Restaurant Review- The Delaunay

From the moment that the doorman welcomes you inside, revealing the luxurious interior of the bar area, to the moment you reluctantly shuffle away, The Delaunay experience is just pure class. Every detail from the amazing interior design, to the smart, formal attire of the staff, to the beautiful customised crockery is precise and thoughtful and makes for a truly immersive experience. The dining room evokes a feeling of Edwardian class and elegance, the walls bedecked with dark wood panelling.

The Delaunay is of course, the latest venture by Corbin and King, the restaurateurs formerly behind The Ivy and now, most famously, The Wolseley on Piccadilly. This new restaurant certainly has a similar feel to their current celebrity-packed hangout. The restaurant concept is the same with all-day dining (open from 7am-midnight) meaning that the kitchens are producing breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner all day, every day. I went on a Sunday to enjoy what their weekend brunch menu had to offer.

Where The Delaunay strikes out more on it's own is its menu's focus on German and Austrian options, combining the classic French offerings more often found in The Wolseley with the feeling of grand central European coffee houses. The menu features schnitzel and wiener as well as plenty of classic cakes such as sachertorte.

Black and White Pudding with a Fried Duck Egg

We began with black and white pudding with a fried duck egg (£11-75) and buck rarebit (£8). The black and white pudding was served on a thin tile of fried bread, which I usually find overly heavy and greasy. This was perfectly thin and light- the best I have ever tried. It was done, like everything they do, with a lot of finesse. The buck rarebit is basically Welsh rarebit with poached eggs and again, was simple brunch food cooked and served perfectly on beautiful crockery. Maybe it's a little superficial to focus on the crockery that a restaurant uses but I feel it's important. Whilst poor crockery or glassware might not ruin a meal, the right kind of equipment certainly helps make the job easier and more enjoyable. Not that you could call the idea of sitting in a restaurant, dining on fine food a job; not by anyone's definition.

Buck Rarebit

We followed these with sachertorte(£5-50) and a coffee and stroh rum cake(£5-75). The former was rich in chocolate and nicely balanced with the fruitiness of the apricot jam. Another charming touch was that "sachertorte" had been piped on each individual piece. The flavour of coffee and rum was prominent in the latter whilst still retaining the necessary sweetness.

Sachertorte

The meal was finished off nicely with a pot of earl grey tea. Again, the tea service was a beautiful design. It may be the case that The Delaunay is on the more expensive side of dining, but, in the context of how great the food, service and design are, I feel it's certainly worth it. Although I can't personally vouch for dinner or lunch service (I have heard that they are similarly impressive), I would definitely recommend that you take a little detour onto Aldwych to enjoy breakfast or brunch here. Of course, it's an extravagance but worth it; you'll feel definitely be made to feel special.

Coffee and Stroh Rum Cake

The one thing I should really say, is don't wear chinos, because the fibres from the tablecloth will stick to them. You know somewhere is good when that's the only word of warning someone can give you.

Rating- 8.5/10

The Delaunay, 55 Aldwych, London WC2B 4BB

http://www.thedelaunay.com/


GastroTom

Follow me on Twitter- @GastroTomBlog  twitter.com/GastroTomBlog

Brunch at The Delaunay- A Little Preview

I'm currently sat here, trying my best to compose a veritable symphony of a review for my brunch at The Delaunay. But as progress is a little slow, I thought I would share a few pictures with you of what we had to eat.

This was black and white pudding served with duck eggs on a very dainty thin slice of fried bread. I normally find fried bread too heavy and fatty but this was done with a lot of finesse. 

I also indulged with Sachertorte which rather charmingly had "sacher" piped onto every individual piece. 

There was also Buck Rarebit which is basically, Welsh Rarebit but with poached eggs on top. 

That's just a little look at what it had to offer. Everything just looked so classy and elegant that I had to share some of it with you straight away. Check back for much more in the way of a review and pictures later on. 

Cakes from Gail's Bakery = Happy Blogger

Look at that box from Gail's Bakery and just imagine the treats and delights hidden inside. If you've ever visited a Gail's you'll no doubt be brimming with excitement and anticipation. You'll be asking yourself, "is it one of their delicious muffins? A densely packed cookie maybe? A beautifully moist apple pie perhaps? Or maybe even one of their dainty little fougasse breads, generously studded with Nigella and sesame seeds?" You might even be wishing that it was one of their paper bags instead, filled with their delicious loaves of freshly made bread. Well, I can reveal the contents of this box for you, but brace yourself; extreme tastiness is about to ensue.

First up is this generous square slice of carrot cake. Now, I must disclose, I am quite a fan of this particular confection, so my standards are, I think, pretty high. Well this multi-layered beauty ticks all the boxes as far as I'm concerned. The cake itself is moist and nicely scattered with the sweet carrot and packed with walnuts which adds an extra dimension of texture. The icing (made with cream cheese on a carrot cake) was nicely sweet whilst maintaining the savoury element that the use of cheese should impart.

Second up, and looking perhaps even more visually impressive is this lemon meringue cupcake. The meringue topping was beautifully light and fluffy. It gave away to a tangy, fresh lemon cake base. This was about as light and fresh as a cake like this could get. Amazing to be eating something that's so indulgent and (I'm guessing) sugar-rich and feel like you're having something that doesn't seem very heavy or guilt-inducing.

I've been a fan of Gail's Bakery for quite a while now. I regularly buy their seaweed bread and olive baguette. Their delicious seed-covered buttermilk crackers are also a favourite. I don't only like Gail's because their produce is delicious. I also appreciate what they do for Londoners. Providing them with a source of fresh, daily-baked bread that is made the way bread should be; without any additives that will lengthen its shelf life. Sure, it might not last as long, but that's the point. Eat fresh bread daily and you notice the difference. And as this post suggests, I'm grateful that they also know how to turn out brilliant cakes and other sweet treats.

On top of this, they've managed to keep this commitment to quality whilst expanding quite significantly (in London at least) in recent times. I say, if you can do that without affecting quality, then go for it. In my opinion, everyone deserves a bakers like Gail's.

Gail's Bakery- http://www.gailsbread.co.uk/ 


GastroTom

Follow me on Twitter- @GastroTomBlog  twitter.com/GastroTomBlog