Three members of my family go to wine tastings and wine dinners at Berry Brothers in London and to the wine tastings at The Wine Society in Stevenage. One member of the family has completed level three of the wine course. A reunion of family and friends we have worked with in the past seemed a chance to practise pairing wine and food. But where? We wanted to meet in central London so the overseas visitors did not have too far to travel. After researched all the BYO (bring your own) restaurants in London we found one where staff were happy to accommodate us. La Sophia Restaurant's menu is French Lebanese with halal options and a small choice of wines by the glass and bottle.
The water was served in my favourite modern style of jug with the hole in the middle. We brought one bottle cooler and they supplied another and a carafe.
Let's go through my experience in order. We took a dog leg walk left our of the station along the main road, right along the Portobello market, left and then slightly uphill until we spied our restaurant on the left with tables outside for smokers.
Our reserved table was by the window. The ladies toilet downstairs (through the private room area) was amusingly decorated in black and mosaic and what looked like gold but was probably brass, would be improved by a bit of a clean up with bleach, I thought, with my landlady's eyes - I go for white, rather than black.
I was surprised that we did not receive any free nibbles before the starter (unlike the Italian restaurants in Hatch End and NW London suburbs), but in retrospect I realise that bread fills you up too much before the meal, but maybe an olive would have been welcome.
The menu choice was just what everybody wanted.
Starters were snails or shellfish for others, soup for me. Main courses, steak for some, and for me chicken and potatoes. The presentation was pretty, though I could not detect any of the truffle or truffle oil mentioned mentioned on the menu.
We chose to have extra cheese, served after the meat and before dessert French style so that real food fills you up before the sugar sates you and revives you with the coffee. I recently read dentists' advice that it's better for your teeth not to finish with sweets but with cheese. Our expert diner chose one of the cheeses to match his wine, rather than the selection. The selection might have been better. I deliberately go for bland food, but perhaps everything I had until that point seemed too bland including the cheese.
The cheese was unexceptional but again prettily presented.
However, all change for the grand finale. Our sweet dessert wine, Vouvray, was chosen to match the restaurant's dessert was a matching of sweet wine, with Tarte Tartin. Very interesting that the sweet wine tasted before the dessert seemed sweet, but after the dessert by contrast the wine seemed less sweet.
The Tarte Tatin was wonderful. The delightful fresh, filling tarte tat in was so tasty that it transformed a so far good enough meal into a total success. We entertained ourselves with the story of Tarte tatin, which I knew was made upside down with the pastry underneath by mistake, almost a serendipity, attributed to the Tatin sisters, promoted by a chef. What I had not heard previously was that one of the Tatin sisters made the mistake either because she was losing alertness as she got older or never had much of it in the first place.
Back to the restaurant. The service was faultless. The staff watched from the back room and caught our eye when we looked up and waved or signed and nodded back.
They served our wine as requested in an ice bucket, changed the red and white wine drinks glasses when we swapped bottles and wrapped leftovers for a takeaway.
We left in cheery mood having had a lively, long lunch, and a convivial time with goodwill all round to our companions and the restaurant staff.
We spoke to the co-owner who is Bulgarian studying wine. His wife/partner/business partner - I didn't quite catch it, is Thai and their other restaurants are or will be soon a Mexican restaurant and another restaurant in Bangkok.
Must check their website when going to Thailand.
I hope they stay with their restaurant in London so we can repeat the event.
La Sophia Restaurant, French and Mediterranean Cuisine
46 Golborne Road, Notting Hill, London W10 5PR
email: contact@lasophia.co.uk
www.lasophia.co.uk
Reservations tel:020 8968 2200
The water was served in my favourite modern style of jug with the hole in the middle. We brought one bottle cooler and they supplied another and a carafe.
Let's go through my experience in order. We took a dog leg walk left our of the station along the main road, right along the Portobello market, left and then slightly uphill until we spied our restaurant on the left with tables outside for smokers.
Our reserved table was by the window. The ladies toilet downstairs (through the private room area) was amusingly decorated in black and mosaic and what looked like gold but was probably brass, would be improved by a bit of a clean up with bleach, I thought, with my landlady's eyes - I go for white, rather than black.
I was surprised that we did not receive any free nibbles before the starter (unlike the Italian restaurants in Hatch End and NW London suburbs), but in retrospect I realise that bread fills you up too much before the meal, but maybe an olive would have been welcome.
The menu choice was just what everybody wanted.
Starters were snails or shellfish for others, soup for me. Main courses, steak for some, and for me chicken and potatoes. The presentation was pretty, though I could not detect any of the truffle or truffle oil mentioned mentioned on the menu.
We chose to have extra cheese, served after the meat and before dessert French style so that real food fills you up before the sugar sates you and revives you with the coffee. I recently read dentists' advice that it's better for your teeth not to finish with sweets but with cheese. Our expert diner chose one of the cheeses to match his wine, rather than the selection. The selection might have been better. I deliberately go for bland food, but perhaps everything I had until that point seemed too bland including the cheese.
The cheese was unexceptional but again prettily presented.
However, all change for the grand finale. Our sweet dessert wine, Vouvray, was chosen to match the restaurant's dessert was a matching of sweet wine, with Tarte Tartin. Very interesting that the sweet wine tasted before the dessert seemed sweet, but after the dessert by contrast the wine seemed less sweet.
The Tarte Tatin was wonderful. The delightful fresh, filling tarte tat in was so tasty that it transformed a so far good enough meal into a total success. We entertained ourselves with the story of Tarte tatin, which I knew was made upside down with the pastry underneath by mistake, almost a serendipity, attributed to the Tatin sisters, promoted by a chef. What I had not heard previously was that one of the Tatin sisters made the mistake either because she was losing alertness as she got older or never had much of it in the first place.
Back to the restaurant. The service was faultless. The staff watched from the back room and caught our eye when we looked up and waved or signed and nodded back.
They served our wine as requested in an ice bucket, changed the red and white wine drinks glasses when we swapped bottles and wrapped leftovers for a takeaway.
We left in cheery mood having had a lively, long lunch, and a convivial time with goodwill all round to our companions and the restaurant staff.
We spoke to the co-owner who is Bulgarian studying wine. His wife/partner/business partner - I didn't quite catch it, is Thai and their other restaurants are or will be soon a Mexican restaurant and another restaurant in Bangkok.
Must check their website when going to Thailand.
I hope they stay with their restaurant in London so we can repeat the event.
La Sophia Restaurant, French and Mediterranean Cuisine
46 Golborne Road, Notting Hill, London W10 5PR
email: contact@lasophia.co.uk
www.lasophia.co.uk
Reservations tel:020 8968 2200
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