Friday 14 December 2007

Fortnum & Mason Fountain Resturant


When a client emailed me back in November saying he wanted to take us out to lunch I was pretty excited, especially as he suggested we went to Fortnums. When I think of the iconic food hall I think of tradition, style, immaculate service, 'Britishness' and endless crowds. I assumed all these factors would feed through to the restaurants too.

Well, as we arrived our first obstacle was to find a member of staff to stop and talk to us. Then when we did track one down they insisted our clients hadn't booked a table... all abit of a commotion really!

Once things were sorted it wasn't long before we were offered a delicious selection of fresh bread and we placed our order. Whenever I see the words souffle on a menu my eyes light up with glee, and I'm a particular fan of savory ones for a starter. The double baked goats cheese souffle was an absolute blinder; a light fluffy texture, crisp exterior and goatie as it gets! The only down side is that is it was MASSIVE.. I could only manage just over half.


The others opted for garlic wild mushrooms... simple and well executed.

I did feel somewhat cheeky when I ordered the most expensive thing on the menu for my main; even more expensive than the lobster! It was roasted Halibut on the bone and it was truly delicious.

I was abit surprised when my colleague Holly who also had the cheese souffle then chose yet another eggy classic for her main course... Eggs Benedict, and my word it looked sensational... plump poached eggs with fluorecent yellow yokes piled high on top of plenty of honey glazed ham, think and crunchy toasted muffins, and finally the wicked hollandise sauce. Browny and I have seen a fair few epic Benedict's over last couple of months and this one would certainly make the top 3!

Whenever I go out to lunch with work I always have to be careful not to over drink but also not to overeat... Or I am in danger or genuinely falling asleep at my desk! Therefore I was very good a resisted the yummy selection of puds. Holly had 3 fab mini hot mince pies and custard. They were so good she popped into the food hall afterwards to take some home with her. However she soon had other ideas when she realised that a pack on 10 mini mince pies cost £10!!

It was a fun and tasty afternoon. The restaurant itself is pretty dated, with the average customer pushing 65 yrs old. But for convenience and a work lunch it certainly fits the bill. The service was somewhat disappointing but could be forgiven with such a busy lunch time. Will I be taking Browny back? Umm maybe.... but there are plenty of others places I chose before coming back here.

No comments:

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin