Brasserie Joel celebrates Eurostar’s 20th anniv. this May

Posted by winesleuth in All, Food and Wine, London, restaurants | 0 comments

I love taking the Eurostar to Paris, I haven’t taken a plane to Paris since I don’t know when –  I always take the train. It’s just so much easier to go  via Eurostar and seems a more civilized way to travel, to me anyway. Eurostar is celebrating it’s 20th anniversary this year, hard to believe that it’s only been around for 20 years, it seems to fit in seamlessly at St. Pancras/Kings Cross as if it’s been there forever.

Brasserie Joel in the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel has launched a special menu to celebrate the 20 years of Eurostar service between London and Paris. Chef Walter Ishizuka has created a menu that encompasses favourite dishes from both cities. Chef Walter has an interesting background – a French chef of Japanese descent, he came to London after working under Chef Paul Bocuse in France. His Japanese heritage has influenced his cooking in creating French cuisine with a lighter flavours.

The special menu starts off with Feuillete d’Escargot and Pork Pie. I love escargot and these were garlicky and not too chewy served on a wonderfully light puff pastry. I usually try and avoid breads and pastries but these were just too good to pass up. The pork pie served alongside the escargot was also very good, very morish. I had to stop eating them because I would have had no room for the  mains. Each dish was paired with a wine, the escargot with a Beaujolais-Villages and the pork pie with a Macon-Villages. Both wines were uncomplicated but fit the bill, complementing the food well.

For the mains we had a choice of Boeuf Bourguignon served with a Cotes du Rhone and traditional Fish and Chips paired with a Touraine Sauvignon Blanc. The Boeuf was very tender as it should be and full of flavour, served with gnocchi a la parisienne, I could have eaten the whole plate but saved room for the crispy fish and chips. Everyone around the table commented on how much they liked this traditional dish, the fish not too greasy and the chips were crispy.

Dessert was a choice of Macaron with hazelnut cream or Black Cherry cheesecake. I didn’t have dessert but the reviews were very positive from my fellow diners.

Brasserie Joel will be offering this menu throughout the month of May. For more information, visit their website.