Claude Bosi at Bibendum

The height of modern French cuisine in London

Cornish brill, smoked hay, Jerusalem, artichoke, black truffle

Claude Bosi is without a doubt one of the greatest chefs in the UK in the world of fine dining, his modern French cooking is highly technical, full of imagination, and has a unique style that makes his cooking truly stand out. You would find really strange ingredients combinations in his dishes such as foie gras mixing with mango ice cream and having olive oil in a pudding. I personally am a fan of his cooking style as is always good to see chefs pushing the boundaries and coming up with new ideas. His creative French cuisine has landed him 2 Michelin stars wherever he goes. I have been to his old restaurant Hibiscus in Mayfair 5 times before he relocated to the current location at Bibendum, and have eaten at Bibendum when it was launched in 2017. For my first visit, it was more or less a copy and paste of Hibiscus' food style. 3 years on, I was keen to see how it has progressed.

Onion tart, foie gras soup, and chestnut cream

Cornish crab 36-month-old, Parmesan, bronze, fennel

Beetroot English, burrata, Daurenki, caviar

Scottish langoustine, brown butter, dashi, lemon caviar, white truffle

Cornish cod jubilee, sand carrots, lime and coconut

I opted for the blind tasting menu in which you tell your server what kind of food you like/dislike and the chef would pick what to cook for you. The first dish was already on such a high level, it was a crab dish that mixed with parmesan and fennel, which was really creamy but refreshing at the same time as the sweetness of the crab really shined through. The Scottish langoustine was cooked in brown butter with a healthy load of white truffle shaving. The langoustine was very tender and the sourness from the lemon balanced nicely with the richness of the shellfish sauce. The Cornish cod main was injected with some southeast Asian element, it had a hint of coconut and lemongrass which really uplifted the fresh and sweet taste of the cod, the cod itself was moist and seasoned to perfection, it was such a wonderful piece of fish cookery.

Sate potato mash, chicken, and pike roe

Cep Banana, organic crème fraiche

P4

Coco selection

Good night!

The seafood-heavy tasting menu was seriously outstanding, it was creative French cooking in such a refined manner. It had plenty of unusual elements using flavours from beyond Europe, it was great to see the restaurant is making progress instead of keeping to the Hibiscus days. My second visit at Bibendum was world-class standard and I would rate it as the best meal of the year in London for me. With Ledbury and Greenhouse no longer about, now I would rate Bibendum, Kitchen Table and Core are the top 3 fine dining restaurants in London.

Food 5/5

Executive chef: 
Claude Bosi

What I paid: 
£310 pp with wine

Average cost without drinks and services:
£165 tasting menu


Michelin House, 81 Fulham Rd, Chelsea, London SW3 6RD

http://bibendum.co.uk/