The Landau, W1
It’s early January, Ms Pancake and I have just got back from a month in India and London greets us with the biggest contrast in culture and environment possible. Beaches of soft, glistening sand are replaced by pavements of treacherous ice and snow, whilst the smiley faces of Goa had become little more than a memory amongst the deathly stares of London’s freezing, sun deprived population. What we needed was a feel-good restaurant to pamper a little happiness back into our cold, miserable souls, so The Landau at the Langham Hotel was duly booked.
We started with a couple of excellent cocktails in Artesian, the hotel’s glamorous bar. Despite being a cold Wednesday evening in January, the bar was surprisingly packed with a relaxed sub-40’s crowd, many of whom were no doubt appreciating its extensive rum collection and some excellent cocktails.
Onto dinner and the walk through to The Landau from the bar is an intriguing and exciting one. A narrow and dark passage leads you past an impressive private dining room, through a long corridor of impossibly fine wines before you are presented with an opulent dining room which could only belong to one of London’s most revered hotels.
The menu provides an accessible mix of classic European dishes that you would be happy to eat every day. Starters included a light Goats cheese wrapped in some of the most delicious smoked Scottish salmon and a perfect dish of Fois gras & duck terrine with parmesan marshmallow. For mains, beautifully cooled Lobster Thermidor with a hearty pork belly & basil cassoulet provided a dynamic duo that Batman & Robin would struggle to compete with. Lamb cutlets with lamb confit & Anna potatoes was delicious too, but couldn’t compete the brilliance of the lobster dish. It must be said that whilst the prices are steep, with starters at around £15 and mains around £25, the generous portions sizes certainly won’t leave you feeling short-changed.
Desserts were more of a mixed bag. White & dark chocolate mousse cake was devoid of the expected richness, bitterness and sweetness, but the Apple millefeuille with calvados & raisins was full of interesting and intricate flavours
Again, whilst pricey (don’t expect to find anything under £30), the wine list, provided some genuinely interesting choices. They take particular pride in the majority of the list being bio-dynamic and the sommelier certainly knows his way around, with some impressive matchings.
Food: 4/5
Venue: 4/5
Value: 3/5
Cuisine type: Modern European
Dinner for two (excluding drinks): £100
Wine: £10
Cocktails: £15
The Landau @ The Langham Hotel
Portland Place
London
W1B 1JA
Tel: 020 7965 0165
