Charlie's @Brown's Hotel by Chef Adam Byatt will bring you back (7-29-25)

 Our second evening in London started with cocktails at the Ritz Bar with our friend Umberto who has taken over as Sales manager there recently and is truly a classy host in a great hotel! We headed around the corner to Brown's Hotel (a Rocco Forte Hotel) for a quick site visit with the Managing Director and another round of cocktails with the sales team. We had booked Charlie's, a long-time English favorite with Chef Adam Byatt at the helm and expected a top notch but very English-style meal; boy, were we wrong. 

Once again, the service from Artur & Ben was impeccable and when I was thrilled to see an Yves Cuilleron Viognier on the wine list, I immediately told Ben we had to have it (I met the winemaker some 25 years ago before he subsequently passed away). Ben insisted on bringing us the more expensive and top quality Condrieu (Viognier designation) 2023 "Les Vignes a Cote-La Petite Cote" which was a divine creamy and unctuous viognier that I consider one of the best in the world. 

An amuse of radish on taramasalata arrived with focaccia bread and while I loved the radish/fish roe paste combo, it was even better on the warm focaccia as the stern B&W photo of the Queen overlooked us (FB photos).  we decided to try the shared plate of Crab & Apple Tartlets as well as the Baked Jersey Royal A (potatoes) with Anchovy & Parmesan that were simply decadent.

Will & I shared a superb and refreshing Vesuvio Tomato & White Peach Salad that Ben recommended and it came with Basil & Tomato Tea (dressing) that made this dish a real treat. The heirloom tomatoes came from the slopes of Vesuvius and the peaches were ripe and sweet and delish.

While Will loved his Steamed Cornish Turbot with warm tartare sauce and fresh English peas, I chose the small starter portion of Hand Cut Strozzapreti with Girolle mushrooms, saffron, butter and a tad of parmesan on top which was as pure as pasta gets.

The decor is very cozy, very comfy and very spaced with a relaxed English feel and light colors as the hotel has moved from clubby heavy leather to a much lighter feel.

We had a great time but were way to full for any more after the huge meal the night before and went into shock when Ben told us the meal was taken care of by our hosts, who had spent the evening waiting for us to emerge from Charlie's to be sure we had a great time. WOW! Thank you all!

London's FROG by Adam Handling always hails high on our list (7-28-25)

I am sorry I am a tad behind as we have been travelling in the UK and entertaining folks here at our home in Bordeaux. Things have quieted down so hopefully you will enjoy the numerous right ups to follow at your leisure.

We have been to FROG several times now around the corner from Covent Garden just off the Strand and still come out with raves all the time. The intimate 10-12 table setting with the open kitchen and superb staff make this Michelin-starred dining destination even better. The multi-course menu is a set price (199 pounds=US$270) and will amaze you at every bite, but this time we opted to skip the paired wines and go for a bottle each of white and red. Our sommelier Sylvia (as our server Paolo) hailed from Italy and really knew her wines well. I noticed a Viognier/Roussane blend 2023 "Etincelle" blanc 2023 from Pierre et Jerome Coursodon that was creamy yet minerally and she said it would be great with the many fish/seafood courses we had coming. She led us to a fabulous Italian Merlot from Stocco 2019 made of Vecchie viti (old vines) from the Venezia Giulia region that was super and full bodied, despite being from the north., where red wines can be much lighter. House filtered water saves money and the enviroment and tasted as good as any bottled water.

The first course was entitled "Earth" and it seemed that entire Hobbit House arrived on the table with a log and mushrooms and more. There were two mushroom tartelettes perched on it with Lovage Emulsion and a carpaccio of mushrooms and mushroom powder. A mushroom tea with white herbs was poured tableside to accompany.

Course 2 was a set of three amuses (all the photos are on FB):

-Tuna tartare with beef fat emulsion, trout roe, lime, English wasabi and sake all topped with crispy fried wild leeks

-Mackerel sat on seaweed and citrus gel with fresh flowers and sorrel on a cracker that looked like a mackerel and was made of mackerel bones!!

Course three (the above ll came together)--A cheese & garlic donut (it seems that Chef Adam is obsessed by donuts) was made with Pocher cheddar that was quite rich indeed.

#4 was then Chicken Sandwich which came with an explanation about Sunday dinner leftover chicken on Monday. It was delish but a tad greasy and I took only one bite as I had been told to avoid greasy foods. Next to this was served course #5: a sourdough loaf made of Earl Gray & IPA beer on one plate and then a triple section plate with crispy chicken skin butter, chicken liver parfait coated in beetroot and rich chicken jus poured tableside. The idea was to take the bread, butter and liver all in one bite after dipping it the juts (French dip style). It was tons of fun and messy, and I worried about the magnificent soft white "ultrasuede" tablecloths and then was told they are made of vegan leather and thus can wipe clean in seconds....all my jus drops were gone.

Course #6 was Orkney Island hand-dived scallop that were blanched and coiled with butternut squash over a tomato-gelatin base with lemongrass/shiso(perilla) vinaigrette and then garnished with tiny ginger, pear and butternut squash balls. The scallops were divine and my only comment that was negative as there was too much vinaigrette.

We opted to split the added caviar course (35pounds) and I must say it is a whole presentation and plating that will wow. There is a ton of Umai Tibetan farmed caviar that is brined for a week and then aged in sub-zero temps. It sat on a bed of seaweed custard (that reminded me of chawanmushi) and then doused with an intensely strong bone marrow reduction which sadly overwhelmed the caviar as I really wanted to taste it more. A gorgeous croissant was on the side.

Line caught Cornish cod from Newlyn was next with fennel and roasted green chilis (which were English so not very spicy after the first kick of pepper!) with seaweed all steamed in horseradish butter. It was indeed a fish of perfection. We had to switch to red as the fab white was gone and it actually worked quite well!

Number 9 was Agnolotti of king oyster mushrooms and sweetbreads as well as the mushrooms in a compressed form (the FB picture shows the discs) and served with a pea puree with white garlic a tad of mint gel, asparagus and mushrooms and a lamb reduction. parker house rolls accompanied, but I could eat no more than a teeny bite of the roll. This was a pasta to remember indeed.

The main or #10 was Saddle and fillet of Cumbrian lamb cooked to perfection and oh so tender with tandoori cauliflower, puffed quinoa, garlic flowers and cauliflower puree. The lamb jus was with mustard seed and honey!  Our red was simply perfect!

We opted to skip the cheese course as the meal was about to enter its 5th hour, and we were beyond full.

Fake Strawberry leaves arrived in the pre-dessert with sorbet of sheep's milk yogurt in between making a sandwich.

Course #11 was the "British Trifle" or Chef Adam's take which was shaved frozen Scottish strawberries (it had a granita effect) over meadowsweet biscuit with long pepper custard. We met Charlotte, the pastry shave, and could not stop raving!

A post-dessert also arrived in the form of Poppyseed madeleines to spread with gooseberry jam and meadowsweet cream (a scone style prep, but lighter), which sent us on our happy way- a 3 block walk back to the hotel and bed!

Always a great dining experience in the UK with Chef Adam Handling!