|A taste of the Left Bank in the mundane environs of Charing Cross? We were en route to a matinee at the Playhouse, which is why we were braving the wrong end of the Strand. But what a find! Located in Northumberland Avenue, Terroirs stands out like the proverbial good deed in a naughty world. And the food is out of this world. The menu has such a variety of unusual and delicious-sounding dishes – sensibly arranged into ‘Small plates’ and 'Large plates – that it took an age to decide on our final choices.
I went for two Small Plates: Truffles on toast, topped with bone marrow, and smoked eel on celeriac remoulade. Both were superb, but possibly the bone marrow just won the day. Haven't had that since my youth – thought it was illegal, in fact – but there it was, just as creamy and unctuous as I remembered.
Two of our companions had – and raved over – the quail and , having mopped up some of the sauce, I could see why. My only niggle was that the large portions were served up in such small bowls, it was difficult to get to grips with it, unless we did a Henry VIII job and ate, messily, with our fingers. One dessert that desserved (sorry!) a special mention was the panacotta with blood orange and Campari – an intriguing combination that really works. I'm going to try this one at home.