When we heard news that London city farm, Mudchute, is partnering with Canary Wharf restaurant Plateau for a special six-course tasting menu (available only until the end of February), we couldn’t resist a visit!
Head Chef, Daniel McGarey, has created a dedicated six-course tasting menu incorporating honey from Mudchute’s farm, paired with gorgeous wines, all for £75 per person (or £55 if you leave out the wines) – and that even includes a small jar of Mudchute’s honey to take home with you, as well as a £1 donation per diner to Mudchute Farm. Pretty unbeelievable if you ask us!
The aptly named Plateau sits on the fourth floor of Canada Place, with floor to ceiling windows offering sensational views of Canada Square and across Canary Wharf. The contemporary interiors and chic marble furniture ooze glamour and style, whilst the menu is mouthwatering (yet reasonably priced), the wine list is enviable, and the service is absolutely impeccable.
As we arrived at Plateau, we were warmly welcomed and taken through the busy and bustling bar area to the stunning restaurant. Our table overlooked the skating rink below which was all lit up with twinkling lights that reflected against the floor to ceiling glass windows. We asked for their honey menu, which kicked off with a honey bellini made from a honey syrup and prosecco – hands down the best bellini we’ve ever tried, which got us wondering; where have honey bellinis been all our lives?
Our first course was a delicately spiced butternut velouté (a very smooth soup) which had a very subtle kick to it, owed to paprika and chilli powder. The velouté was velvety smooth and came with a toast of goats curd and truffle honey, which gave the velouté added depth and flavour. All the wonderful delicate flavours perfectly complimenting each other provided our first foodgasm of the evening – the first of many ‘oh my god’ moments!
The second course was an aromatic soy and honey glazed Loch Duart Salmon with fennel, Dorset crab and fennel pollen. The Dorset crab was complimented by a horseradish mayonnaise, the salmon just fell apart and practically melted in our mouths, and the sweet glaze on top (caramelized slightly by a blow torch) gave the salmon a wonderful sweet aftertaste. As the dish was so light and fragrant, it needs a wine that doesn’t overpower it – and so it came paired with a Hungarian crisp wine with a floral after taste. Mind bogglingy delicious!
The third course is a fois gras. Not to sound difficult but I strongly disagree with the way in which fois gras is made, so I asked whether they could replace this course with something else. They didn’t bat an eyelid and instead brought out a wonderful terrine, which came wrapped in Parma ham, topped with a dollop of fluffy honey goo and with some dried mango on the side. The plate was decorated with a black dust, which turned out to be a kind of edible charcoal – it gave a smokey edge to the terrine and left the most sensational aftertaste behind! The dish was paired with a Californian chardonnay (not far from Napa Valley), a sweet and fragrant wine with oak and pineapple fruit flavours. This wine is the perfect replacement for a traditional sauterne wine (an obvious choice for a fois gras), and you would never guess it was a chardonnay!
Next up was the pork shoulder Iberico which came in the most incredible rich Iberico reduction sauce (sweetened by brown sugar, apparently), with a wonderful lemon puree and an oyster leaf. The lemon puree was made from lemons that had been boiled six times and then pureed (it’s a long process), and the oyster leaf tasted like an actual oyster! The dish came with a parmesan and thyme polenta, which was so moreish I would happily take it home with me and just eat it with a spoon. But the meat – oh, the meat! – medium rare, succulent, rich, juicy, velvety… It acted as a sponge to the sauce and then fell apart and melted in my mouth. Another ‘Oh my God’ moment!
It was paired with a floral and delicate Spanish red wine, so light in colour that you would be forgiven for thinking it was a rosé! Interestingly, the colour of a wine isn’t due to the colour of the grape but is due to the length of time the skin of the grapes is left to ferment (in this case just two to three weeks). Perhaps that’s also why this particular red wine was extremely soft bodied – almost buttery – with no tannins at all!
Next was a ‘pre-dessert’; a delicious light honeycomb ice cream, paired with a South African wine from Rietvallei. The ice cream was light and acted as a palate cleanser, preparing us for the chocolate feast that was to follow!
Last but not least, a sumptuous dessert to round off the meal in the form of ‘The Hive’; a light honey parfait, ginger sponge, dark chocolate and malt mousse, paired with a chilled sweet dessert wine.
When it was finally time to go, we were each given a little jar of honey from Mudchute farm, to take home with us.
It had been the most wonderful evening – the food was incredible, the wines were fantastic and the service was impeccable, and all for just £75 per person.
To boot, the menu supports Mudchute farm (a community charity with a working farm, set in 32 acres of countryside in the heart of East London) and also helps to support the London Beekeepers’ Association who look after Mudchute’s bees.