Modern European restaurant, Food 5/5, Price £20 set lunch, Waiting time 10 to15 mins between each course, Atmosphere 4/5 website
Pork crubeens (boiled pig's feet), onions, capers, mustard
£20 for a three course meal at a destination fine dining establishment, complete with celebrity chef – I consider lunch at Launceston Place a real bargain. Especially when you also get an amuse-bouche and a pre-dessert on top of the three courses and leave knowing that you haven’t felt quite so full since Christmas dinner. (Three courses for dinner’s £45)
Walking up South to North, Launceston Place is a fairytale street with the most beautiful rows of houses, which might make you feel a bit rubbish about your own place if it has a value of less than 2m. At the end is Tristan Welch’s Launceston Place. The restaurant is bright with elegant, black painted walls adorned with tasteful paintings. A good-looking team of sommelier, waiter and crumb sweeper in suits makes sure you’re well looked after. The Peugeot pepper-mill on the table and L’Occitane handwash in the toilets reminded me of American Psycho.
Amuse bouche: Pickled cucumber with sugar sorbet
After the famous crisps tied up with ribbons, which look like kettle chips with holes but don’t taste as nice, comes the amuse-bouche. The sugar sorbet with pickled cucumber was indeed amusing to the mouth, in a nice way. It was like frozen raita that’s a bit sweet. It did work. It was also amusing that the butter for your bread comes on a flat pebble.
Starter: Duck egg on toast with truffles
The starter of duck-egg on toast with truffles was like really nice mushroom flavoured eggs Benedict. Duck egg was just like chicken egg but slightly smaller. The generous shavings of truffle that cover the soft-boiled egg were fragrant and very special.
Main course: Salt Marsh lamb with pommes puree and herb consomme
The main course of lamb, pommes puree (creamy mash) and a consomme tasted fantastic but the herb crust let it down a bit by being dry and powdery. By this point, I’m getting full and it’s difficult to appreciate the food.
Pre-dessert: Set lemon cream
The pre-dessert of set lemon cream was zesty, rich and sweet. It’s a nice surprise to have two desserts.
Dessert: Apple tart with homemade ice cream
The apple tart with homemade ice cream was the star of the show. Huge pieces of soft sweetly stewed apple on a crunchy, caramelized puff-pastry base.
Fine dining is something I get occasional temptations to do. After having a few courses of rich, foamy, decadent, luxurious, rare and weird dishes, I feel satisfied for the next few months. Launceston Place’s £20 three-course (five course, really or even six?) meal served its purpose perfectly. Here, you can impress a date without even breaking the bank – quick, before they get a Michelin star!
For Launceston Place dinnertime reviews/more food porn go to;
Meemalee’s Kitchen / Laissez Fare /Around Britain with a Paunch
Aki Eats 
Posted on September 11, 2010
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