L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon--London

On my recent trip to the UK we had very few meals to eat, so we made each of them really count. For lunch one day we ate at this two Michelin star restaurant in the West End. We were seated at the bar, which startled me at first--the restaurant was empty and it seemed reasonable that we cold perhaps score a table--but I soon saw the error in my thinking.
At mid bar, you can see everything that is happening in the open kitchen--it is cooking as theater. And to begin with, everything that was being made was being made for us. So much fun to watch it being assembled before you, then you get to eat it.
The fixed price menu is a good deal, so I would recommend sticking with that. Here are the five dishes that we shared and what we thought:
*Egg cocotte topped with light wild mushrooms cream
Very flavorful mushroom sauce, and the egg appeared to be cooked sous vide--delicate, earthy and rich
*Razor clams from Colchester stuffed with shallot butter and flat parsley
These were my favorite, and they were very simply prepared--beautifully presented, but the contents are really clams, bread crumbs and shallots cooked in butter, and lots of fresh parsley. The flavor of the clams and shallots dominates, but the crunchiness of the bread crumbs works well with the chewiness of the clams. Very balanced seasoning as well.
*Langoustine ravioli with Savoy cabbage and foie gras sauce
The fois gras sauce was amazing--no liver flavor at all, and the richness of the langoustine married well with it.
*Pan fried scallop with ricotta cheese, romaine lettuce and basil
Scallops that are meticulously and individually pan-fried are marvelous--the rest of the dish was very flavorful, and added good textures, but the scallops themselves were the star of the dish
*Milk fed lamb cutlets from Pyrénées with fresh thyme
Served with fantastic mashed potatoes and green beans--delicious!
The amuse bouche was a fois gras custard with a fruit reduction sauce on top, with a fois gras foam-which was fantastic, maybe the most interesting dish that we ate. We finished with cheese that was served far too cold, but was otherwise nice.
I think I prefer the one Michelin star restaurant to the two, just because there is too much hoopla around the dining experience, but every once in awhile hoopla is kind of nice. I would go back!