The great writer Virgina Woolf once wrote "One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well."
Well, last Thursday night, a private dining table of Yelpers thought well and went home to a happily sound sleep after dining at No.12 Picardy Place...and I know we all fell in love with the delicious food and wonderful experience we had.
I've been waiting on the perfect opportunity to dine at No.12 Picardy Place, and the chance to sample the new menu with such wonderful company was too good to miss.
Mr Greenaway kindly settled us into a private dining area, and our service was impeccable from start to finish. Our waiting staff were friendly, attentive and had the right balance of being highly professional, but completely approachable. The restaurant itself is beautifully designed with a clever mix of classic and contemporary, and provided a perfect venue for a memorable meal.
However, as Ms Woolf quite rightly points out, the dining is the most important part of the happiness experience, and blimey were we happy. Every single dish was admired, gushed over and appreciated fully before we even lifted our forks and knives.
For me, it was a starter of Hand-Dived Orkney Sea Scallops which were prepared perfectly and served on a pomme fondant. Tender, sweet and wonderfully balanced with tomato jelly and parsley mayonnaise. I have never savoured a dish so much...until my main course! Pan Roasted Hake fillet was next with purple mash, lobster tortellini and pumpkin. It was delicate, and so fresh I suspect it leaped straight out of the sea onto my plate. The combination of flavours was sublime, the dish was beautifully presented and my plate was spotless at the end.
During my meal I had a couple of glasses of a tasty Sauvignon Blanc, which went well with my seafood starter and main course and, at £5 a glass, was excellent value.
To end, I choose a Chocolate Fondant with a vanilla tuile, white chocolate mousse and tonka bean ice cream. This was again presented with such elegance, and was absolutely delicious. Every element combined well and the dish had the right balance of hot & cold, sweet (but not overly!) with the rich cocoa working well with orange caviar.
Everything was relaxed, each dish was served at just the right time and the conversations flowed. As a wonderful conclusion, we had a visit from Mark and a personal tour around the new hotel rooms upstairs from the restaurant. They were absolutely gorgeous, and excellent value for money, as was our meal.
As I was finishing this review, I pondered the thoughts of one Mr Mark Twain, who wrote, "When one has tasted it, he knows what the angels eat"...
...after this meal, I think we would all agree it was just like Heaven!