Absolutely no secret I love eating. Food makes me very happy. And i love a pretty place.A glass or two of champagne.
I had been to the Brasserie of Light before for drinks and a light snack at the bar. It was so good that it’s been in my hit list for a full meal. Spoiler alert: it didn’t disappoint.
With theatre booked for 7pm, we decided to have a very late lunch (or very early dinner if you prefer). Underwhelmed with the pre/post theatre menus in the area, we decided to broaden the search area and go a bit early. Then the Brasserie of Light came to mind straight away.
Not widely available for booking, we got lucky, given the last-ish minute decision, dinner wouldn’t have been possible (tip: book early), but it seems the stars aligned.
It is located within Selfridges in Oxford Street and is so pretty – all art-deco style with its (literally) shining piece de resistance: Damien Hirst’s 24ft crystal encrusted Pegasus statue with its 30ft wingspan soaring over us with its majestic hooves lifted, as if flying into the light. There are some little ones dotted around other areas, but the main dining room really is where fabulousness is at.
We started with a chilled glass of Veuve Cliquot Yellow Label while we chose.
For starter Dan went for the tuna carpaccio, with mooli, spiced avocado purée, sesame seeds and citrus ponzu. He cannot fault it.
I went for the roasted sea scallops with creamed truffle polenta, parsnip crisps and salad mâche. Not gonna lie, I feel this dish was constructed for me. It ticked all my flavour boxes.
I really wanted the duck main but sadly they were out of it. Enter the miso black cod with pickled fennel and miso sauce, which filled the duck’s spot with no gaps. Cannot go wrong with black cod. Also ordered a side of the truffle mash. DIVINE.
I am intolerant to raw fennel, but it came on the side. As it was pickled, I had a go at my own peril and it was too good. I ate it all but as it was pickled it didn’t make me unwell. Score.
Dan had the monkfish and prawn Keralan curry with sweet potato, coriander, coconut and jasmine rice. He loved it.
We shared a bottle of a New Zealand sauvignon blanc, te Muna, Craggy Range, 2021 over our courses.
Now, I don’t often have desserts, especially chocolate ones, but the Orbit the table next to us had was so damn pretty that we had to order one to share. It’s a very indulgent dark chocolate mousse, salted caramel ice cream, milk foam, honeycomb and popping candy.
Love the theatricals and it was real party in my mouth, with amazing flavours I adore. The milk foam, although delicious, was a bit too rich for me in the quantity.
We washed it down with another glass of Veuve while they brought the lovely surprise at the end as we celebrated our anniversary (we don’t have a date for it, but it’s loosely around that time, so we celebrate another cycle of sheer toleration love).
Now, I am usually suspicious of pretty venues as had bad experiences in other good looking, poor tasting and pocket bleeding venues but this wasn’t the case, much on the contrary.
Service was impeccable throughout, so added to the whole experience.
Tip #2: toilets are shared with Selfridges so on a Saturday evening the queues were brutal. I found another one in another floor and got lost on my way back, naturally. Dan had better luck.
Main downside: having to go through the Shoe Galleries after a few drinks. I did not buy on that day but a week later I was back for the shoes. Damn. Do not say I didn’t warn you.
Confession never heard before: I don’t really have much of a sweet tooth. Too much sugar does make me sick quite quickly and I don’t tend to crave sweets very often. Not even chocolate. There, I said it.
By the headline you’d think I cannot cook to save my life. That is not entirely true. I might not be the most enthusiastic cook but when I am feeling it I can really deliver. Fact.
Flora Freedom is a dairy free range of spreads, also free from artificial preservatives, colours and flavours and certified by the Vegan Society. The spreads can be used for cooking, baking and of course, spreading. They have 45-60% less fat than butter and 100% of the oils used come from plants.
I also used it to make one of the recipes, the avocado and lime buckwheat pancakes, which I really liked as they have two options – one vegetarian and one for the meat eaters.
So Many Lovely Things 