L’Autre Pied
5-7 Blandford Street
London W1U 3DB
Tel: 020 7486 9696
Food type: Modern European
Food rating: 5/10
Nearest tube: Bond Street
Website: L’Autre Pied
(Editor’s note: In the 2009 Michelin Guide, L’Autre Pied was awarded the much awaited 1 Michelin Star)
It seems that I can only write positive reviews on my blog. Even mediocre critiscm is greeted with ‘rabid fans’ writing scathing comments. I emphasize the apostrophes as I have a suspicion that this could be the owner himself. Anyways, ploughing strongly on – this is the review of my recent visit to L’Autre Pied.
I’ll be honest with you here – I approached my visit to L’Autre Pied with huge trepidation. For those who are unaware, L’Autre Pied is the sister restaurant to the 2* Pied-a-Terre. The name is a big giveaway. L’Autre of course is French for ‘the other’. Personally, I would never had thought about visiting as I had a less than stellar experience at their flagship restaurant back in July. However, having read some positive reviews and having been convinced by a fellow blogger I decided to bite the bullet and give this little cafe-that-could a chance.
The restaurant is located on Blanford road, a good 10 minutes walk from Bond Street station. J and I seriously underestimated the transfer time from the tube station and as a result we were struggling to keep our 6.30 pm booking. We had difficulty locating the Blanford street. This was not helped by the horrible weather. If it doesn’t rain in England, it pours.
Upon entering the restaurant, we were warmly greeted by the staff. The dining room is sleek and minimalist with wooden floors and mahagony tables & chairs. Like big brother, the tables are spaced closely together. This is to be expected from as the dining room itself is relatively small. Napkins on each table were of the muslin (cheese) cloth variety. Flowers were the theme of the restaurant with the green walls embraced by paintings of flowers.
Three menus are available for our perusal – the mandatory ala carte, a 7 course tasting menu and a smaller 4 course ‘taste of autumn’ menu. Items on the ALC menu are individually priced with starters ranging from £9.50 – £15.50 (mostly under £10), Mains between £16.95 – £21.95 (mainly £19.95) and desserts between £7 – £9.50. In addition they have a menu du jour priced at £17.95 for 2 courses and £20.95 for 3 courses. Indeed, the focus of this restaurant is on delivering ambitious cooking at decent prices.
Bread was a choice of white or multigrain roll, served with salted French butter. Bread was of good quality and baked on premise – which shows you the level of ambition of the restaurant. (6/10)
Beetroot Veloute, Balsamic Lentils, Smoked Goats Milk
Our first course was first presented as a bowl of lentils, pearl onions and the goats milk. The beetroot veloute was poured from a little jug. The veloute had the natural sweetness of the beetroot which was matched by the acidity of the balsamic lentils. The mild smoked goats milk added a calming influence to the dish. While this dish was pleasant, I felt that there was plenty of room for refinement. The beetroot veloute was lacking body which would have elevated it to become something special. In addition, there was a slight disbalance between the acidity of the lentils and the sweetness of the beetroot. (4/10)
Cornish Sea Bream, Butternut Squash and Vanilla Puree, Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
The fish course came in the form a poached fillet of silver sea bream. The fish, which was correctly cooked, sat on top of a bed of white beans (cannellini) and accompanied by a puree of butternut squash and vanilla. The addition of vanilla to the butternut squash was interesting although I found it very hard to pick out but the faintest taste of it. Just as well because the sea bream is a relatively delicate fish and would not have made a good vehicle for a large quantity of vanilla. The addition of the toasted pumpkin seeds was inspired as it added both nuttiness and texture to the dish. Unfortunately, both J and I found the white beans to be oversalted (which is quite hard a feat for me) and a fraction undercooked which was a shame as all other components of the dish, particularly the fish, was executed flawlessly. (5/10)
Pan Fried Foie Gras, Sage and Onion Lyonnaise, Pear and Star Anise Sorbet
