Artisan @ The Westbury Hotel, London

Note: if you're seeing this post somewhere else, his post has been shamefully plagiarised from www.tummy-rumble.com. *Lifts up middle finger to the thief.*

After hearing quite a number of things from friends about Artisan, I decided to give it a try. Artisan is rated by top table as one of highest rating restaurant in London. That must count for something then, doesn't it? Anyway, toptable had an offer going at Artisan where a 3 course meal would come with champagne, which they so carefully 'forgot' to give us. We forgot about it as well, meaning we wasted a glass of champagne each.

We start off with some amuse-bouche.

Salmon with Beetroot and a touch of Dill

Goat's Cheese with Tomato Confit

Toasted Aubergine

The 3 tongue tasters were served together on a large plate.The salmon was nicely done. Dill and salmon always goes well together. The goat's cheese was a little too strong for some of my fellow diner's liking. I found it to be alright though (cutting down a little on the cheese would have been better in my humble opinion). The toasted brinjals were like chips. They were rather mild in taste and were probably serve to satisfy people who like to munch.

Smoked Duck, Chips, Celeriac and Soy

The salad was a pre-appetiser. It was served with a citrus dressing. It was a nice change to the usual green salad. However, I could barely taste the smoke duck. The chips gave a nice crunch though.

Smoked Salmon and Crayfish Mousse

The salmon was served with shellfish mayonnaise and Melba toast. This dish was rather good. In fact, I regretted not ordering this. I opted instead for the dish below.

Terrine Ham Hock

The ham hock was served with celeriac remoulade, prune compote and toasted soda bread. The dish was good as well, but the salmon tasted and looked better.

Seared Fillet of Cod

The fish was served with mussels, clams, samphire and crushed new potatoes. I'm sorry to say it looked better than it tasted. The fish was rather small, and the rest was probably just carbs. I didn't enjoy this dish at all, although it was probably my fault for having the wrong pick.

Roast Guinea Fowl

The fowl was served with Savoy cabbage, Alsace bacon and red wine jus. It looked better and tasted better than the cod. Darn I really made a lot of bad picks that day. This dish wasn't exactly great as well, but it certainly was better than the cod.

Note: The people who told me about Artisan said that the Beef Wellington was the dish that made their night. The Beef Wellington however, is not in their 3 course menu. It is from their ala carte menu and has to be order by a minimum of 2 people.

Blackcurrant, Vodka and Lemon Sorbet

The picture above was the pre-dessert. It was a nice combination of flavours, mainly sweet, sour and bitter.

Mango Parfait

The Mango Parfait was garnished with pineapple carpaccio and coconut espuma. I didn't get a taste of this dish, but it certainly looked very good.

Valrhona Chocolate Fondant

The fondant was served with vanilla ice-cream. It was a perfect fondant, where the chocolate oozes out once cut open.

All in all, the food at Artisan wasn't exceptional in any way. I left the restaurant feeling slightly hungry. I wanted to take away KFC on the way home. We might have made some terrible choices ordering the food though. I personally left the place feeling a little disappointed.


*Opinions expressed are solely based on my personal experience

Map to The Westbury

Nearest Tube Station: Bond Street/Green Park/Oxford Circus

Address:

The Westbury Mayfair Hotel,
Conduit Street,

London W1S 2YF,
United Kingdom.

Contact:
Telephone number: +44 (0) 207 629 7755
Website: http://www.westburymayfair.com/?id=401&page=Artisan

Opening hours:

Breakfast
Monday - Friday : 7:00am - 10:30am
Sunday only 7:00am - 11:00am
Lunch
Monday - Friday : 12:00pm - 2:30pm
Saturday - Sunday : 12.30pm - 2.30pm
Dinner
Monday - Saturday: 6:30pm - 10:30pm
(Sunday closed)