Galvin La Chapelle

Galvin La Chapelle begins with a building that invites comparison. The grand converted church-school setting, with its wonderful high ceilings, candelabras and glass mezzanine, has the atmosphere of a film set — Hogwarts comparisons are hard to resist. The packed room looked ready for a special occasion, although the poker-faced hostesses did little to soften the first impression. Cocktails took fifteen to twenty minutes, then needed a reminder. Worse, bread arrived late with butter hard enough to be stale. For a French house, that is a cardinal sin.

The wine list was a different story. It had theatre, including a £19,500 bottle, and the proper Riedel decanters made the pairing feel serious. We chose the Menu Gourmand with Paul Jaboulet fine wines, while Mit was offered a made-up vegetarian menu and an impromptu fruit flight. There were clear successes: the watercress velouté was very good, the tomato velouté and olive component lovely, and the risotto was on point. The lasagne of Dorset crab with scallops lacked texture; chicken foie gras was apparently amazing, and the asparagus with wild garlic coulis drew rave reviews. A cold Saint-Joseph red did not work, and the turbot was less twin-turbo than hoped.

The pigeon was the evening’s defining dish: gorgeous, with a spectacular harissa sauce, an amazing confit leg parcel and a wine to match. La Briquette fleurie was superb, while the apple tarte tatin was scrumptious. The cheese selection, however, disappointed for a distinguished French restaurant. At 34, La Chapelle has real beauty and several excellent moments, but the unevenness feels difficult to ignore beside top-end prices. There are some positives and some negatives, yet compared with Chez Bruce it was a little bit of a let-down.