Lana and Mike are soon to depart for Australia so I thought it would be a good idea to take them to a nice Michelin starred restaurant which offered decent value for money. At two courses for £22 or three for £27 (it’s gone up £2 in less than a year since I’ve been here!) before service L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon gives the punter a bit of a taster of the potential the restaurant could offer. I also like the fact that, generally, you get to dine at the bar which surrounds the kitchen and prep area which makes for a pretty cool dining experience.

After the last time I ate here I said I’d eat off the tasting menu rather than a set menu but of course I hadn’t anticipated that I’d be coming back from a holiday where I did enough shopping to fill my suitcase, practically empty on departure, to the brim. Heh heh. So, only the more budget-conscious menu for me on this occasion.

Once again the starters offered a choice of a terrine (wild boar) and veloute (corn). At least the ingredients were different! I quite liked my veloute of Hot Corn, shallots and golden croutons though I could have done with a bit more … but I always say that don’t I … greedy thing that I am!

For mains the options were between a leg of lamb or hake. Cleary I was going to go for the hake! The hake came with a requisite breath of foam and smeared puree (of parsley roots.) I could have done with a triple portion. In hindsight I should have done what the guy to my right (who Lana swears was some sort of celebrity) did and ordered extra dishes from the a la carte menu! Actually, celebrity or not, it was clear that the guy was a regular visitor as the wait staff spoke to him as if they saw him every day and even asked if he wanted his “usual” whatever that was.

Dessert of the day was this apple cake/crumble combination which worked very well though I was hoping they’d do their signature chocolate dessert dish.

I hope that Lana and Mike enjoyed themselves tonight though I think we were a little less focused on the food and more on catching up since I hadn’t seen them since we parted our ways after the Lapland trip!