Petrus (new)

Editor's note: in June 2014 Neil Snowball was appointed head chef. He was was formerly development chef at The Fat Duck, and prior to that had worked at Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea, and as sensior sous chef at Claridges. In February 2016 he left, and a new head chef will be appoiinted in due course.

The new Petrus is practically opposite Amaya in Belgravia. The room has a central wine cabinet feature and is mostly beige in colour, with the odd flash of colour on wall panels; I am pleased to see carpet in a restaurant these days, meaning that the noise level is sufficiently low for a conversation.

The tasting menu here was £75, with a three course lunch menu at £30. As you browse the menu some nibbles appear, nice popcorn with vinegar and, more impressively, cod goujons. The goujons had crisp exterior and excellent cod, a very nice introduction to the meal (17/20). This was followed by a little roll of black olive and goat curd, and an excellent foie gras and quince crisp (16/20). Bread is from the Bread Factory, which is one of the best London bread suppliers, and tonight both breads on offer were fresh and had good texture (16/20). A final nibble was tete de cochon, which was tender (16/20).

My roast quail breast had good flavour and was carefully cooked, served with Parmesan polenta and Swiss chard, though the Scotch egg with it was a long way from the billed “crispy”, but the dish had good balance (still just about 16/20).  Beef from Casterbridge (from the south west of England) was excellent, served with a little pie of the beef shin, the latter meltingly tender. The dish came with baby carrot and Barolo sauce, and was lovely (17/20). A little gratin dauphinoise on the side was particularly impressive, the potato texture lovely, the dish avoiding the over-creaminess that often happens with this dish (17/20).

For dessert, pistachio soufflé with Guanaja chocolate sorbet was very well made, the soufflé cooked evenly through and light in texture, the sorbet excellent (17/20). Service was excellent throughout the evening. The bill came to £121 a head, though that included quite a lot of wine. Overall this was somewheer between 16/20 and 17/20 standard this evening. 

Further reviews: 01st Apr 2010