pictures..!
Firstly the setting. Wow. I hadn't heard of the Connaught before, until we started browsing lunch deals at michelin-starred places for our treat. The hotel is absolutely stunning, but more on that later.
It's a fantastic deal they do for lunch. £42 for 3 courses, including 2 glasses of wine. For 2-starred food that's very impressive in comparison to the others.
So, what did we have?
After sitting down we were treated to an amuse-bouche which was a shot of cauliflower purée topped with anchovy foam. This came with a olive (corn?)bread muffin which was lovely. The shot itself was extremely strong. In fact I didn't really like the foam which was very intense, but we kinda figured out that maybe you were supposed to down it in one.. as once you got through to the sweet cauliflower purée it was rather nice. So, a bit of a strange start.
To start we both had (this is the only dish I can find on the website):
One of those amusing instances where you miss one word in the description which means you get a very different dish from what you were expecting. In our case; veloute
We were expecting (for whatever reason) some kinda of artichoke salad-ey thing which was not far off what was initially put down before us. But the main part of it was the veloute which was then poured over to create a soup. Wow. Incredible flavour, so utterly rich it would almost be inedible after a few mouthfuls had we not had the wine to cut through it. Stunning. The sweetbreads were amazing in it, as was the ham which cut straight through it.Unfortunately the other menu options we had on the day are not online, so in short.. My girlfriend had a pressé of chicken with black truffle mashed potato and assorted bits and pieces (sorry
). I had stilton-crusted venison with celeriac purée, champignons, glazed onions and lardons, with a grand marnier mexican molé sauce. And how gorgeous it was. Venison cooked to perfection; it was like cutting through butter. A slightly salty tang on the crust from the stilton and then the luscious celeriac purée, all brought together with easily the deepest flavoursome sauce I've ever had. Utterly tremendous I could have eaten it in about 5 seconds flat To finish the girlfriend had a rhubarb crumble with lemongrass ice cream with a biscuity thing and a rhubarb tweal. By all accounts that was lovely -- Besides trying the ice cream I didn't get a look-in
Amusingly though an old couple at a table across from us repeatedly wanted to tell the waiter that 'it was not a crumble'. Erm.. ok! I had a chocolate ganache which was very nice. It came with an interesting galangal cream on the side which if I was honest I could have had more of. The chocolate and everything with it was so stunningly rich it was almost too much. In fact the lemongrass ice cream my girlfriend had would have been perfect! I've never had much of a sweet tooth, mind. Sorry if I can't describe in any more detail!After that we had some tea and coffee which came with a choice of petits fours. We had a coffee and chocolate macaroon, a lime and coconut marshmallow and a truffle each. Lovely
We were also given a little box with a small plain cake in to take away which was a nice touch.After we picked up our coats I decided to ask the concierge if we could have a look around the hotel (why not!). The hotel is stunning -- from the outside it's everything you'd want from a 5-star Mayfair hotel. It's got the look about it of sheer class. The foyer is amazing, with an absolutely stunning wooden staircase (you have to see it, really). Apparently Ralph Lauren had a copy of it created of it in his house. So the concierge was really happy to take us all around the hotel.. the spa facility, the swimming pool, the other restaurant and most importantly the bars. The Cuborg Bar looks quiet interesting (apparently it specialises in old-school cocktails which sounds great), but the standout attraction had to be the Connaught Bar. I'm not exaggerating when I say that both mine and the girlfriends jaw almost hit the floor when he took us in. It's a thing of 1920s art-deco beauty. It's absolutely dazzling. I can't find a picture online that does it justice. Drinks might be £25+ a pop (at a guess!?) but it'd be well worth it. I was stunned. Easily the most opulent surroundings I've ever been in.
All in all we'd highly recommend it. Total bill for two was £117 including service which as said, is a bargain. Obviously you could easily spend twice that, or more. If you wanted an introduction to michelin starred food without being too far 'over you head' this would be a good choice. Maybe a little intimidating due to the area and surroundings, but worth the effort. The only comparison I can make is to La Trompette in Chiswick which I'll be honest felt a lot more 'accessable' for someone having a one-off treat.
Amusingly, the old couple mentioned above had their main courses brought 10mins before ours and after the waiter talked them through what was what on the plate which was a nice touch. Once he was gone the lady mentioned to her husband that she thought the waiter was about to stick his fingers in the food when he was pointing and describing! I'd actually agree with her. When he was describing my food he was about 1 inch away from when he was pointing! I'm surprised no-ones told him off for that before..
Apologies for no pictures..!
