céleste - the lanesborough london

one of the most beautiful tea rooms for high tea time in london. the tea time was phenomenal, classy and upper-scale as i like it. verygoodclientele,goodmusic, verygoodservice. i strongly recommend it. a perfect place for a cooler gloomier day! make a reservation they are generally fully booked.

the air con was very cold when we arrived but charming staff quickly put that right. the waiters who looked after us (including frederico from maiori) seemed to be enjoying themselves by being attentive and considerate.goodservice is wonderful but service with a big, genuine smile is rather more special. thank you for that.

the little amuse bouches were intriguing, rather than particularly enjoyable. the mackerelwas the stand out here, with a subtle lemony flavour cutting through the natural oiliness of the fish.

two of us ate the foie gras, presented in a subtle, herby terrine; slightly over-chilled but with excellent flavours. one ate a caesar's salad that did not appear on the menu - it was cleverly presented on a base made from a cross section cut of iceberg lettuce. absolutely delicious.

onto the main course - two duck, one lamb and a halibut. i ate the lamb, which was excellent, cooked to perfection and melted in the mouth. i then tasted the duck and could easily have eaten the lot - it was outstanding.

we had various ice cream based puddings, of which mine (a lemon meringue served with fresh strawberries) was beautifully presented and excellent - tiny flecks of lemony jelly and fresh thyme added an extra dimension.

the room (when the air con came under control) is so attractive that it makes the evening special. and into this haven of sophistication came the most sublime cucumber-based palate cleanser imaginable.

the prices are eye-wateringly high but every plate exceeded expectations - so it would be churlish not to say that the price was pretty well worth it. am i going back soon? not until i can afford to. would i like to go back soon? if i could have that food, those flavours, the setting and that level of friendly service without quite such a tough price tag i would go back often.

prettygoodmostly fairly uninteresting and not really packed with flavour. i'm a little surprised at the michelin star for this one. service was pretty bad, having to ask for water over four times gets a little tedious for this standard of restaurant. overpriced as far as i'm concerned, so a wholly disappointing lunch!

there was a terrific posh scotch egg - a burford brown encased in mince of chicken and rosemary-spiked lardo from colonatta, crispy, with a rich and golden runny yolk and earthy truffle mayonnaise (£14 a la carte, also on set lunch menu). my brother had a cold starter with lobster -goodchunks of meat presented as a sort of salad, with tagliatelle-style ribbons of a vegetable we couldn't identify and forgot to ask about. 

i had lobster in my main, with conchiglioni pasta and it's own light and frothy bisque. i enjoyed it, but i suspect i would have done so much more with the absence of peppers, the flavour from which i felt had no place on the plate. the capers though, definitely (£34 on a la carte).

my brother nailed his choice - roast norfolk black chicken, confit crispy leg, and girolles mushrooms. asgoodas it reads - savoury, umami, like the chickeny essence had been extracted from 50 fine birds and concentrated into one plate's worth of food (£24 a la carte, also on set lunch menu).

laudable desserts came in the form of a vibrant mango eton mess, shards of meringue sticking out like ship sails in the wind (£12.50 a la carte, also on set lunch menu), and a gloriously seductive guanaja chocolate mousse with streusel crumble, demonstrating some impressive paint brush skills (£12.50 a la carte).