The soft glow of a neon sign signals guests in The Londoner lobby to Whitcomb’s, a French-Mediterranean, fine-dining outlet brimming with creative and flavorful dishes. On my recent trip to London, my stay at The Londoner was complete with a dinner at this elegant and subtly upscale restaurant. There’s no need for Whitcomb’s to wow you with flashy décor or overly pretentious designs; the quality and level of the restaurant speaks for itself in the food and service.

© Aoife O’Riordan

Setting the stage for the night, my friend and I first enjoyed the Arrivée, a floral concoction of Lillet Blanc and Noilly Prat with essence of elderflower and white melon cordial and topped with orange bitters and Prosecco finish, highly recommended by Beatrice, our attentive and kind waitress.

She then offered her ideas on appetizers that best showcased the flavor profiles of Whitcomb’s, and we adhered to her recommendations, as she had not steered us wrong yet. We tasted the portobello mushroom cut in a floral, concentric pattern and doused with Dijon mustard and aged balsamic. One of our favorites, however, was the carpaccio de poisson, a series of yellowtail carpaccio slices fanned out, with each slide carefully flavored with citrus and miso salt. As a Floridian, fresh seafood is a must, but this dish has convinced me you don’t need to be in Florida to have fresh, buttery and soft fish. The miso salt finish was the star of the plate.

© Aoife O’Riordan

The restaurant’s sommelier arrived before our main course to learn what we ordered to best suggest wines to accompany the dish. An Italian, he brought two red wines for us to decide between, a French red and an Italian red. Despite presenting both equally, we knew it only best to select the Italian, as he would not lightly recommend an Italian unless it was the best of the best, and boy was it; rich, smooth and with notes of cherries and other berries, this wine prepared us for the main.

We split the gnocchi with San Marzano tomatoes and basil and the filet mignon with chanterelle and aged Parmesan crème. I love a good sauce, and this Parmesan crème sauce elevated the beef dish to another level entirely. The tender meat perfectly complemented the gnocchi.

Who would think there’d be room for dessert? But as someone who, even at home, likes to finish a dinner with something sweet, we opted for the savarin tropical (savarin sponge with mango and passion fruit crèmeux, lime bubbles and coconut sorbet) and Beatrice’s recommended chouquettes (choux pastry puffs with whipped livara chocolate ganache, caramelized pecans and citrus ice cream). The chouquettes had a show-stopping arrival, where Beatrice poured the hot ganache over the pastries for a bubbling and fragrant finish.

© Aoife O’Riordan

I believe we chose right with the sommelier when picking the Italian red (Selvapiana Chianti Rufina), for he returned during dessert with two glasses of wonderfully sweet and punchy Port for us to enjoy, a lovely gesture.

The staff were so personable throughout the dining experience, and I hope to visit again both for the food and to see the staff again, for they made the experience extraordinary.

Whitcomb’s at The Londoner
38 Leicester Square
London WC2H 7DX, United Kingdom
tel 44 20 7451 0167