The Landau Restaurant, Langham Hotel

Reviewed By Louise Elgin

The Landau
Langham Hotel
Portland Place
London W1
Tel 020 7965 0165

If, like me, you enjoy the finer things in life and love proper old fashioned hospitality with tempting morsels of light and delicate cooking look no further than The Landau. Situated within the Langham Hotel, the restaurant has recently been renovated to a very high standard and has metamorphosed into a synthesis of elegance and good taste. The setting is spectacular, with high corniced ceilings, tall oval windows and wood panelling, all contributing to a spacious and lavish interior. To complete the transformation a new chef – Andrew Turner has joined the team. Andrew is best known for his grazing menus which are a fabulous way of tasting several dishes in one sitting. This creates the opportunity to sample much more of the menu than one normally gets the chance but without ending up feeling overloaded. Latterly Andrew cooked at Pennyhill Park Hotel and The Bentley Kempinski and was one of the first British chefs to bring the grazing concept to Britain.

There are five Grazing Menus to choose between, commencing from five courses through to eight, which as I stressed are definitely the thing to order when you dine here. There is also an A La Carte menu, but I think it would be a shame not to indulge in what the chef is so rightly held in such high esteem for. We plumped for the six course menu, and decided to go the extra mile and indulge in the wine paring which is offered to compliment each course.

Our feasting began with a rich and creamy French rabbit veloute. This was served with flakes of contrasting intense flavoured bacon and a morsel of deep fried frogs leg in the centre. The first wine pairing surprised us as it came in the form of a glass of ice cold Emperatriz Eugenia, Lustau Sherry, which proved a good contrast to the intense flavours in the veloute. To follow, we had a tartare of smoked salmon with a sweet mustard sauce and just a dash of horseradish for an added kick, served with a perfectly cooked quail’s egg with a caviar topping; with this we had a glass of Samur Blanc, Les Vignerons de Saumur 2006. We continued with slices of totally tender pigeon breast served with contrasting slices of chicken and veal boudin blanc, swirls of mashed potato and a lush potent sauce. This proved both rich and light and a fine accompaniment to the glass of French Rose, Tavel, La Forcadiere 2006. Perfectly cooked line caught sea bass fillet came with confit tomatoes and smoked olive oil and was served with a glass of French Chablis, Domaine de la Boissonneuse 2005. This was perhaps the one dish that did not score such high points as the others as I found the whole plate as a concept didn’t quite work for me. However, what followed was exceptional, Tournedos Rossini came served on a bed of mushrooms and spinach, with roasted salify and a slice of fresh foie gras and a sliver of truffle. It was knockout, cooked perfectly with totally tender meat infused with dense flavours, all holding their own. With this we had a wonderfully rich French red wine, Chateaux Roc de Cambes, Cotes de Bourg 2002.

With the cooking being so wonderfully light we naughtily even managed to squeeze in a cheese course, sharing a wonderful plate of Comte, Stilton, Crotin and Maroilles a little known cheese from Normandy. This came served with a plate of dates figs, almonds and cheese biscuits. Our last course was a very rich toffee cheesecake and proved a refreshing end to our feasting. It was served with a pineapple carpaccio, and a light as a feather coconut and Malibu ice cream. Our final wine selection was a glass of Spanish MR Moscadel, Telmo Rodriguez, 2006.

The service here is second to none and we were made to feel very special and cosseted throughout the evening, as if we were regular and favoured guests. One is immediately aware that the whole team is highly experienced and skilled. Led under the superb direction of Franco Becci the Restaurant Manager, ex Savoy, and Zach Saghir, the Head Sommelier with 25 years of experience again at The Savoy, and Brown‘s Hotel in Mayfair. Some restaurants in hotels have an expensive refurbishment but the experience of the food and service do not match. At the Landau both the décor and the whole culinary experience are on a par. The whole evening was one of relaxed style, fun and very much a place to revisit soon.

Louise Elgin. February 2008.

A tasting menu with wines to accompany each course is about £100 a head.

Website: http://www.thelandau.com