Chelsea Brasserie 08
Cheyne Walk
London SW3
Stroll down Chelsea Old Church
Street, turn right as you approach the river, carry on for a few yards and you
will be outside the Chelsea Brasserie.
As I am sure at that you know
a brasserie in English means a brewery, a brewery where on can eat. The idea of
the Chelsea Brasserie is to offer French fare in a French environment. It this
it succeeds with a charcoal grill and a hot oven. There is a bar and an
upstairs salon to rest your tired body and watch the Thames wash bye.
The menu is not extensive and
there is a set menu each day. I was not very interested in the Menu du Jour so
chose from the a la carte as indeed did Diayn.
Her choice for a starter was
Tartare of Salmon, which she loved: I never wish to see another salmon. It has
become ubiquitous: Nary another for Antony unless he kills it himself; no I am
not being pompous just particular.
My choice was a crab
cocktail, fresh crabmeat with grapefruit and finely chopped mango. A fine dish
indeed.
Madame went for the Durade,
grill on the charcoal and served off the bone at her request. Whereas I chose the
Cote de Veau, grilled on the hot charcoals and just caught at the edges, or
perhaps I should say slightly burnt around the ends. It was delightfully pink
and tender with a jolly nice sauce.
Diayn ordered spinach; cooked
to perfection while I ordered beans fried with bacon. Very good but please
could you fry them a little longer. Men and greens!
The wines were excellent, I
chose the Picpul de Pinet for Diayn as normally she prefers white wine and
Picpul was my house white when I lived in France. It is splendid five with
oysters, so I drank a bottle or two every Sunday. In France it costs around
five Euros a bottle.
For the red wine I ordered a
bottle of Gigondas 2005 £46. The wine list is good and covers most bases but is
expensive. For the Gigondas I would have paid in Casino about 12 € or £9 a bottle.
That would be circa £10.50 in the UK and most mark-ups are around three times
so £46 ain’t cheap.
Diayn went for the cheese selection,
which looked very good. Being back in France as it were I ordered my standard
pud, red fruits with a ball of vanilla ice cream. My choice everyday at Club
55.
I finished with a super
single espresso.
A jolly Froggie lunch.
