Open lunch Mon–Sun midday–3pm; Dinner Mon–Thu 6pm–11pm; Fri–Sat 6pm–11.30pm; Sun 6pm–10pm
L ’Etranger means ‘The stranger,’ which is pretty accurate – I felt very much an outsider. As you enter the intimate restaurant there is no doubt that this is a French affair: French music, French diners, French waiters that say ‘bon’ after every order; even the bathrooms were filled with sexy French audio commentary. However, the waitresses are dressed in kimonos; the cuisine is Japanese and there are silver-tipped chopsticks on the tables. Go figure.
There is an air of luxury about L’etranger with the staple black leather sofas, shiny mahogany tables and silk-clad walls and the windows seemed to be decked out in what I can only describe as a ‘30s flapper’s skirt.
Our waiter for the evening was the effortlessly attentive, swishy-haired Giseppé. We perused the menu over a bottle of Sancerre (£49). I started with a personal favourite; crispy squid with chilli and spring onion (£9.50), a generous portion sprinkled with shards of letterbox-red chilli. My friend Georgia opted for the duck consommé (£11.50), moist duck with crunchy skin bathed in a warm broth and we shared a scallop tartare (£12.50). Unfortunately, gargantuan amounts of mint suffocated the fragile scallops.
My main of caramelised Alaskan black cod with miso (£28.50) was nothing other than heavenly; sweet and fudgy. The pan-fried (in pankow breadcrumbs that made the batter light) monkfish with razor clams (£22.50), served in their shells, were, ‘a taste sensation,’ exclaimed Georgia. We shared a side of pak choi (£4.50), which was perfectly fresh but drowned in soy sauce.
We asked Giseppé to recommend a dessert to which he replied, ‘You must ‘ave all of ‘zem!’ I went for the classic pear tatin (£9.50), gooey caramel-covered pear cupped in perfect pastry, which was void of sogginess and decorated with tadpole-shaped squirts of blackcurrant coulis. Georgia decided on the frappuccino parfait with cinnamon doughnut sticks (£8.50); velvety smooth parfait with churros-style doughnuts, a little too overwhelmed with cinnamon. The informative and interesting sommelier also brought us a 10-year-old Portuguese Port (£50) and a German sweet wine (£75) that he had selected to accompany our desserts.
L ’Etranger is like dining in a Parisian restaurant that serves very good Japanese cuisine – and strangely it works.
Meal for two, including wine and service, approximately £150.
