The Capital

The combination of such extravagance led wording as ‘duck’, ‘foie gras’ and ‘truffle’ is too naughty to ignore. To catalogue them as part of the same dish is in fact rather nonsensical. Who wouldn’t choose it?

Jérôme Ponchelle’s ‘Ravioli of duck foie gras with leeks and black truffle’ sits brashly on The Capital’s 40th Anniversary menu (Dégustation Menu), which brings together classic dishes from distinguished chefs throughout its 40-year history.

A hotel and restaurant to neighbouring Harrods, The Capital celebrates a landmark year. The thick, coral and black carpeting in the entrance has the well-trodden characteristics of a starry past while glassy panelling and burnished fittings completes the typically stylish decor you’d expect to see in Knightsbridge.

The dining room is a little set in the past but nevertheless lavish and well cushioned. It’s a room in which people make an effort: ladies put on their heels and lippy and men splash themselves with eau de toilette.

Ponchelle (formally of Wiltons and The Connaught) took over from fellow French chef Eric Chavot in late 2009. The Frenchman’s philosophy to cooking is simple: “I believe it is important not to overwork a dish and to let the product’s own glory come to the fore.” His duck foie gras packed into fluffy ravioli parcels is an exemplification of this, expertly crafting powerful textures and surging with flavour.

Unfortunately, in 2009, The Capital lost both Michelin stars it held, a year in which it shared the accolade with such venues as Le Gavroche, The Square, Pied a Terre and Petrus.

Chavot’s mark is left on the celebratory menu however with his ‘Seared scallop with asparagus velouté’ (Chavot & Richard Hondier (2000’s)), in which a plump, crisp-topped, marshmallow-of-a-scallop sits neatly in a pea green velouté, finished with a single strip of Parmigiano.

Sommelier Julia Reynals paired the scallop with Levin Sauvignon Blanc 2006, perhaps no mistake as it originates from owner David Levin’s personal vineyard in Loire. Much of The Capital’s 36-page wine list contains examples from Levin Wines as well as New Worlds such as Penfolds Grange and Dominus.

‘Brandade of Dover sole’ (Brian Turner (1980s)), caught my eye, however the ruling had been made and it was up against the aforementioned duck ravioli, paired by Julia with a ripe Puligny-Montrachet 2007 from Burgundy. This was followed by an excellent pink and tender ‘Roasted saddle of new season lamb’ with a herb crust and served with rosemary sauce, peas, carrots and pickled vegetables. Philip Britten’s dish (1990s) was paired with a Château La Gasparde 2008 from Bordeaux.

A pre-dessert rhubarb compote with sweet foam was a welcome amuse-bouche. Syncopated into the flow of the menu it tickled the tongue with summer flavour and warmed me up for impending sweeter goods.

Desserts regrettably fall short, a disappointing end to an otherwise extraordinary meal. ‘Gianduja and hazelnut sponge cake, caramelised white chocolate foam’ (Arnaud Tual (2010s)) was nutty but rather dry; the Gianduja (50 percent hazelnut and almond paste) presented a light hazelnut confectionery while the white chocolate foam disintegrated smoothly on the tongue. But if only it had been left there.

A lemon sorbet was served on the same plate as sponge cake and was soon to conglomerate causing a disaster. The hypothesis doesn’t sound right as a kitchen concept, let alone a recipe or on the plate. The sourness of the sorbet bit through the sponge and caramel resulting in a metallic smack that lingered too long in the mouth. Luckily Julia was spot on with her choice of Riesling Spätlese (meaning ‘late harvest’) 2009, with an elegant yet intense nose that curbed the sour bite of the liquefying sorbet and replaced with notes of apple and honeysuckle.

To finish we were rolled out the ‘Le plateau de fromages’ (£12.00 Supplement). A tantalizing selection of French cheeses (only one English cheese: Stilton Blue): Roquefort, Valençay, Tomme de Savoie, Soumaintrain, Brie de Meaux, Camembert, Neufchâtel, Bleu d’Auvergne, Livarot, Morbier, Tomme Brulee, Pouligny St Pierre. A welcome conclusion to a meal and menu of exemplary cooking and celebration.

Dégustation menu £55.00 (with matching wines £98.00)

Capital is that strange beast, a Michelin starred restaurant within an hotel. Normally when you see this arrangement it is the restaurant hiding in the skirt folds of the hotel. With Capital, both the “mother ship” and the restaurant are so discrete you could easily miss them. We went simply because Heston Blumenthal's new pace round the corner nestling in the Mandarin Hotel's silken décolletage was booked out and we were looking for a lunch to remember without a booking.