Foie Gras was served pan fried on a bed of onion lyonnaise which was gently flavoured with sage. The foie was well cooked and season although I would have preferred it to be a fraction more caramelised, but this is just a personal preference. The idea of this dish was to introduce a wide range of textures and temperatures. Accompanying the hot seared foie was the cold pear and star anise sorbet as well as an Earl Grey and honey jelly served at room temperature, both garnished with star anise sugar. The idea here is to try the liver with the different combinations on the plate and they worked relatively well. (6/10)
Roasted Breast of Mallard, Savoy Cabbage, Lardons, Shallot Fondant, Game Jus
A breast of mallard (a substitute for the patridge) was roasted pink and was paired with the classical combination of savoy cabbage and lardons. Also included was a crisped up leg of the bird. The shallot fondant sat on top of a quenelle of champ (mashed potato mixed with spring onions). The mallard was finished off with a drizzle of game jus. The game jus was slightly over-reduced, with a hint of bitterness. Again this was a huge shame as the dish was well composed and other components of the dish showed good cooking technique with good timing of the mallard breast, light and fluffy mash and well cooked cabbage. (6/10)
Cheese – Fleur de Marquis, Comte, St. Maure
Cheese was a fixed selection served on a black slate board. This consisted of Fleur de Marquist, St. Maure and Comte, accompanied by quince ketchup and crackers. This was enjoyable without being memorable. (5/10)
Chocolate Mousse, Coffee Creme, Vanilla Foam, Nougat Crumble
A very nice pre-dessert of chocolate mousse topped with coffee creme, vanilla foam and nougat crumble. The chocolate mousse was smooth, its flavour highlighted by the coffee creme. The nougat crumble added much needed texture to an otherwise soft dessert. Again, pleasant but not memorable. (5/10)
Apple and Blackberry Crumble, Bayleaf Custard, Blackberry Sorbet
Our dessert for the night was a deconstructed crumble. The apple and blackberry was layered by bayleaf scented custard and warm pisachio crumble, topped off by the blackberry sorbet. This was an interesting dish – the bayleaf custard offering some grassy notes to the tartness of the apple and blackberry combination. The sorbet contained plenty of blackberry flavour although I am unconvinced with its addition – I think a creamier iced treat such as vanilla or milk ice cream would have been a better fit for this dish. (5/10)
Petit fours – Pistachio Macaroon, Salted Chocolate, Blackcurrant Jelly
A final serving of petit fours accompanied our tea to conclude our meal. This came in the form of very capable pistachio macaroon, salted chocolate and blackcurrant jelly. These were well made and very enjoyable indeed. (6/10)
Overall, this was a thoroughly capable meal highlighted by high quality, seasonal ingredients and well thought out dishes. No ridiculous amounts of foam or crazy combinations here. Service was pleasant, relaxed and friendly. Our server was helpful, informative and funny, making our night totally enjoyable. It has been widely tipped that L’Autre Pied would earn a Michelin star when the 2009 guide is released. Judging from my experience, the food falls just short of that coveted star. The cooking here shows great ambition and technique which was let down by the occasional slip during the busy dinner service. If they can avoid the odd slip, then I am sure the makings are there for it to receive that star.
p/s The toilets here deserve special mention simply because to get there you need to navigate one of the steepest stairwells imaginable.
gen.u.ine.ness 
It’s a pity they replaced the butternut squash veloute for beetroot; it worked quite nicely as it was.
The pigeon, which you didn’t order, was the star of my meal too…
Hmmm, it sounds very mixed. I do like the idea of the smoked goat’s milk – although I am really not keen at all on the idea of vanilla with the butternut squash, as it is so sweet to start of with and like you say, with the sea bream….Glad to see a pistachio macaron in there though, I have a mild obsession.
Would you describe the bream as delicate?
I always thought it was a fish that could stand up well to strong flavours.
The use of vanilla with seafood I have seen a couple of times before, but like you, G, I have not been able to taste it – but then again, I believe it was vanilla foam 😉
Good Sunday morning to you !
Even when you aren’t wild about the way something tastes, your pictures are fabulous ! I like how you explain all of your decisions.
Sounds like they may have to improve the cooking a bit and wait another year for that coveted star.
Isn’t the guide coming out in April ? How far in advance are the stars awarded before it is published ?
