The Delaunay is only the second place I have ever eaten which is posh (or pretentious?!) enough to have a doorman; it was pouring with rain and my feet were absolutely soaking in my pumps so I did have a slight fear I'd be looked up and down disparagingly (posh people would NEVER get their feet wet!), but actually the greeting was very friendly and I felt quite comfortable walking in.
The actual restaurant is really pretty - every table covered in pristine white tablecloths, with silver containers filled with nicely shaped bread, silver butter dishes and jugs of water (which kept being replenished).
The panelled walls, glass fronted cabinets and cakes displayed in glass cake stands gave the whole place a classic and elegant feel, and there was a constant hubbub of chatting which gave it a very friendly atmosphere.
The menu contains numerous traditional brunch options, but also has an Austrian twist - schnitzel is on offer, as are "wieners"! It was really tricky to choose as there were several things I could have eaten, but in the end (with the help of the waitress - "you can have omelettes at home!") I decided to go with the Austrian theme and have the Viennese hot dog with potato salad, sauerkraut and caramelised onions.
I also had a side of rosemary roasted pumpkin
I found it quite a novelty that somewhere which appeared so smart would serve hot dogs, so I was interested to see what it would taste like. To start with the most positive aspects, the potato salad and the pumpkin were delicious. The potato salad had a wholegrain mustard dressing on it which gave it a nice tang, and was far nicer than the overly mayonnaise-y potato salads you often get. The pumpkin was soft and sweet and the rosemary made it really flavoursome. The sauerkraut was fine - not too vinegary and sharp, but was nice and crunchy and so added texture to the hot dog, and the caramelised onions were good as well. The hot dog itself....there isn't much negative I could say, but I wouldn't rave about it either - it was just a hot dog really! The brioche bun was soft and sweet, and the hot dog fairly tasty, but nothing special at all - I think hot dogs definitely need more toppings (chilli and cheese preferably!) than this one was provided with, and I was left feeling like maybe I should have ordered something else. However, for £7.50 it wasn't horrendously overpriced, and it may have been unfair for me to expect very great things.
Fran went for the Eggs Arlington (big version!) and a side of wilted spinach
The eggs were really nicely presented, and there was so much smoked salmon on them that it made the £18 cost seem slightly more reasonable! The wilted spinach was well seasoned and not soggy at all (as spinach is prone to be!) and probably complemented the dish well - an Eggs Arlington and Florentine combo! One thing is still puzzling me about this meal though - I'm still not sure if there is a difference between Eggs Arlington and Eggs Royale - does anyone know?!
I was actually quite full just after the first course, but as the pains au chocolat were priced at £3.75, I really wanted to see if they were worth the price, so I ordered one of them! Fran went for Sachertorte, one of the cakes displayed in the cases!
So...the £3.75 pain au chocolat...the pastry was amazingly light, buttery, and crispy, and there were thick cylinders of rich dark chocolate running through - it was an excellent pain au chocolat, but worth the money? Potentially worth more than a usual one, but I've had some equally as nice in Toulouse for about €1.50, so it's difficult not to feel a little bit hard done by! Fran's Sachertorte looked amazing, with its shiny dark chocolate topping and elegant "Sacher" piped along the top, and it tasted just as good - very moist and rich!
Overall I enjoyed my trip to the Delaunay as the food was good (not great, but good!), but it was a funny mixture between things being quite overpriced, or just not being that special...Also there is a £2 cover charge per person which I always resent paying when it's just presented on the bill at the end - why don't they just incorporate that into food prices and not make people feel ripped off when they have to pay £2 extra for nothing?! So anyway, I'm glad I went, if only for the experience of a posh London brunch, but it isn't somewhere I would rush back to - I've definitely realised I'm a burgers over posh brunch kind of person!
0 comments:
Post a Comment