Lifestyle -- 1 day ago
The Review – Foxtrot Oscar
Words: Gentleman's Journal
Price: appox £50 Per Head | Where: 79 Royal Hospital Road, London, SW3 4HN | Tel: 020 7352 4448 | gordonramsay.com
A few weeks back I went out to dinner for a friends birthday with his girlfriend and another close friend. I made the suggestion that we head to Foxtrot Oscar, which although It has been a infamous Chelsea hangout since It’s opening In 1980, It Is not one of Gordon Ramsay’s better known restaurants.
Located on the Royal Hospital road in the heart of Chelsea, It Is, and has been known for It small and intimate atmosphere, as well as producing simple comfort food.
The main reason I recommended It, was that I had heard they were offering corkage, where by you can bring your own wine and just pay a £10 corkage fee per bottle. This is now becoming more and more popular In London and long may It continue. However the night we went, Thursday, they were no longer offering this, as It was only available on Mondays to Wednesdays, but never the less we opted for a young and fruity house red from Italy, which was reasonably priced.
Then It came to ordering and I can’t sing the waiter’s praises enough, he spoke great english and new the menu back to front, giving us personal recommendations and was more than happy to describe each dish.
To start with, two of us went for the house cured Loch Duart gravlax with a delicious dill and mustard sauce, the gravlax was beautifully and thickly cut, and the portion size was decent for a starter. This is more than I can say for the asparagus starter the other two chose, and although It was very tasty and superbly cooked, due to It’s size, It was more of a canape than a starter.
Next came the main course, and here none of us could complain. Two of us chose the Foxtrot burger with mushroom relish and caramelized onion. This was well presented, perfectly cooked (medium) and the chips had a decent crunch to them too. My only issue was the saucing, as they seem to give us the smallest amount of tomato ketchup, so much so, we had to ask the waiter twice for some more.
The two others In our party opted for the mussels In a white wine, shallots, garlic and saffron sauce with sliced chorizo. By the look on their faces and their comments, they loved It, and the mussels were big and juicy too, which Is a rare find In London.
Lastly we shared two desserts, partly due to watching our wallets , but also because we were pretty full up by this time. We chose the vanilla cheesecake, which came In a glass and not only looked stunning, but tasted good too. Our other choice was the selection of sorberts that were both refreshing and full of flavor.
In summary, Foxtrot Oscar Is a great dining experience with it’s intimate atmosphere and fantastically sourced food, not to mention the superb staff. The thing Is, I couldn’t help thinking that this was a restaurant which Is struggling In these times, and for the life of me I can’t think why, as It’s got It all, plus some great offers such as corkage and some good value set menu’s.
If It keeps going the way It Is, who knows Foxtrot may have It’s heyday once again. gordonramsay.com
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