La
Brasserie, Ma Cuisine Bourgeoise
2
Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middlesex
John
McClements has recently repositioned
his formerly eponymous restaurant.
Having achieved a Michelin Star
he didn't want to dance to their
tune anymore and has re-opened
as a showcase for his more robust
traditional French brasserie cuisine.
Next door but one is his engaging
little Ma Cuisine Le Petit Bistrot,
but the kitchen extends across
the rear, serving both restaurants.
Four of us ate in the Brasserie
and we enjoyed it so much we can't
wait to try the Bistrot.
The
dining room itself is thankfully
not outré faux-French: it has wood
topped tables and not terribly comfortable
chairs with very straight backs.
Mild discomfort was immediately forgotten,
as the sight of the menu soon proved
very diverting. Offal lovers are
in paradise, but there are plenty
of other options, including some
good fishy ones - click
here for the menu as of late April.
The
parmentier of pig's trotter was
delicious. The trotter is slow
cooked then the lip coating sticky
meat is chopped into mashed potato
to make a sort of bubble and oink
patty, served with a classic gribiche
sauce, (chopped hardboiled egg
with capers etc). The rabbit
and ham terrine appeared in its
large earthenware dish, to be dug
into and served at the table. It
was held together by a good tight
fennel flavoured jelly - very satisfying.
I had a very delicate lobster mousse
prettily but not fussily presented
with a shellfish based sauce. I
thought the star was the Zarzuela,
a dish from the Pays Basque, like
a chilled fish soup that included
bite sized pieces of lobster and
oysters set in a brilliant jelly,
flavoured and coloured characteristically
with saffron.
That
was a really good start to the
meal and we were raring to get
down to the main course. A good
meaty fillet of John Dory came
with grilled fennel and pork stuffed
cabbage, which looked rather like
dolmades or stuffed vine leaf.
The saddle of lamb with a cassoulet
of Merguez sausage, I thought was
brilliant. It's slowly cooked on
a very low heat, so it looks evenly
pink, but has a texture that's
almost mousse like. My friend took
fright and asked for it to be cooked
a little more, which was done quickly
and effectively without any attitude.
Riz de Veau, calves' sweetbreads,
were beautifully caramelised on
the outside and meltingly tender
within, with braised little gem
lettuce and celeriac. I had the
Tête de Porc, another slow cooked
number, the unctuous meat topped
with the brains coated in breadcrumbs
and sautéed gently. So, lots of
excellent details, carefully chosen
and very ably executed. Although
there was plenty of the main ingredient,
our only slight criticism was that
they could have been more generous
with the garnishes.
Nevertheless,
we had room for the puddings which
were all very good indeed. I'd
like to take the Tart Tatin to
the Entrecôte
Café de Paris to show them
just how crisp the pastry was,
with fruit that had a hint of toffee
at the edges. Two tarts, one chocolate,
the other lemon were both excellent,
with nice pastry - my lemon tart
had a crisp brûlée topping. The
piece de resistance was a rhubarb
soufflé that had risen so perfectly
and evenly, well worth the 20 minute
wait (it felt more like ten).
There's
a good wine list, but there's nothing
under £20, which we thought was
a bit steep, though our Pinot Noir
from Burgundy's most Northerly
vineyards near Auxerre was quite
pleasant. By contrast, the Spanish
restaurant I disparaged earlier
had a whole page of really interesting
and unusual wines all priced between
twelve and twenty pounds. But
we thoroughly enjoyed the excellent
cooking and I have no hesitation
in giving La Brasserie Dine Online's
hearty recommendation.
Clifford
Mould April 2006
La
Brasserie, Ma Cuisine Bourgeoise
2 Whitton Road, Twickenham, Middx TW1 1BJ
T: 020 8744 9598
Open
12noon - 3pm and 7pm -10.30pm Monday
to Saturday
Starters £6.00-£8.50; Mains £15.00 - £19.00; Puds £6.50ish |
