L'Autre Pied (2), London, UK

I tried Taste of Spring at L'Autre Pied a couple of months ago and it was a great experience. When I received the newsletter introducing the Taste of Summer menu I could not resist and booked of table for three as my friend N. was in London for the week end. The good thing when you book in advance is that you avoid the typical Saturday morning disappointment when you find out that all the restaurants on your to-eat list are fully booked for lunch. One drawback is that sometimes you enjoy yourself a little bit too much on Friday evening and can not really appreciate your meal, what is kind of unfortunate when it is at a Michelin starred restaurant. That is what happened to "hangovered" N., which at least allowed us to share three tasting menus for two.

Pressed foie gras and Dutch eel, celeriac cream, apple purée

Puy lentil and smoked bacon velouté,

ragout of lentils, smoked olive oil

Line caught monkfish, ragout of girolle mushrooms,

Morteaux sausage and lightly smoked sabayon

Roasted middle white pork, glazed baby carrots,

carrot and star anis purée, tarragon jus

Vanilla ice cream and Raspberry sorbet

Macerated strawberries, cinnamon sablé, Thai basil ice-cream

I liked my first experience at L'Autre Pied, and I loved my second one, as all dishes were absolutely delicious. The foie gras was well balanced and came with little dashes of purée with intense flavour. The second dish was my favourite one as the taste of lentil, bacon and chanterelle all together was stunning. Both fish and pork were cooked to perfection and served with fresh and tender vegetables. Desserts were light and fresh, and the Thai basil ice-cream I already knew was as fantastic as the first time I had it.

In addition to top-notch food we were also very impressed with the considerate service. N. who was noticeably feeling unwell, was offered some mint tea and asked if she would prefer to stop the tasting menu. The waitress also noticed that we did not touch our glass of Prosecco (remember, we had enjoyed ourselves a little bit too much...) and offered us the raspberry sorbet as a pre-dessert. This makes the difference between a good restaurant and a great restaurant.

Cost: 5-course menu with a glass of prosecco: £45