Le Cafe Anglais

The name says it all... pretentious English food trying to rival the snobbery of the French. At least, that's always been my impression. I thought this is definitely one to avoid- what chance is there that the one obligatory veggie dish they must have will be vegan?

Surprisingly, I was wrong! Now, there's not much selection even for a vegetarian, and a few dishes had to be tweaked to vegan-ify them, but the most important bit, the veggie main dish, was perfect as-is. The menu seems to change seasonally, but this means no matter when you go there's a good chance you'll get a good meal.

(btw- I've added brief summaries & pics of the hubby's dishes as well, for those non-veggies who might drag you there.)

The the meal was the icing on the cake for the hubby's birthday. We had already been to Bodean's that weekend (there's a reason it's a birthday 'treat' for him- the veggieburger's so greasy it's on the verge of deep-fried) and his favourite Chinese restaurant all the way up in Mill Hill (Hee's for those who want to make the trek) but we thought one last really nice meal with a bottle of wine would be a great way to finish the weekend.

The hubby called ahead and was nonchalantly assured they could do a vegan meal. We snuck around to the special entrance on the south end of Whiteley's (don't be tricked by the signs for it on the mall's 2nd floor), checked in our coats and went up the lift to enter a vast room with huge antique windows. Apparently on weekdays it's packed, but this Sunday evening there were only four tables occupied (one by a family whose children must have discriminating tastes! ...or the parents were tired of McD's.)

Placed on the table were bread, butter and baby radishes - with olive oil upon request. The bread was mostly air and crunchy crust and the olive oil wasn't strong or tasty, but the radishes were refreshing, and not bitingly strong as radishes can be. The waiter was friendly and helped us select a nice dry, full white wine.

On to the first course. There were two vegetarian options: a mediterranean aubergine dish and "Salisfy fritters" which the waiter described as a vegetable somewhat similar to artichoke. I got the aubergine first, without the yogurt. The aubergine was very soft, slipping off the skin and melting in my mouth, but it was very oily and the aubergine itself had very little taste. The tomato sauce on top was lovely - very sweet with a nice acidic edge. It would have been better with one more twist, maybe some spice, but overall it was still nice.

Meanwhile the hubby had an uncharacteristic parmesan custard with anchovy toast. The anchovy was a tiny layer of paste (you can see it if you squint) between two pieces of toast pressed down to create an illusion of just one thin sliver of bread. Apparently it was umami-tastic, as one can imagine with two famously umami-filled ingredients. A big hit.

The second course was less exciting. The fritters usually come with a side of mayonnaise, which the chef replaced with a 'salsa verde,' a leafy puree of parsley and mint. Salsify, to me, seemed like crunchy baby endives - nice texture but without a distinctive flavour. Overall the fritters themselves didn't have much taste, other than the deep-fry oil, and were better off without the salsa; the hot fritters and cold salsa were distractingly discordant and best left on their own. Of course I give them credit for the improv since the dish was made to be paired with mayo which is a warmer, creamier taste and would've complimented it better.



I'm not quite sure what the hubby had for his second course, some sort of pate, but it wasn't anything to sing about.

Now for the main course: White asparagus with spinach and blood orange. When it arrived, I'd forgotten about the blood orange and assumed they were tomatoes of some sort. The citric sweetness of the cooked orange segments took me by surprise in the best possible way. It brightened up the tender asparagus tremendously, the taste interrupted occasionally by a spicy grain of black pepper.  Each vegetable (and fruit) was well-cooked, neither over- nor under-done. This time the general oiliness of the dish (a theme of the night's dinner) was more than overcome by the great, fresh mix of flavours. Seriously, the sweet blood orange makes this dish.

The hubby had some roast chicken. Great presentation in a long wok-like metal bowl, but apparently the gravy got cold by the second helping. Oops. The dish was so un-vegan I'll skip the picture here.

With all three courses in our bellies, we skipped dessert, but they did have a selection of sorbets and fruits. The Cox's apples, Williams pears and unidentified varieties of mango and pineapple just didn't seem that appetising knowing that we had a box full of the most phenomenal mangoes, Alphonso mangoes, at home.

Take-home messages: 1) Le Cafe Anglais is nowhere near as un-vegan-friendly as I thought. It takes good care of its vegetables, cooking them just right and pairing them well. It'll never be a destination restaurant for vegans, but if you go you will get a good meal and may be pleasantly surprised as I was. 2) Go to your nearest Indian store while the season's still on and buy yourself a box of Alphonso mangoes. You don't know mangoes until you've tried Aphoos. You won't regret it, unless you count never being able to eat normal grocery store mangoes ever again a regret. The season only lasts until May so enjoy it now while you can!

Taste: 6/10
Veggie Selection: 2/10
Cost: £40 each for 3 courses, not including wine
http://www.lecafeanglais.co.uk/
8 Porchester Gardens
London W2 4DB
020 7221 1415