The Corbin & King equivalent of if Heineken did ready meals... if that makes sense.
So what do we need to know about Corbin & King Home Dining?
If you've been missing your fix of favourite dishes from Messrs Corbin & King - the chocolate mousse from Zedel or the Duck Confit from Colbert, for example - then this is for you. This restaurant group has long made its fortune from giving diners precisely what they want - and their new delivery arm is no different.
Is this a ready to eat or ready to heat job?
It's the latter. Think of the range as a very much gussied up ready meal delivery service - saving you the effort of hours getting that casserole just right or the quantities of butter and cream in the mash to properly heart-stopping levels. Most of what comes in ready to pop in the oven (and a couple of sides in the microwave).
You can also opt for either a one or two-person portion.
What's exactly is on offer?
Instead of each restaurant in the group running their own delivery option, Corbin & King instead decided to centralise the service and run a truncated menu of greatest hits from across their restaurants. So there are mains and desserts from The Delaunay, The Wolsely and even their not-yet-opened seafood restaurant Manzi's in Soho - along with a choice of side dishes.
Here's what we had:
Soutine's Coq au Riesling - a really good chicken casserole - the free range chicken slowly braised in Riesling ending up with a sauce so good you could drink it on its own. (£11.75).
Manzi's Fish Pie - It's a bit odd trying a delivery dish from a restaurant so new it hasn't actually opened yet. But this fish pie from the group's up and coming Manzi's in Soho is a good sign of things to come and features Loch Duart Salmon, cod, prawns, mussels and palourde clams in a pea velouté. (£11.75).
The Wolseley’s veal escalope - one of a few dishes you're required to do any actual cooking. But it only needed putting into a frying pan for a few minutes, so it's hardly heavy-lifting. And it does come with a very nice lingonberry compote. (£14.75)
We also had two of their sides, both of which worked best in the microwave. The mash was properly artery-furring but we thought there was too heavy a hand with the mint on the medley of spring veg.
Room for dessert?
Definitely. We didn't get to try the Fischer's Black Forest Gateau or The Delaunay's Vanilla Cheesecake, but we did have these:
Zedel's Mousse au Chocolat - properly old school, gorgeous chocolate mousse made with Valrhona, giving a lighter lift with French meringue whipped through it and topped with loads of shaved chocolate. (£6.50)
The Wolseley's Fruit Crumble & Crème Anglaise (£6.50) - packed with fruit, as you can see, although we did have a little disaster with the creme anglaise, not quite comprehending how strong - or not - the plastic pouch it came in was. Saved a little though!
What about drink?
The short wine list features eight red and eight white wines along with two roses and an English sparkling wine and a Champagne. It's all pretty reasonably priced, starting at £14.25 for a bottle of Rioja and going up to £42.50 for one of Mersault.
We had a bottle of their very drinkable La Giustiniana Gavi de Gavi (£27.50) which went well with both the chicken and fish dishes. Each dish, when you add it to your cart, comes up with a couple of matched wines, if you're missing the help of your sommelier.
Overall thoughts:
Before we add our own thoughts, it's worth pointing out that 100% of the profits from the Home Dining scheme goes towards the group's staff, helping topping up furloughed salaries. It's an admirable step from a group that's often ahead of the curve when it comes to looking after employees.
Add to that, it's an easy home delivery menu, with some accomplished dishes on the menu. It's also notably not too pricey. If you're after an experience that brings with it happy memories of dining in their restaurants, then this is it.
More about Corbin & King Home Dining
What's the delivery range? 6 miles from the West End
How to book: Order online
Hot Dinners were sent these meals from Corbin & King. Prices correct at time of publication.
Subscribe to be the first to get the news from Hot Dinners
