By Denis Sheehan FIH
As you stroll along Launceston Place a perception of being momentarily transported from west central London into a charming little village is gained. The village in question being Kensington New Town, the name given to a collection of streets south of Kensington Gardens, constructed between 1837 and 1843.
Launceston Place comprises mostly residential properties built in the Regency style, semi-detached houses with stucco facades. Each house in keeping with its neighbour but also subtly different, a demonstration of the early Victorian architectural trait of introducing variety through small detail. At the top of Launceston Place where it meets Victoria Grove, you find its namesake restaurant, Launceston Place.
The restaurant facade contains large squares and rectangles of glass drawing in plenty of natural light, it exudes charm and welcomes diners. Once inside the tone is simple and minimalist, the walls are a pale grey, the floor dark wood, with brown leather chairs to seat you at tables dressed in white linen.
My guest for lunch was Chris Moore, probably best known in our industry as CEO of The Clink, a chain of restaurants inside prisons that train and prepare prisoners to work in hospitality and catering upon release. Throughout his career to date Moore has created and managed restaurants for operators including Fenwick and Harrods. Currently he is President of PathNorth, USA, an organisation that helps CEOs broaden their definitions of success. Lunch was a chance to catch up and glean feedback for this review from someone who ran restaurants rather than my writing about them purely from a consumer’s perspective.
We were greeted and taken to our table by Mattia Agresti the restaurant’s General Manager. Impeccably dressed and courteous, Agresti enjoyed welcoming us and explaining the checkerboard menu process and options. The checkerboard menu contains 12 plastic discs, as you lift each one off a menu item is revealed below, creating your order. Agresti suggested the tasting menu, and we agreed.
A plate of three amuse-bouche items was the first delivered to the table, a smoked haddock tube, a beef tartare taco, and a chicken consommé. An intricately presented trio, each with a quite powerful taste, but complimentary, clever.
Next came some simple sourdough bread, and butter, but there was nothing simple about the butter, piquillo butter and whipped brown butter. There is something about bread and butter, it is wholesome comfort food, and the piquillo butter was very comforting, a smoky, sweet, mild pepper taste that lingered for just long enough but not too long. The whipped brown butter had an incredibly smooth texture and a rich nutty flavour, both were moreish, but there were many more courses on the way.
I am not going to go through every course but will highlight a few that stood out for us both.
Egg & Soldiers, presented on an egg cup standing on a duck leg was an eggshell scooped out and filled with chicken liver parfait, accompanied by a slightly toasted sourdough soldier. The parfait was rich and smooth, on its own I imagined the parfait might overpower, but it didn’t, it was a sensation and even better with the soldier.
Then fish, cod with lemongrass, charcoal, and kohlrabi. A disc of cod cooked lightly retaining a firm texture alongside the accompanying ingredients which gave a peppery zest to the dish. Each flavour elevated the dish without overpowering its centrepiece, again, very clever.
I am not a fan of pork, so when a plate of Iberico presa, rocket, baby gem, and pea arrived, despite its beautiful presentation I was apprehensive. I don’t dislike pork, as I’ve said, I’m just not a fan, I was however, at least temporarily after devouring this course. The texture of the Iberico presa cut was firm to the cut, oval shaped, about an inch thick, it melted in the mouth. The vegetable selection added crisp texture components, they sat well together.
My final course highlight was the Pre Dessert, coconut, lychee, and lemon balm. The previous seven courses were all very good to exquisite, but I was not expecting the near coconut perfection that was course eight. Like many experiences that hit every note, you can’t always explain exactly why, they just do, and this dish hit every taste note for me. Thankfully later I got a tour of the kitchen and was able to find and thank the chef that made it. Note: No image used as it couldn’t do the dish justice.
I also sat down and spent some time talking with Chef Patron, Ben Murphy, but not enough. Like his food he seems to have hidden depths, a return visit could unearth some perhaps.
After coffee Chris and I discussed what had transpired at Launceston Place. We both possessed a yearning to return and were both somewhat surprised by that. Surprised only in a sense of urgency, soon we both agreed.
I would describe the restaurant as understated, it’s only as the experience of dining there unfolds that you fully appreciate the cooking of Ben Murphy and his brigade, alongside Mattia Agresti’s front of house equation. The food is delivered with just the right amount of well-rehearsed theatre, it is intricate and beautifully presented, and above all else it tastes divine. As I write I have tried to reign in my enthusiasm and not over compliment, but to do so would just not be fair. When next year’s Michelin stars are announced I would be truly shocked not to find Launceston Place on that announcement.
