We headed out to La Trompette this week as a celebration for Jack's new job. La Trompette is a modern British Michelin star restaurant in Chiswick highstreet and is sister restaurant to the well known Glasshouse and Chez Bruce.
Our booking on a Thursday evening 7pm came round and we headed out to chiswick the restaurant has a smart facade with outdoor seating and heaters and a bright light interior. We were shown to our table and presented with the menus. La Trompette has the option of a 6 course tasting menu or a 2 / 3 course a la carte menu. We opted for the tasting menu as we believe this is the option for the restaurant to show off their best dishes. We also opted to have the wine paring.
Canapés: Venison salami with truffle and a black olive crumb
This had a super gamey flavour a slight hint of the truffle and was overall a very tasty canapé. Looking back however it was a heavy flavour to start the menu with when the majority of the courses were fish based and very light with their flavours.
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| Venison salami with truffle and a black olive crumb Canapé |
The fish in this course was lovely, it was super fresh and you could taste the quality of the ingredients here. It was fresh and creamy with a citrus undertone. There was a mild chilli that gave the plate a slight bite, we couldn’t taste the wasabi but overall the elements went together nicely and the plate tasted lovely. The dish was presented nicely with a range of colours making it look appetising. The wine pairing, although we felt the measures were small it was a nice sweet refreshing wine that complimented the dish although it wasn’t a stand out glass of wine.
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| Cured gilt head bream, green mandarin, celtuce, ginger and wasabi |
Course 2: Paignton cock crab, pumpkin, chilli and ginger
Wine 2: Riesling, Pino Gris, Sylvaner ‘Pret-a-Blanc’ Schmoizer & Brown, Whitlands, Australia 2019
This dish was light, not overly fishy as you can have with crab, the pumpkin was really nice and gave the meal a really nice autumnal feel and flavour although this did leave a lingering aftertaste. The little squares of ginger were a nice refreshing burst of flavour however I personally didn't think the chilli came through with any taste - although this addition could have been what gave the meal it’s balance. It was saucy and the foam on top gave it a stark appearance, although not the prettiest dish. The wine pairing was nice, a little sharp without food but with it did cut through the sweetness of the meal with its buttery taste.
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| Paignton cock crab, pumpkin, chilli and ginger |
Course 3: Italian white sweet potato agnolotti and autumn truffle butter
Wine 3: Gentil du Clos du Capucins, Domaine Weinbach, Kayserberg, Alsace, France 2018
This plate was the highlight of the meal. It was probably one of the best and tastiest pasta meals I have ever had (and I eat a lot of pasta). The texture was unlike anything I’ve had before and it just melted in your mouth to this sweet subtle nutty truffle buttery flavour that lingered just the right amount. The mushroom sauce was light and not overpowering of the other flavours on the dish it was creamy and balanced in every sense of the word the only thing wrong with this dish was that there wasn’t enough of it! The wine pairing with this plate wasn’t anything special, it was another buttery white wine but the meal outshone the wine by a mile.
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| Italian white sweet potato agnolotti and autumn truffle butter |
Wine: Barbaresco, Produttori del Barbaresco, Piedmonte, Italy 2016
I had this main option and it was easily the best of the 2 options. The meat was super tender and fell apart, the potato galette was super crispy which gave each bite a lovely crunchy texture. The barbecue flavour was strong throughout the short rib leaving no guessing that this is the flavour of the meal. Overall a well thought out dish with obviously quality ingredients giving a lovely tasting plate. The wine pairing was again nice, a light red wine that wasn’t overpowering or super heavy for the plate paired with, I personally would have preferred something slightly heavier with this meal.
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| Barbecued short rib, potato galette and field mushroom |
Wine: Meursault ‘Vielle Vignes’, Maison Buisson Battault, Burgandy, France 2017
Jack had this option on the tasting menu, and although he enjoyed it, it did not match the tastiness of the rib. Overall the fish was interesting and the beans weren’t the most exciting element of the dish. The wine pairing was more of the same of what we have already had during the evening with an easy drinking buttery white being served. Overall this plate was disappointing and there was a lot of food envy towards the rib dish.
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| Grilled Turbot, coco beans, Torbay shrimps and seaweed butter
Course 5: Lemon curd, passionfruit and clementine |
This pre desert in my opinion was a little sharp and tart with very little sweetness coming through. It was hard to tell if this was aiming toward being a sorbet type palette cleanser, but it left a tart lingering aftertaste.
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| Lemon curd, passionfruit and clementine |
Course 6: Bramley apple crumble Soufflé, buttermilk ice cream
Wine 5: Edes Harmas, Attila Homonna, Tokaji, Hungary, 2017
This was an impressive dish with the Soufflé being served with the buttermilk ice cream being forced into the centre of the Soufflé at the table. It looked very appetising and the bramley apple flavour came through very strongly towards the bottom of the Soufflé however the rest of the desert tasted very eggy. I know Soufflés are made predominantly from eggs so it could be that this is the normal flavour for this dish I was just expecting something different. The Tokaji served was delicious as is standard from this dessert wine - it’s been our favourite for a while now it was possibly a little too sweet for the Soufflé though.
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| Bramley apple crumble Soufflé, buttermilk ice cream |
Overall we were actually a little disappointed in the food having been to both Chez Bruce and The Glasshouse where we had exceptional experiences at la Trompette it felt that the service was rushed from both the waiters and the sommelier and although there were some standout plates the overall flow and combination of the menu didn't quite work. There were a lot of fish on the menu making a number of the plates not particularly stand out from each other as they had similar tasting notes. It would have also been nice to have had the option for some different wines rather than the range of whites served with the fish courses. Although we had a lovely evening out of the 3 sister restaurants we would opt to venture back to the Glasshouse or Chez Bruce over La Trompette.
Have you ever been to La Trompette? Let me know your favourite London restaurants as we are always looking for new places to try. We would love to hear some of your recommendations.
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Until next time
Emma Jayne Eats
