London restaurants owned by the group D&D have always been a little hit or miss with me. Some have Michelin stars, some serve more as a local but overall the one thing I find they always lack, is personality. The dining rooms tend to be soulless walls which are either too minimalistic, or completely over the top. Quaglino's has been around for more years then anyone realises - I think it can quite rightly take accolade as a British institution. But for years it has been stuck down a slippery slope. The décor had become dated and obscure, the menu seemed to keep growing in size, deals paved every restaurant offer site going and then you had the choice of which one of those to choose from. It became another D&D graveyard, which everyone knew about, but just wasn't going too - or at least no one I knew.
But then someone at the company with some sense decided it was time for a flashy new makeover. And what a marvellous job they've done. It looks stunning. Some may say a little tacky, but who cares. It feels expensive, it feels fun and most importantly it makes you want to come back time and time again - Quaglino's has personality. Staff attire is probably the strangest part of it all. Men wear lavish sequin covered waistcoats, while women wear long dresses which look as if they'd come from an ancient Roman bathhouse - they're quite provocative, and I'm wondering how many people have tripped over in them already.
But enough about the dresses, I'll get back to the food. And its good. The bar is excellent too. Bartenders who look as if they just been found in an Italian fashion magazine, and happened to know a thing or two about mixing drinks were on hand to help start off our evening. The wine list was very poor, but my Negroni tasted excellent. A walk down the restored famed Quaglino's grand staircase to our table and quickly arrived was some bread arrived, and it was shockingly bad. Plain, boring, no flavour. They need to address this quickly. First impressions count for a lot.
But once the real food started to arrive, memories of that bread quickly faded. What I was really surprised about most here though, was the prices. It was all actually very affordable, considering its location and famed history. This starter of red wine braised octopus, chorizo and artichoke barigoule was only £7.50. It wasn't huge but was well sized. Was it good? well actually it read much better than it sounded. The octopus was nice, cooked well and had a little smokiness to it, but the chorizo element just didn't come through enough. In fact when you could taste it against the artichoke flavour it was a little odd. This was by no means a bad dish, just a slightly unbalanced one which needs some tweaking
The seared yellow fin tuna with lotus crisp, pickled mouli, yuzu and grapefruit dressing turned out to be a lovely showcase of ingredients. The tuna was stunning. It was so fresh, perfectly cooked and every time I get such a good example I'm always reminded why don't I order more tuna. It's so satisfying. But then I realised why - because so many places get it so wrong, I've almost given up taking the risk. Apart from making the dish look pretty the lotus crisp was pointless and tasteless, but the acidic grapefruit dressing left the mouth salivating and restored my faith back in ordering such dish again.
I'm writing this with an EAT Thai pot in one hand and a brownie in the other, both utterly disgusting and all I want to eat now is some seared tuna. But instead I have the pleasure of telling you about my next dish. Highland wild red deer 'Grand Veneur', parsnip puree and braised red cabbage. Even reading it make me dribble. It may not look much either but I can assure you it was utterly delicious. The meat was beautifully tender, cut through like butter and strong in meaty the flavours. The gravy was intense, yet refined and that parsnip puree was like eating liquid gold. Paired with a side of outstanding gratin dauphinois it was a lovely dish which shouldn't be missed if you visit Quaglino's.
This photo doesn't do this dish any justice. In terms of how good it really looked, and also - its size. It was a monster. Roast rose veal chop, mushrooms and a fourme d'Ambert glaze. If you've not heard of fourme d'Ambert before, it's a cheese. It's said to be one of the oldest as well, dating as far back as the Roman times. While it's probably one of the of the mildest of the blue cheese family it certainly imparts one hell of a punch of flavour. For me the sauce was perfect, but for those who aren't such a blue cheese fan, you may struggle. The meat was also dare I say it again, perfect.
Dessert was a simple affair, but it did exactly what you'd expect from such described dish. Passion fruit tart with crème fraiche. The pastry was good, nice and buttery. The tart filling was firm, melted in the mouth and the passion fruit flavour was as intense and concentrated as I hoped. We also had a crème catalane which was a little disappointing. The flavour was there, but the texture not quite right - a little too thick. Still it's early days for newly appointed head chef, Mickael Weiss.
Another cocktail down the hatch and a glass of white wine chaser and we were on our way out the doors, with what turned out to be someone else's umbrella (a lot nicer than mine) and I didn't even notice till a couple of days later. While every dish I talk about here seems almost perfect, Quaglino's isn't without fault. The wine list is awful, live music on some nights can be slightly odd and there were other dishes (which I didn't photo) which weren't quite up to scratch. You can easily have a good meal here at Quaglino's, a great meal if you pick carefully or a bad meal if you have the worst tastes - If you're thinking vegetarians (you were thinking it) then maybe so. This really is a place for meat and seafood lovers so veggies - beware. While my score may seem a little reserved, I'm still holding out, because I think the food here in time will only get better. For a good value, delicious meal and free entertainment look no further - Quag's-is-back.
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