I’ve experienced both L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in London as well as Joël Robuchon in Monte Carlo at Hotel Metropole, so I was ecstatic to dine at Le Comptoir Robuchon recently, the latest Robuchon restaurant from the late, great, Michelin-starred chef’s team.
Known as the ‘Chef of the Century’, Joel Robuchon held the most Michelin stars ever awarded and was a humble perfectionist with a strong work ethic. A true visionary, he revolutionised the fine-dining world, rebelling against the entrenched rules of French cooking. He instead focused on simplicity utilising the highest quality ingredients, elevating hearty fare to a new level, always producing wonderful dishes consistently.
Le Comptoir is an evolved new restaurant which is vibrant, buzzy and convivial. Head chef Dario Avenca brings a wealth of experience to the role, having worked in the industry for over 15 years alongside some of the world’s most renowned chefs, including Alain Ducasse and Yu Sugimoto, most recently at London’s The Square, which held a Michelin star.
We dined at Le Comptoir on a dreary autumn weekday evening, and were grateful for the warm welcome into the glittering surroundings, whisking us away from the grey clouds outside. The restaurant itself resembles a piece of art, with the Art Deco dining room taking inspiration from the 1920s and thrusting them into the modern age. Shimmering gold adorns the walls while a huge slab of marble serves as the bar counter, where couples and business partners sipped on champagne side-by-side.
We settled into a large booth in the corner, tucked behind the red velvet curtain that keeps the cold out from the entrance, and began with cocktails. Exquisitely crafted, ‘The New Cuban’ slides down easily as we peruse the menu, and a humungous basket of freshly baked breads is brought to our table. So incredible were the breads, that we had seconds each. They were some of the finest baked goods I have ever eaten – with particular favourites being the squid ink rolls, and the bacon twists.
After filling up on bread, we chose lighter starters, which included the ‘Butter bean salad, smoked duck breast’, the ‘Quinoa and kale salad, avocado, pomelos’, and the ‘Slow cooked egg, girolle mushrooms’. Each dish was delicious and flavourful, generously portioned, and made us feel excited for the main event.
For our main courses we enjoyed ‘Monkfish, ‘bouillabaisse style’ potatoes, rouille sauce’, ‘Dover sole served with meunière sauce’, and ‘Cavatelli pasta, girolle mushrooms, fresh almonds’. Again, we were hugely impressed with the food and thoroughly enjoyed our meal.
We were rather full by this point, but couldn’t resist the delicious-sounding desserts, and they certainly didn’t disappoint. ‘Chocolate profiteroles, vanilla ice cream, hot chocolate sauce’ captured our hearts, and our stomachs. For these were no ordinary profiteroles. These three giant balls of vanilla ice-cream sandwiched between chocolate pastry and drenched in hot chocolate sauce were just as tasty as they sound, and the raspberry tart was the perfect lighter option.
By the time we left Le Comptoir Robuchon the restaurant was alive with chatter and glasses clinking. Large groups of friends enjoying eachother’s company in glamorous surroundings and the sumptuous French cuisine on offer. We may have dined early this time, but next time we will definitely make sure to book later so we get to join-in with the party-like atmosphere we longed to experience as we left the restaurant and were forced back to the real world outside.
Catherine Lux is a food and travel contributor at AGLAIA, and a luxury lifestyle blogger documenting her life on her blog, Lux Life London. With Lux Life London having a large focus on travel and food, she loves nothing more than long-haul flights, excellent restaurants, and relaxing with friends in the coolest places in town.
