Gordon Ramsay may now be more (in)famous for his out-of-kitchen antics than the dazzling cooking skills that earned him his place in the spotlight, but there’s no doubting Gordon’s ability to pick out a great chef. Remember, this is the guy who has brought us the talents of Jason Atherton, Angela Hartnett and the man who put the original Petrus on the map, Marcus Wareing.
Despite Wareing leaving and the restaurant moving round the corner from its original location at the Berkeley Hotel, our experience at Petrus was nothing short of brilliant. The classic fine-dining experience starts with the dining room, which, with its gentle palette of oyster, soft silver and copper tints as well as a liberal smattering of claret red, is quite frankly pure class. Central to the room is a discrete but quite spectacular floor-to-ceiling glass tower that houses a wine cellar of 1,500 bottles. Tempting as it may be to explore these fine wines, with a decent bottle of anything costing around upwards of £45 and the most expensive requiring more than most of us have in our savings accounts, a little restraint or a generous expense account is recommended!
Tasked with maintaining the culinary reputation of Petrus is Head Chef Sean Burbidge, who has collaborated with one of Gordon’s long standing kitchen lieutenants, Mark Askew, to put together a modern-European menu. Dishes sound simple enough, but the execution and flavours are nothing short of scintillating. It’s also worth noting that at £60 for three-courses or £70 for a five-course tasting menu, if this is a one-off treat, the latter is well worth the extra money.
Amongst the starters are beautifully cooked Pan-fried sea scallops with cauliflower, anchovy & caper with beurre noisette; and Pressed foie gras & Highland venison with chestnuts & cranberries, which provides a stunning combination of sweet, sharp and savoury flavours. Delights from the mains include Devon lamb with expertly spiced aubergine puree, Parmesan crust & thyme; and Roasted lobster tail with chervil linguine, baby leeks & bisque. When it comes to dessert, Petrus novices need look no further than the Chocolate sphere with milk ice cream & honeycomb. Perhaps it was the copious wine consumption taking effect as we neared the end of the meal, but we were amazed as a jug of hot chocolate sauce was poured over a dark chocolate sphere to see it magically disappear and reveal a pudding filled with bitter-sweet chocolate goodness. Yum indeed!
Food: 4.5/5
Venue: 4/5
Value: 3/5
Cuisine Type: Modern European
Dinner for two (excluding drinks): £60 for three-courses/£70 for a five-courses
Wine: £12
Petrus
1 Kinnerton Street
Knightsbridge
London
SW1X 8EA
Tel: 020 7592 1609
www.gordonramsay.com/petrus
