One sunny Sunday in October my husband and I went to London to spend the day with our daughter Helen and her boyfriend Sam. After a disappointingly lukewarm breakfast at Karpo we were hoping for a better meal at Kettner’s which we had booked for the evening.
Located in Soho, Kettner’s is quite impressive from the outside, white walls and black iron railings. It’s actually 4 listed Georgian houses and has three floors. Inside to the right is the champagne and cocktail bar which is very large and has high tables and chairs, an area with a sofa and a little private ‘cubby hole’ to accommodate around 10 people. We arrived a little early and sat in the little ‘cubby’ hole looking at the drinks menu until our table was ready. Walking through to the dining area we passed where they had been serving afternoon tea, with a lovely white grand piano. Unfortunately no-one was playing the piano whilst we were there. The dining area we were in was large and light with big white mirrors on the walls and chandeliers. We sat at a big wooden table in the middle of the room. At first I felt a little uncomfortable where we were as it didn’t feel cosy but that feeling soon went.
Evening meal begins at 5pm on a Sunday and there is a smaller menu choice. After having a very nice starter – Chicken Liver Parfait, crispy bread & red onion marmalade – and main meal – Beef Bourguinon, served in a little copper saucepan – only Helen and I decided to have a dessert. Never too full for a dessert! We both opted for a ‘trio of desserts’ which consisted of Apple jelly Eton mess, chocolate mousse and a macaron.
I ate the macaron first. It was medium in size, not tiny like you get in a collection of macarons but also not one of the big ones you get in Paul. It was orange in colour and I cannot remember the name of it but I do know that it didn’t really taste of what it was named. So, say being orange you would think it was ‘apricot’ macaron – and perhaps it was called this – but it didn’t taste of it. That’s not to say I didn’t like it. It tasted fresh, crispy as a macaron should and slightly chewy.
The Apple jelly Eton mess was next for me to try. A rather tangy apple jelly at the bottom of the thin glass it was served in. I’m not a great apple lover but this was indeed very nice. Above that was a berry mousse, very lightly whipped and tasted very much of berry which went excellently with the tangy apple. On top was a thin layer of cream. It was nice to dip the spoon all the way down to the bottom and to bring it up and out with a little of all three layers on it.
I saved the best until last, as it was the chocolate mousse and I love chocolate. Probably why Helen does too. This was served on a largish white spoon, too large to fit into your mouth – for some people maybe – and so I used a little spoon to eat it with. The mousse was very smooth, quite thick and dense, not light and fluffy like the berry mousse in the Eton mess and was absolutely divine. Having a whole dessert of this would perhaps be too rich so this was the right amount to be had along with the other mini desserts on the plate.
I would definitely go back to Kettner’s, a Saturday evening would be nice especially if they have the pianist playing. Also the menu choice would be larger and they would possibly have the rhubarb tart I was going to go for. Next time.
A x
