Launceston Place

Visit Launceston Place in the heart of London's South Kensington.

Launceston Place | Restaurant In South Kensington | D&D London

http://www.launcestonplace-restaurant.co.uk

review of London British restaurant Launceston Place by Andy ...

At the prestige end of the list, Rioja Alta 904 from 1982 was £275 compared to its retail price of £192, and Sassicaia, Tenuta San Guido 2006 was £460 for a wine that has a current market value of £223.

As you travel up the list the mark-ups became inconsistent e.g. the Vega Sicilia Unico 1966 had a heavy cash mark-up at £950 for a bottle that retails at £436, yet the Latour 1959 at £2,000 compared well to its current market price of £2,209.

A pair of “Pont Neuf” potatoes were served separately and were very nice – a dish that I enjoyed at The Woodford.

This was pleasant enough, the texture of the sponge cake good, and the lemon sorbet was fine (13/20).

There were a couple of dishes that I enjoyed (the bread, the potatoes) but there were way too many misses compared to hits in the course of this menu.

Classics Revisited: Launceston Place

The restaurant group has positioned Launceston Place as one of the foodiest members in its sprawling portfolio, first drafting in ex-Marcus Wareing chef Tristan Welch and then Tim Allen, who won a Michelin star which departed with him in 2015.

Murphy might not have had a Michelin star at The Woodford but he hauled in pretty much every other accolade to suburban Zone 4, picking up awards as Chef to Watch, Breakthrough Chef of the Year and London Restaurant of the Year throughout 2016.

Before The Woodford, Murphy had worked at Koffmann’s and The Greenhouse in London, two Michelin three-stars in France, Les Prés d’Eugénie in the south west and Epicure in Paris, and the three-star Eleven Madison Park in New York.

All of which is to say that Murphy is an ambitious and very talented young chef who has served a traditional apprenticeship learning from the masters instead of selling tacos out of the back of a van before crowdfunding a restaurant in Hackney.

Launceston Place | Restaurants in Kensington, London

Not original, naming a restaurant after its street – there are loads like that in London.

LP’s villagey part of Kensington is festooned with flowers in summer, and its rows of mansions are immaculate: this poshest outpost of the D&D London restaurant group fits in.

It has the quirks and tics that the Michelin inspectors look for (it received a star in 2013), but our recent visit showed irregularities.

Launceston Place is a restaurant that makes living in Launceston Place even nicer than it undoubtedly already is, but a visit from further afield isn’t always rewarded.