Steep stairs are a nightmare. Especially in high heels. And if as a man wearing flat shoes you found them difficult to navigate, I shudder to think of needing to decsend them !
FS: I would have gone for the pigeon by J isn’t a big fan and they were willing to substitute the mains (pheasant which I am not too keen on) as long as both of us were having the same thing. As for Sea bream, what I consider delicate tasting would be along the lines of Sea Bass, Cod or Turbot. A strong tasting fish would be something like mullet, sardines or mackerel. A double check on one of the fish guides describe its taste as ‘fine and flavourful’ so I guess we are both right. Another website describes it as ‘similar to seabass’ Which leads on to the next comment…
Helen & FS: The use of Vanilla and Seafood is actually quite a common idea. The legendary Thomas Keller has a signature dish where he pairs Sea Bass with Vanilla and Saffron sauce (along with Parsnip puree and ‘Crispy’ Spinach) – a dish I cooked for J on our first date. Gagnaire also has been known to pair vanilla with lobster.
Helen: the pistachio macaroons were really nice. I could have eaten a whole box of them…
LA: The new guide is out in January – I’m not sure how far in advance they publish the guide but judging from other guides like Timeout or Good food guide, I would estimate something like 2-3 months?
With L’Autre Pied, its not the technique in question but the consistency. Apparently the complaints of the oversalted food or the over-reduced jus is not a one-off-thing so it is something they really need to work on if they want the star. But perhaps its not something they are gunning for in the first place seeing as the place is packed out when I went and they had a 2 hour table turning policy (although this was not enforced with us).
As for the steep stairs – I was wearing my 6 inch boots (don’t ask) that night and I was slightly tipsy with all the vino when I visited the loo.
I see where you’re coming from…but I always find flavours are a topic people can debate about all day!
I have seen Gagnaire’s and Proyart does the same/
I must be the only blogger who doesn’t (seriously) cook?!
Cooking is fine… is the washing up which is a b*tch… especially with me as I do like to attempt all these complicated dishes. (My favourite cookbook is Keller’s French Laundry which gives you an idea of the complexity I attempt). Hence why I hardly cook now as a Final year med student, simply no time at the end of a long day.
Good morning to you,love your blog i found it on foodsnob who is a fave of mine also.Dined here in november on a sunday we had the 3 course set lunch including a bellini for £26 .Sadly i did not make a note of the dishes we ate although i did have the apple crumble pud and i think your scoring is bob on.
I really enjoyed the food and on this evidence alone thought it star worthy even though Marcus Eaves was not in the kitchen.
The previous day we dined at Racine and obviously its a different stye of cusine,l’Autre Pied
was more than a notch above.
I would love to be in a position to try the food a few times,but sadly live in the midlands(shame)so every london jaunt has really to be a new experience.
what is clear is that you dine out a lot more than I am able too and I respect your opinion.It will be interesting in january when the guide comes out to see whether the are successful or not.According to the maitre’d they expect one.
As a point of interest the dining room was only about half full which included David Moores (partner)at a table for three.This is a real shame given the quality of food on offer,must be a sign of the times
hi david, welcome and I certainly hope you enjoy reading my blog. Whether L’Autre Pied receives a Michelin star is pretty touch and go – they have the technical ability to do so, aided by the fact that they use high quality ingredients but whether they get one depends on the level of consistency put forth when the inspectors visit.
As far as the restaurant goes, I think their business is much better at night – thats what I understand anyways when I tried last-minute booking (as I always do) on numerous occasions.
Good morning again G, still avidly following your blog.Just read your opinions about Maze which I mostly agree on.The reason for my response today is the news on egullet about the 2009 michelin stars.As we both touched on above L,Autre Pied have gained a star
I bet they are thrilled to bits,and i think its well deserved.It will help them gain exposure to a wider audience.Marcus Eaves must be over the moon.
Many thanks for the heads-up re: the leaked Michelin guide. I hv been pretty swamped with work as of late to keep tabs with the outside world (hence the lack of updates)
Apologies in advance if I take you off in another direction,but can,t help but notice that your good self and food snob have not reviewed Chez Bruce,any reason?