You'll probably know The Westbury hotel in Mayfair because of their cleverness in getting two brilliant chefs - Eric Chavot and Alyn Williams to open restaurants there. But what you might not know is that the hotel has two other great chefs working for them - executive chef Brian Fartoni (who comes here via The Savoy, Claridges and Enoteca Turi) and Show Choong who opened the Tsukiji sushi restaurant at the Westbury back in 2010.
For the first time the hotel has devised an evening that allows diners to enjoy the work of all four chefs. And they've gone a few steps further than that by holding these dinners in the hotel's St George's Penthouse Suite and paired each course with Laurent-Perrier champagne.
Hot Dinners popped along for a first try of the menu for the Sparkling Quartet on a cold, wet January Monday evening considerably enlivened by the prospect of great food, fine wines and a view to boot. You can book to come on one of the four nights they're holding throughout the year, or take the whole place over for a group of 12 any night you like, as long as the suite is available.
The evening kicked off with a selection of canapes created by each chef - our hands-down favourite was the chicken liver pate by Eric Chavot while champagne was served by the hotel's butler. This takes place in the suite's lounge before moving across to the dining area. They've got a great terrace which would be a lovely spot for a pre-dinner drink in the summer.
The first course was a single raw scallop with sweet prawn and sea-urchin served with yuzu vinaigrette and porcinin oil and a tuna tataki by Show Choong. That was followed with Roast Fillet of Halibut with a broccoli puree and flaked almonds with chanterelles in a light sauce by Brian Fartoni. Next came Alyn Williams' dish - Cotswold Chicken served with caramelized leek, potato discs a smoked egg sauce and truffle and then the evening finished off with Eric Chavot's fabulous trio of deserts - Vanilla Macaroon with Vanilla Crème, Raspberry and Almond cake with Raspberry Sorbet and a Milk Chocolate Mouse with Pistachio Ice Cream.
Each course was matched with a different Laurent-Perrier champagne from their Ultra Brut for the sushi starters, Grand Siecle to match the halibut, their Cuvee Alexandria to go with Alyn's course and for the Chavot desserts, a tasting of all three champagnes.
The Sparkling Quartet evenings at The Westbury cost £275 which includes four courses, matching champagnes, coffee and a service charge. The evenings will take place in March, June, September and December. To book contact Natalija Djurcic on natalija.djurcic@westburymayfair.com. To book the dinner for a group contact the events team on 020 762 9775 or conference@westburymayfair.com.
The Westbury Hotel is on Bond St, London W1S 4JU
Main photo by Chris Orange. Prices were correct at time of writing. Hot Dinners were guests of The Westbury.
