Café Luc holds it own against Marylebone’s finest
By Alex Larman, published on 29 June 2011
Friends of mine tend to fall into two categories. There are those who will happily eat whatever’s put in front of them, as long as it’s brightly coloured, preferably contains a lot of meat or sugar (or both) and can be bought in a tin or a packet, for convenience’s sake, before being dispensed into a microwave. Then there are those who wouldn’t necessarily describe themselves as food snobs but – let’s be quite frank – have altogether higher standards. These are the sort of people who pop out to Borough Market for lunch, even if they work miles away, and who have exquisite taste in all things culinary and epicurean. Some of them are my favourite people, others can be a living nightmare.
However, it was one of these types, who in her time has been both, who deigned to accompany me on a trip to Marylebone High Street the other day. For the sake of her anonymity, we’ll call her Aurora Dawson. As anyone who’s been there knows, MHS (as it should never be called) has some of London’s most interesting and exciting restaurants, from Peter Gordon’s Providores and Orrery to nearby Blandford Street’s L’Autre Pied and Trishna. (Of course, everyone’s got Simon Rogan’s forthcoming Roganic in their sights as well.)
But Café Luc, one of the very first places that one comes to on the street, is more than a match for any of them. The first thing that you notice is the interior, which is funkily styled to resemble a more hip, upbeat take on the traditional dark wood and clubby atmosphere of the traditional French brasserie. Having recently returned from a Parisian trip where there were plenty of these practically wilting into antiquity, it was a pleasant relief to find somewhere that was altogether more welcoming and inviting, an impression reinforced by the friendliness and politeness of the staff.
A couple of cocktails started things off on a pleasantly even keel. Aurora decided, sun goddess that she is, that she’d kick off with a breakfast Martini, a delightful concoction of gin, Cointreau, orange marmalade and lime juice. A lot was going on, but very nicely. I, perhaps more conservative, went for the brilliantly named Marco Polo Martini, which might not have taken me all the way to China, but the tea-infused gin did the job more than adequately.
Starters verged on the conservative, which was no bad thing. Aurora went for the shrimp coquettes, which had just the right consistency of softness and flavour, helped by the fried parsley inside. I tried the chicken and foie gras ballotine, which was ever so slightly too cold, but a good helping of foie gras gave it an appealing richness and depth of flavour, helped by the welcome addition of pistachio and figs. This was helped by a lovely bottle of Pouilly-Fume, which had a fine consistency and was a fitting accompaniment to both.
Come the main course, I dodged an argument with Aurora, a committed and rather enthusiastic carnivore, by suggesting that we both had steak, in this case the Scottish fillet with Bearnaise sauce and green beans with pancetta acting as a more saintly accompaniment to the (delicious) chips. It was an especially rich, flavoursome cut, perfectly suited to an excellent Margaux that helped wash it down in a very pleasant fashion.
Aurora, belying her ever-svelte figure, has something of a penchant for cheese, and so we bypassed traditional desserts in favour of a delicious selection of fromage both English and French, which, aided and abetted by a fine glass of port, rounded off a very pleasant evening. As we left, the staff – who were endlessly pleasant and patient all evening with us, even laughing at some of our less amusing quips and sallies – bid us a fond farewell and expressed their desire to see us again soon. It won’t be too long, and we look forward to it already.
Café Luc, 50 Marylebone High Street, London, W1U 5HN, Tel: +44 20 7258 9878
Café Luc holds it own against Marylebone’s finest
Café Luc – one of the very first places that one comes to on Marylebone High Street – is more than a match for the likes of Providores, Orrery or even nearby Blandford Street’s L’Autre Pied or Trishna says our galloping gourmet, Alex Larman.
