Laura's review of Launceston Place

We booked a celebratory meal at Launceston Place after being impressed by Tristan Welch on the Great British Menu and were not disappointed. As we had a 6.30pm booking, we were able to take advantage of the £30 3-course set menu. Although we had been quite prepared to branch out onto the a la carte menu, we were suitably impressed with the set menu options not to need to do so.
We were presented with hand-cooked devilled crisps as a pre-appetiser, followed by bread and then a complimentary cauliflower & truffle veloute which was absolutely delicious – I was left wanting more! For starters my husband had the devilled shrimp dish seen on GBM which he raved about, though he was obviously slightly jealous of my hollowed-out goose egg filled with truffle and goose-egg risotto with soldiers. Although the £10 supplement may seem excessive, as we would have paid at least £42 per head for the basic a la carte 3 courses if we had booked half an hour later, so it seemed rude not to have it! And they were very generous with the truffle shavings!
We both chose the suckling pig for main course; the meat and accompaniments were all excellent. We are both fans of fatty meat (it's where it gets the flavour after all) but this is probably not a dish for those picky about such things. The crackling was amazing – just how I like it with a lovely layer of crispy fat underneath.
Main courses were followed by another complimentary intermediatary course of a light and fluffy banoffee pie. My husband then had the rice pudding dish with the raspberry ripple ice cream, which he very much enjoyed, and I had the lavender panacotta with violet, which was both refreshing and different.
Unfortunately as I am pregnant I was not able to test the wine list, but my husband had a couple of glasses recommended by the excellent sommelier and both were very good and (we thought) incredible value at only £6.50 and £8.50 per glass.
We loved the dark and classy decor and service throughout the meal was first class. I had a peak in the chef's office and watched the plasma TV in the kitchen for a while (no sign of Tristan!), I think dinner in there would be a great experience. We were extremely impressed by the extra little touches, such as the little box of chocolates I was given as we departed, as well as the wonderful extra courses. Despite the 5 courses, neither of us left feeling ‘over full’, with the portion sizes it was just right. All in all for £100 for 2, we thought it was fantastic value for money for Kensington and for such a high quality meal and overall experience. We will definitely be back!