db Eats: La Dame de Pic

db’s resident foodie, Lucy Shaw, heads to Anne-Sophie Pic’s debut London venture at the Four Seasons for classic French fine dining with a twist.

Anne-Sophie Pic

The concept: Anne-Sophie Pic is one of the most highly decorated chefs in France. With six Michelin stars to her name, including three at her flagship restaurant Maison Pic in Valance on the left bank of the Rhône, in 2011 she was voted the World’s 50 Best female chef of the year.

Hailing from a family of culinary whizzes, Pic is the third generation of her clan to have earned three stars, and did so with no formal training. La Dame de Pic (a play on the French for ‘the queen of spades’) is a London spin-off of her more casual restaurant in Paris. Mirroring the opening of Parisian stalwart Les 110 de Taillevenet in London last year, Pic is keen to make a splash in the capital.

Scottish langoustine in a shellfish butter

The décor: Housed within the new Four Seasons in Trinity Square, a peaceful enclave in Tower Hill, the opulence of the hotel’s lobby and Rotunda bar, with its soaring Corinthian columns, urns spilling over with flowers, white tea scent wafting through the air and gorgeous pink Art Deco domed ceiling, is a suitable fit for a woman of Pic’s calibre.

The restaurant itself is far more subdued in character. The rabbit warren of a space is opened up by Art Deco mirrors, but it’s hard to take in the room in one glance with its private booths and maze-like format.

Unusually for a fine dining restaurant, there isn’t a starched tablecloth in sight, and the French pop soundtrack is endearingly upbeat, pumping out the likes of Ça Plane Pour Moi by Plastic Bertrand.

With chocolate brown leather seating and white walls, the stylist has clearly played it safe, when, in a venue like the Four Seasons, you have carte blanche to be as flamboyant as Liberace on a first date. Perhaps Pic wants diners to focus on the food rather than feast on the interiors.

The food: The cheapest main is £32 and the sea bass with caviar and a Champagne sauce will set you back £52. At those prices expectations are understandably high, though, frustratingly, the dishes often missed the mark.

Scottish scallops with root vegetable parcels and black truffle

Pic best shows her culinary prowess in the amuse bouches we’re offered at the start of the evening. Playful, irreverent and punchy, they encapsulate all that is fun, whimsical and alluring about a fine dining experience.

A pair of translucent leaves exquisitely fashioned from Jerusalem artichoke arrive resting on a log in a nod to the Four Seasons’ leaf logo and are almost too pretty to eat.

Even more impressive are tiny green globes that explode in your mouth, filling it with the unmistakably French flavour of Pastis in a trick Heston would be proud of.

One of the most delicious dishes of the evening was a humble ramekin of cauliflower cheese, which was so unctuous, rich, creamy and comforting, I was tempted to scratch going à la carte and order a vat of it. 

Signature dishes: As is the case with many restaurants, the starters impressed more than the mains. A must order are Pic’s signature ‘berlingots’, formed of matcha green trianglular pasta parcels rammed with salty, smoky, oozing Brillat Savarin cheese nested in an earthy wild mushroom broth laced with tonka bean. Walloping your taste buds with an umami blast, the punchy flavours were a triumph.

Also impressing were the Scottish langoustines in a shellfish butter bearing the ghostly traces of geranium that lifted the richness of the dish, adding delicacy and finesse. Painterly in presentation, the langoustines were perfectly cooked – silky, juicy and tender, I only wish there were more to devour.

Brittany pigeon smoked with liquorice

The biggest disappointment of the evening was my main – a trio of fat, silky scallops served with root vegetable parcels and black truffle shavings. Floating in a nepita bouillon, both the sauce and the parcels were overwhelmingly sweet, leaving me craving the biting acidity of green apple to enliven and lift the dish.

The pretty as a picture crab starter with dill panna cotta and celeriac offered an array of textures but was equally whispering on the flavour front, which was frustrating given Pic’s pedigree.

The drinks: The Four Seasons have plucked German-born head sommelier Jan Konetski from Gordon Ramsay Royal Hospital Road, who was on hand throughout the evening to offer us liquid delights from Pic’s homeland of the Rhône among other treasures.

Kicking off with an enchanting glass of Bollinger La Grande Année 2007 – all hazelnuts, brioche and lemon curd – we soon moved to the Rhône and were treated to the lesser-known delights of its whites, including a rich and textured white Châteauneuf: Extrait 2014 from Domaine Chante Cigale. Made from 60% Roussane and 40% Grenache Blanc, the barrel-fermented drop boasted notes of honeysuckle, hot buttered toast and lemon peel.

Citrus and curcuma

The old vine Grenache dominant Les Chaux de Fontbonau 2013 Côtes du Rhône meanwhile, was all strawberries, blueberries, cinnamon and chocolate with hints of white pepper and seductive, velvety tannins.

Who to know: Ask for Jan on arrival and go for by the glass pairings rather than a full bottle – he’ll take you on a glorious tour of the Rhône without you having to leave your seat.

Don’t leave without: Trying one of Pic’s incredible desserts. The much-hyped white millefeuille is sure to become a modern classic. Served as a simple white cube dotted with clouds of white foam, it looks more like a contemporary artwork than a pudding.

Its delicate exterior hides layers of feather-light pastry and rich Tahitian vanilla cream, with jasmine jelly offering a welcome aromatic lift. Pic’s handling of citrus in her meyer lemon confit and bergamot mousse is inspired, leaving the palate cleaned, refreshed and buzzing with flavour.

Last word: Pic is a formidable talent and London is lucky to have her. My meal offered flashes of brilliance interspersed with moments of mediocrity. Her technical skills and presentation were on point throughout, but I would have liked to see her assert herself more boldly on the plate on occasion, particularly with her mains.

Perhaps it’s teething problems and not knowing the London market and our love of punchy flavour combinations, but I’m looking forward to Pic coming out of her shell and being less cautious on the flavour front. Her amuse bouches prove she’s capable of exciting, explosive creations and I’d love to see more of these moments of magic. 

La Dame de Pic at The Four Seasons, 10 Trinity Square, London EC3N 4AJ