We were also jean clad. Unlike any number of starred establishments this was absolutely no problem. They had a table (it was a quiet Saturday lunch time) and as far as I could tell were not remotely phased by my weekend stubble, jeans and T shirt. This isn’t something that you can say of some so-called fine dining restaurants.

The restaurant is really just a small dining room with I would guess maybe 15-20 tables and a small bar area. The atmosphere at lunch time was somewhat compromised by the clientele: a private banker trying to sell deranged investment products to a Chinese gentleman through an interpreter. He seemed to think that everyone needed his ill considered advice. I’d imagine that when full this kind of self aggrandisement would be drowned out by the general hubbub of conversation.

We ordered from the set lunch menu: £29.50 for three courses per person. Starters were either unchallenging (Waldorf salad twisted a bit and beautifully presented or a Lobster bisque) or out on the end of the spectrum (Snail vol-au-vents). I had the snails, my wife the twisted salad. She was perplexed by the salad, not recognising it as anything Waldorf like but generally liking it despite the strange disks of maybe turnip that it nestled upon. My snail vol-au-vent was instantly recognisable as a distant relative of Mr Blumenthal’s famous snail porridge: It had the same idea of layers of taste and texture, acidic salad, meaty molluscs and in this case replacing the risotto with a pastry case. It was very tasty.

My roast ox cheek had of course never been anywhere near an ox. It was the cheapest cut of a cow cooked with the greatest skill. It was sumptuous, slow cooked at a temperature that melted the collagen but didn’t turn the meat to straw. This melting texture was enhanced by a deeply reduced wine sauce that really made it taste the way a seat by a fire hearth feels on a cold autumn day. Apparently according to my less than poetic wife the Brill was also “good”, though I saw no cartwheels down the road afterwards.

Dessert was chocolate brownies, peanut ice cream and banana compote for us both. Peanut ice cream is becoming a bit like people wearing baseball caps the wrong way round: It’s a bit of a pointless craze sweeping theculinary world. Capital at least serves their peanut ice cream crunchy, in contrast s to the smooth frozen peanut butter at Maze (inter alia). We generally agreed that the brownies were not quite as good as my daughter’s (there may be some parental bias here, she's 13) the frozen crunchy peanut butter was the best variation on this theme either of us had tasted and the banana compote was no more memorable than any number of the things we’d eaten in the previous month: So, very good, ok and not very memorable, to mangle a film title.

Things I recall fondly; the service was really very, very good. We laughed and chatted with all the staff who were all attentive and very welcoming to us. The ox cheek perfectly contrasted with the weather outside and captured the mood of autumn and every dish had its own distinct personality.

On our value test (guess that you would pay more than the actual bill turns out to be all things considered is good, guess lower is bad) found Capital to be a good value restaurant. We both guessed that bill would be higher than it turned out to be, but then we only drank mineral water and that turned out to be a bargain. I would definitely go there again and warmly recommend it.

I was extremely disappointed. Maybe they were having a bad day but that's no excuse really at this level. The dining room is claustrophobic and stuffy, the service haphazard and the food uninspiring. The coup de grace was when the waiter who presented the cheese trolley admitted he had no idea which cheese was which! I am astounded that this restaurant has repeatedly been awarded two Michelin stars. My advice would be to go down the road to The Square if you want to experience true two star food.

Few restaurants come with a higher reputation so expectations were high. The Capital is an establishment entirely comfortable with where it is and it wouldn't fit anywhere other than Knightsbridge, Mayfair at a push. It's genteel and refined in a chintzy sort of way. Wood pannelling, all over the place, liveried doorman, plush carpets and a clientelle that appreciates that sort of thing.
The food was very good, perfect scallops, veal that was sweet and tender. Service was just about perfect, knowledge, French accented and friendly! The wine list was a disappointment, too French and a struggle to find much for less than £45 a bottle. The cheese board/trolley is billed as one of the best in London and that says more about the what's available in London than the quality of whats on offer at The Capital; again dominated by France and less than sixteen to choose from. In my opinion The Square does it all better.
Good for elderly Amercian friends and relatives, bad for your younger hipper F's and R's.

I tip my hat to the Michelin inspectors. This is without doubt one of the finest restaurants in London.

Perhaps a little ‘stiff’ for some tastes and the restuarant (due to the size) can lack a certain buzz, particularly at lunchtimes. That said, with the consistently brilliant food that comes out of Eric Chavot's kitchen I doubt you will even notice. I have been a customer of The Capital for several years and it never fails to dissapoint. Not ideal for a first date but perfect for a long lunch (amazing value) or occasion. Outstanding.