The main event - their signature potato and Vacherin pie. Take a look at the pic further down the page to see how it looks inside.
What can you tell us about Levan at Home?
As you might have guessed from the name, it's the delivery version of Peckham restaurant Levan (from the same people behind Salon). This was set-up partway through the last lockdown and has been sending out finish-at-home meals, including some of the greatest hits from the restaurant.
And what kind of food do they do at the restaurant?
It's a mix of seasonal dishes and evergreen favourites. They describe their cooking as "contemporary European dishes, inspired by the ‘bistronomy’ movement and our favourite eateries in Paris, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Stockholm & Berlin".
What's the at-home offering?
There are two different menus - a standard menu and a vegetarian version - and the main dish changes monthly. When we had our delivery, the main was a beef bourguignon dish alongside snacks that included chicken liver parfait and smoked cod's roe. However, we decided to opt for the vegetarian version - swayed mainly by the pie as the main dish (we'd been hearing very good things about this pie).
Here's what we had:
Enriched bread dough, stuffed with caramelised onion relish and served with unpasteurised whipped butter from Normandy. This pic probably doesn't do justice to the brioche which really is stuffed with a lot of onion relish.
Beets, herb aioli, rye crumb - this was supposed to be roast carrots instead of raw beets, so the dish felt like a teeny bit of a downgrade - but that aioli was excellent - it went very well with the brioche too.
Marinaded beetroots, hazelnut cream - another of the snacks, with the hazelnut cream intensely flavoured.
Potato, mushroom & Vacherin pie - dauphinoise potato layered with mushroom duxelle and Vacherin Mont d’Or cheese, all wrapped in puff pastry. The main event and one of Levan's signature dishes. Whatever you order from them, make sure this is part of it. Definitely up there with London's best ever pies - because who wouldn't love dauphinoise potatoes in pastry?
Special mention for the salad (much bigger than it looks when it arrives as it's really packed into the box) particularly for its excellent Dijon dressing
We finished up with a huge pear tarte tatin and creme fraiche - the pears just melting away and more evidence of a fantastic touch on the pastry. Would have preferred standard cream over creme fraiche though (but that was easily addressed).
And there are extras too?
Yes, you can add on extras like the chicken liver parfait, more brioche and crushed potatoes with tarragon dressing, as well as either a half or full pie. We opted for this:
Organic cow’s milk burrata from Puglia, served with roast squash, toasted pine nuts and sweet and sour raisin vinaigrette. This was a fantastic combination - the extras balancing perfectly with the burrata. The deep-fried sage tops off a must-order extra dish.
And as it's finish-at-home, how is it presented?
It all comes packed in labelled boxes and tubs (all recyclable). We could have done with a bit more clarity on the labelling, to be honest, and a reminder of the menu and elements on the included A4 piece of paper would have been good too - it was a bit sparsely detailed. But while there is definite room for improvement in the instructions, ultimately it's all fairly easy - just a bit of reheating and plating is needed.
Overall thoughts
We'd been hearing very good things about Levan's at-home offering during Lockdown 1, so it was top of our list to try in Lockdown 2.0. it more than lived up to expectations - particularly that absolutely wonderfully rich pie. All in all, it's well worth treating yourselves to and a particularly good option for vegetarians.
More about Levan at Home
Where is Levan: 12-16 Blenheim Grove, Peckham, London SE15 4QL
Delivery range: Local collection or about 5 miles from the restaurant
How to order: Order online
Find out more: Follow them on Instagram @levanlondon.
Hot Dinners received the delivery from Levan as a gift.
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