Latest opening: L’Atelier Robuchon
What: The former Le Comptoir Robuchon restaurant, which took a more brasserie style approach to Joël Robuchon’s classic French cooking – albeit through a Mayfair lens, has been replaced with L’Atelier Robuchon, bringing it in line with the French chef’s international portfolio of L’Ateliers in Hong Kong, Miami, Taipei, Las Vegas, and Geneva.
Who: The relaunch is being overseen by executive chef Andrea Cofini, who joined the Robuchon brand back in 2014, first working at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Paris and more recently in Shanghai. He has worked alongside group executive chef David Alves in the creation of the menu. Head sommelier Neomie Favrat is in charge of the restaurant’s wine programme and heading up the drinks offer is Renaud De Bosredon Combrailles, who most recently ran Louie in Covent Garden, a restaurant on the site that was formerly home to the original London L'Atelier Robuchon.
The food: L’Atelier Robuchon London celebrates some of the Robuchon classics, most notably the much-vaunted purée de pomme de terre, oft regarded as the best mashed potatoes in the world thanks to the generous 2:1 potato to butter ratio. So proud is the restaurant of its mashed spuds that its offer is almost bottomless, with diners being able to request more of the delightfully creamy mash should they run out. Other classics on the menu include a sea bream carpaccio dressed with lemon and chive; quail stuffed with foie gras; pigs trotter served on toast; poached egg, Imperial caviar and smoked salmon; and ‘le burger’ that features foie gras and sauteed bell peppers. The food is described as having accents of Asian flavours, evidenced in dishes such as wild seabass infused with lemongrass; and caramelised black cod that comes with a Malabar pepper sauce and coconut milk foam (pictured below). The relaunch also marks the return of the marble-topped dessert trolley as well as a hard-to-navigate cheese trolley - thanks to the way the wheels are placed – on which is displayed a daily-changing rotation of southern French and Italian cheeses.
To drink: Favrat has put together a wine list with strong French and old-world elements sourcing from small, family-owned vineyards. There’s a comprehensive list of champagnes featuring almost exclusively small producers such as Chartogne-Taillet, Egly-Ouriet and Emmanuel Brochet, with guests having the option of up to 40 by-the-glass wines that range from £9 to £195 (there is also a champagne trolley that does the rounds). The restaurant is one of only a handful in London that serves Petrus by the glass via Coravin.
The vibe: Much of the previous fittings when it was Le Comptoir Robuchon have been retained, including the lighting and the floor, and rightly so given the high-end fit out of the restaurant when it opened in 2019. However, attempts have been made to remind customers of the previous Covent Garden L’Atelier with red and black accents that include changes to the seating throughout. The long 74-cover dining room has an open kitchen and marble countertop - a signature feature of all the original Joël Robuchon restaurants – and scarlet seating as well as a lit wall of plants that runs the side of the room that adds softness and colour to the very elegant room. A newly created bar area (below) at the entrance to the restaurant adds more atmospheric light and even more glamour to the room.
And another thing: The original London L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon was opened in Covent Garden in 2006 and occupied a striking multi-level building replete with black lacquer and a red and black colour palette. It was awarded a Michelin star in 2007. The restaurant closed in 2019 following the Robuchon’s death the year before with Le Comptoir Robuchon following in Mayfair soon after.
6 Clarges Street, Mayfair, London, W1J 8AE
www.robuchonlondon.co.uk
