The Balcon (Mayfair)

• Eating healthy home cooked meals that are nutritionally balanced and doing lots of hard core exercise
• I will generally have a treat meal once or twice a week so it balances out with my healthy days
• Raiding the bread basket and lots of wine are a daily occurrence
• I usually come back from holiday a few pounds heavy but this is easily lost when I get back into my routine of healthy eating and exercise
• A five week honeymoon is another matter entirely though and when I got home from my extended holiday I stepped on the scales and I'd put on half a stone (seven pounds)
• Delicious desserts and guzzling lots of champagne for five weeks straight (and let's not forget my pasta feast in Florence) is going to make you put on weight
• Plus my clothes are feeling tight
• I have to say is particularly difficult in summer when I've got hen dos
• Older sister and I were meeting up for lunch and
• The restaurant is modelled on Coco Chanel's Parisian apartment and is perfect for fashionista in search of a low calorie lunch
• The focal point of the restaurant is the spiral staircase leading up to the champagne gallery but I also loved the high ceilings
• The de light menu offered a selection of low calorie dishes made using healthy cooking methods such as steaming and poaching with the use of spices and seasoning to create flavour
• As I wanted to test the special menu I ordered exclusively from it though my dining companions were able to find other healthy choices on the extensive a la carte menu
• Also as mackerel is an oily fish it is rich in Omega 3 oils which help reduce blood pressure and it's great for my nails and hair
• My sister and mum both chose a healthy heirloom tomato salad dressed with tapenade and basil and shared a side of ham
• My de lightful main course choice was red mullet with tomato and pepper cream
• The red sauce was delicious and the fish was perfectly cooked however in an attempt to pack the dish full of flavour it contained far too much strong mustard
• I would have preferred it without as the tomato sauce was a welcome accompaniment by itself
• My sister chose a rare beef salad served with soy sauce and ginger and she loved the Asian flavours of this light dish
• It was cod with Provencal ratatouille for Susan SilverSpoon and she loved her dish with the juicy vegetable concoction that contained only a small amount of oil
• Rather sensibly we finished our guilt free meal with a coffee and left the restaurant feeling light yet satisfied
• A few months ago I was invited to Sofitel London St James for the launch of their Vegetable Exhibition showcasing the work of French artist Patrick LaRoche
• Ve filled my stomach with one ounce of green or red raw stuff if I knew these were on the way&hellip
• They seated us and then worked out that I was supposed to be in The Rose Lounge
• Our server was an absolute star
• She handled the mix up with ease and didn&rsquo
• Her solution was to immediately pour us champagne
• Who unbeknownst to me is a bit of a tea connoisseur
• Let me tell you it was smokin&rsquo
• The sandwiches are part of the standard selection you find in an afternoon tea
• The beetroot bread is pretty unique (and tasty
• Sultanas and apricot scones are scrumptious and are served warm with Devonshire clotted cream
• S a close up shot of the plum and almond tartlet and pear entremets made with fromage blanc for the pear mousse and vanilla sponge
• In order of appearance (back to front) here are your choices&hellip
• Passion buche de Noel (passion fruit jelly and mango mousse with an addition of chocolate dacquoise biscuit)
• Praline buche de Noel (chocolate sponge biscuit with dark chocolate and brandy mousse)
• Traditional buche de Noel (vanilla sponge biscuit balanced with brandy syrup and coffee butter cream)
• This festive afternoon tea is decadent and delicious
• Re generally served with one portion of the end cut off in order to resemble a chopped off branch
• Each of the four buches de Noel are found on The Balcon&rsquo
• S Christmas menu and are available for afternoon tea in The Rose Lounge
• The Balcon is available for dining all day (breakfast
• The Sofitel London St James is located within close proximity of Trafalgar Square
• Our afternoon tea was complimentary for the purpose of a review
• If you like your Sunday brunch with an air of sophistication
• Classic French dishes are given a creative twist and feature alongside brunch favourites
• T resist trying the Duck Eggs Benedict with Bayonne ham and green asparagus
• This was one of the best Eggs Benedict I&rsquo
• The duck eggs were poached to perfection with runny
• Vibrant orange yolks and were perched atop fluffy toasted English muffins
• Especially when said restaurant is on Pall Mall in the grade II listed Sofitel London St James
• In charge of the kitchen is Matt Greenwood
• Caravan and Providores before he joined The Balcon in December 2015 where he's created a menu with a real fusion of global influences
• We kicked things off with a glass of bubbles and starters to share seared mackerel with falafel
• Both were lovely the fish in both was perfectly cooked
• I liked the moisture balance in the mackerel dish with the oiliness of the fish working well with the falafel
• Though the sumac was barely discernible
• The apple went excellently with the scallops clean plates all round
• All the right points were hit seemingly with prescience during my recent dinner at the Sofitel St James Hotel&rsquo
• S dinner menu appears as though it were written just for me &ndash
• The Balcon is part of the Sofitel London Hotel
• Interacting with diners and arranging bottles always with a task at hand
• If The Balcon restaurant is too formal for you
• We started of lunch with this bread and butter
• The butter dish is on proper stoneware
• I love the weight and the simplicity of it but I thought that the butter was fairly normal
• Hand cut beef bavette tartare on toasted hazelnut bread GBP 6.00 I had to ask what bavette was which was just another name for flank steak
• The tartare was slightly tangy on a nice toasty and sweet (raisin) bread
• Pork chops GBP 20.00 this was more of a chickpea with aubergine stew topped with tender suckling pig chops
• Brown trout with roasted vegetables the freshness of the fish calls for simple cooking and seasoning
• The pastry trolley is just too tempting and it was a little cruel to have to choose ONE from the trolley
• Hot chocolate and praline sauce GBP 5.00 a really good surprise dessert option because profiteroles were not really my kind of thing
• An ice cream sandwich of three profiteroles drizzled with chocolate sauce
• The only downside was the chocolate sauce was not hot
• The Balcon is a restaurant suitable for business and corporate dining and entertaining but on a social level to impress your date or like me
• Cor and impeccable service was just right for a lazy Monday afternoon
• You should note that desserts were overall a winner
• The Balcon is not a cheap place
• Whether I agree with her assessment or not
• That Grace the Great is newly a follower of mine
• So you will understand that I feel highly elevated in the foodie ranks and go pink with pleasure and self importance every time I think of it
• This was my first afternoon tea experience and it was a good one by all measures
• I got to pick from a wide variety of tea served in what i reckon is an Asian tea pot (ironic for a French named place in London) complimented with salty and sweet bites that were very tasty
• I went there with a group of colleagues
• It's s very nice place with a lovely ambience
• Unfortunately the main meal which i had in august which i must say was one of the best meals I've ever had was not so this time and was completely different in taste and appearance
• Both mains were sent back which was not a problem
• The waiter serving was very efficient and professional in the way that he dealt with this and was very apologetic

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