Brasserie Chavot is the creation of Eric Chavot (a former two Michelin starred chef) which sits in the Westbury Hotel in Mayfair – not that you’d be able to tell as it has its own entrance which feels miles away from the actual hotel. The Westbury also houses Michelin starred Alyn Williams which is well worth a look-in.
The dining room was rather splendid with a detailed mosaic floor, large glass chandeliers and red leather banquette seating along one side. It was a very pretty place to sit.
The menu was large and seemingly well priced. We started with a selection of freshly baked sourdough (£2.50) which should have definitely been offered for free – who charges for bread these days? It was also served without butter until we prompted our waiter to provide some.
Before we had chance to tuck in, our starters arrived which was a tad annoying. I opted for the steak tartare (£11) which was served with a quail’s egg nestling in the top. The tartare was divine; soft chunks of raw beef perfectly seasoned with capers and a mustard dressing. Smothered on some of that sourdough it tasted even better.
My gentleman companion’s soft shell crab (£12.50) was presented rather beautifully. The deep fried crab was covered in the lightest and crispest of batters which was delicately spiced and tasted delicious when dunked in the bright yellow whipped aioli.
A longer wait then ensued for our main courses. I didn’t regret ordering the rump of Oison venison with honey glazed root vegetables (£21) as it was seriously tasty. Served in a cast iron dish the venison was a reassuring shade of pink and was as tender as it gets. A creamy sweet sauce lay beneath that was intensely rich but totally divine. It was also served alongside an extra jug of thick venison jus – perfection!
My gentleman companion went for the filet de canette à l’orange and caramelised endives (£19.50). The duck had a glossy crisp skin but was cooked a touch more than the medium rare he’d requested. The caramelised endives had a seriously tangy orangey flavouring (possibly too tangy?) which was at least soothed by the sweet carrot purée. He happily devoured the lot.
Both the sides were most welcome and definitely needed. The pommes frites (£3.75) were probably the best fries I’ve ever eaten and the portion was massive too; perfect for sharing. The broccoli (£3.75) offered both tender stem and floret varieties which was nice and they’d both been shown the grill giving them a charred and almost nutty flavour.
We both felt rather stuffed so decided it was best to share a pud. We went for the il flottante (£7.50) which is one of my favourite desserts thanks to Brasserie Zedel. This looked beautiful; the meringue ‘floating island’ came swimming in lashings of creme anglaise – not the easiest thing to share! The meringue was as light as anything and the sweet sticky caramel that was dribbled on top was great.
Without doubt the food we ate at Brasserie Chavot was absolutely delicious. The only thing that let down our experience was the service which verged from being sweet and charming to distant and non existent. To get our bill and then finally get someone to take our payment I could have done with a lasso – they seemed under staffed big time. Brasserie Chavot was recently awarded a Michelin star and although I’m not quite sure the overall standard was as high as other one stars in London, I’d definitely recommend it if you want to eat some tasty grub.
7/10
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