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Image 1: The Square is a classic French restaurant in the heart of Mayfair just down the street from one of our favourite place in London, Sketch. Chef Philip Howard has been retaining his 2-star for more than a decade. After a great dinner we had two years ago, this time we were back to check out their set lunch menu.
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As usual, we were the first to arrive but the dining room was quickly filled up by mostly business lunch clients and a few tables of tourists.
Image 3: They welcomed us with a warm porcini velouté with a puff pastry stick on the side. The 3-course lunch menu has a limited number of choices, but oh well, it was much more affordable than the tasting menu.
Image 4: The first course arrived promptly. Hidden underneath the fennel and orange foam was ravioli of red mullet and sea bass. Good pasta, excellent filing with a tiny citrus acidity. A very appetizing dish.
Image 5: The other choice was chicken terrine with a lot of goodies compressed in it - chicken, celeriac, foie gras accompanied by grape and apple chutney served with a warm toast on the side. The rich foie with fruity chutney is always a winning combo. Excellent!
Image 6: For main, pan-fried fillet of Organic Salmon on a bed of parsley creamed potato and buttered vegetables. The salmon was alright, nothing too exciting. Quite an ordinary main course!
Image 7: The other choice was roast rump of veal served on a bed of wild mushrooms risotto with parmesan grated on top. Veal was tender with nice flavours from the jus. Very enjoyable risotto with the rice retaining its firmness. By far a better choice than the fish!
Image 8: For dessert, crème caramel with semi dried grapes and Sauternes. Nothing wrong but I expected more from a 2-star kitchen.
Image 9: The other dessert was pavé of bitter chocolate with honeycomb and nut brittle. Rich chocolate with crunchy nut, a perfect classic pair!
Image 10: Seriously? A 2-star restaurant can get away with such a simple nougat as petit-four?! Overall, this lunch was rather ordinary compared to our previous tasting menu experience here. But still, for the price, I guess I should have a low expectation.