It doesn’t take much to lure us away from our laundry piles and out into town on a ‘school’ night, really. So when Koulla, Claire and I were invited to the luxury four star deluxe Chesterfield Mayfair Hotel for a food and wine pairing dinner in their award winning restaurant, Butler’s, we couldn’t get out of the office and onto the tube fast enough.
It’s not often we get to dine in Mayfair, and the Chesterfield’s Conservatory (the setting for our meal) was a brilliant end to a stressful day, flooded with the remains of what little natural daylight our lovely country had to offer on that dreary day. We could just imagine it in summer, set against the backdrop of the garden and fountain – how positively “English garden!”
Around one large table sat 20 guests, who were only too happy to chatter throughout the meal. Some visiting American’s commented that they’d arrived from Texas that morning and had promptly been invited to dinner. The whole thing felt a lot like being invited to a dinner party, by friends, and we could see through to the equally gorgeous restaurant where more couples and groups were dining from separate menus of Table d'hote to a la carte. Apparently, Butler’s serves the "best Dover Sole in London" – something to remember for another visit!
On this occasion, Executive Chef Andrew Fraser created an amazing, seasonal line up, pairing each dish to a Chablis wine brought over from the South of France by our host and owner of Domaine des Malandes, Lyne Marchive, and poured by our professional Sommlier, Tara O'Leary. We loved the chicken soup with oysters and wild chicken with tarragon. The cheese board went perfectly with our wine and the dessert was to die for. Conversation flowed as freely as our wine round the table until it was time for coffees and goodbyes, and quite frankly it’s a wonder the tube doors could open wide enough to fit us all in on the way home.
I think we all decided to come back and try the a la carte menu next time the sun shines through those huge bright windows. As far as hotel restaurant’s go, Butler’s has got it all just right. In fact, if we didn’t have to head straight to work the next morning, we might have even been tempted to stay over, just so we could feast on breakfast the next morning!
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