Launceston Place, a cute little neighbourhood restaurant in Kensington that just happens to have a Michelin star, has recently brought a new chef on board, along with launching a new menu. Raphael Francois, who spent a long time working with Helene Darroze at The Connaught and helped it win two Michelin stars, is now heading up the kitchen, and as we’ve always wanted to go, we thought now was the perfect time to check it out.
Set amongst some pretty swish Kensington houses, Launceston Place has a very relaxed neighbourhood restaurant feel, but with the excellent food and service, it’s a local restaurant taken to the next level. Unusually, the meal began with a shot of hot chocolate and marshmallow; a new one on us, but it sure hit the spot on a cold, rainy London day. Moving on, there was an amuse bouche of mackerel tartare with beetroot and frozen horseradish, before we got to our starters: hen’s egg with asparagus, prosciutto and duxelles mushroom, and a dish of blue crab under a layer of creamy puree potato and carapace jus.
[URIS id=64104]For mains, we were sold on the venison dish when we found out it came with a mini Yorkshire pudding and it didn’t disappoint. We also tried the meaty, succulent sea bass with pickled butternut squash, seaweed and pears. Having already spied the cheese trolley earlier on we finished on an epic cheese selection with not one but three matching dessert wines – an amazing end to an excellent meal. Launceston Place comes highly recommended.
1a Launceston Place, London, W8 5RL
www.launcestonplace-restaurant.co.uk