Launceston Place

Great British cuisine 

Launceston Place is a neighbourhood restaurant serving modern British cuisine situated in a quite part of Kensington just north of Gloucester Road Station. Part of D&D London, the company behind some high profile restaurants such as Skylon and Quaglinos. Launceston Place installed Tim Allen from Whatley Manor back in early 2012 and the restaurant gained a single star in the very same year, very impressive indeed.

amuse bosch

We arrived on a sunny afternoon and went for the lunch menu which at £25 for 3 courses, is one of the best value Michelin lunches along with Kitchen W8 in London. Starting off with some lovely nibbles of cheesy filling with a dash of truffle cream at the base, this was followed by a pre starter of warm cauliflower mousse, lovely earthy flavours with a hint of sweetness. The only downside was the bread which was rather average.

bread and cauliflower mousse

For starters I had the duck egg with glazed bacon, girolles, peas and duck fat toast. This reminded me of the English breakfast from Jason Atherton's Pollen Street Social. The duck egg was poached perfectly, the lightly sweetened bacon matched the girolles both in texture and flavours wonderfully. The duck fat toast was also nicely done, the richness of the duck fat really shone through and with the peas added an extra edge of sweetness, what a delightful first course.

duck egg with glazed bacon, girolles, peas and duck fat toast

Summer salad, truffle cream cheese, pickled carrots,
salt baked vegetable, grain mustard and honey

Up next is chicken with truffle mash, charred broccoli and roast chicken jus, pretty much a posh version of a Sunday chicken roast. The meat was beautifully cooked, tender and full of flavours, not too much fat between the skin and the meat. The skin was crispy just at the right level. This really showed the difference between top quality fresh chicken vs frozen chicken. The truffle mash was also top notch, creamy and earthy, a really great chicken dish.

chicken with truffle mash, charred broccoli and roast chicken jus

On to the dessert: Baked English custard, cox apple cooked in caramel, glazed puff pastry filled with Calvados cream. Really good work with the thin layers of pastry, light with great texture, the custard in between was creamy without being too heavy. But what I enjoyed the most was the Calvados cream, the lovely apple and brandy aroma combined with the crisp and sour taste was just a pure summer treat.

baked English custard, cox apple cooked in caramel,
glazed puff pastry filled with Calvados cream

White chocolate mousse, British strawberries,
orange ice creamand star anise meringues

Lunch at Launceston Place turned out to be a very enjoyable experience, I love how Tim Allen modernised some good old British flavours into something classy and elegant but yet still has a solid British identity to it. Service was also brilliant, friendly and charming, just the kind of service you would expect from a quality neighbourhood restaurant. In my view Launceston Place is one of the few restaurants in London managed to create high standard modern British cuisine and I just hope there are more of these type of places as British cuisine can be just as wonderful as French or Spanish cuisine, if handled correctly.

Food 4/5

Head chef: 
Tim Allen

What I paid: 
£40 per head with 1 glass of wine

Average cost without drinks and services:
Lunch menu: £30
Tasting menu: £70


1A Launceston Pl  London, Greater London W8 5RL

http://www.launcestonplace-restaurant.co.uk/