Address: 57 West Smithfield, London EC1A 9DS

Telephone number: 0207 796 0600

Website: www.clubgascon.com/index2.php 

Date of visit: 5 March 2010

Approximate cost per head: £30

Comments on wine list/beer: Very up market and extensive and expensive list. Mark up at top end approx 300%

Summary:

Around Smithfield Market, Pascal Aussignac has set up several outlets for his Gascony cooking. Club Gascon is his flagship with one Michelin star.

Upon entry, I noticed that the place was decorated in black and white (art deco?) and fairly small. There is reasonable space between the tables.

They offered a set lunch as well as a la carte.

We had the set meal – 2 courses at £22, 3 courses £28

As soon as we sat down, a block of butter and a dollop of tapenade appeared on the table – the bread never came. We had to ask for it and it was served bread after the starters arrived and they did not offer seconds.

The food we had is best described as possibly  “Nuevo Atkins” – very highly decorated but low on carb and vegetables.

For starters we had duck served several ways. This turned out to be a large morsel of medium cooked breast, a heart and some duck pate. The three bits came on an oblong plate with a “brown” intensive sauce off set by “waves” of green which turned out to be pea puree. It was very visual and tasty – I just about had enough bread (my single roll) with my “pate”. My cousin had the ravioli with salsify and truffle juice. This came on a large white plate with a “indent” in the middle which contained the food. He liked it.

For the main course, we all had the onglet steak. This is the piece of muscle that “squeezes” the bladder. Its lean, has good texture and is very tasty – I always go for it when it is available. Note, there should be no fat on this steak. If you see any fat dispersed within the muscle, then they are serving skirt steak disguised as onglet . The taste is the same but the texture is different. This was served with a red cabbage mash.

Overall the dining experience was excellent except for the smallish portions – you will need to fill yourself with bread. But, they are reluctant to serve bead.

We also had a bottle of Ch de Pez 2005 at £51. It was one of the cheaper reds. You could probably buy one at around £15 from a wine merchant.

They also have an a la caret menu (with few choices) and a gastronomic set meal at £88.

M Aussignac also offer signed copies of his cookbook – Cuisinier Gascon – at his restaurants. All I can say is that most of his cooking are highly complex and is not easy to reproduce for a dinner party. It’s great fun if you have a free afternoon to experiment.

Eddie