Brasserie Chavot, Conduit Street Mayfair

French Finesse

Epicurean excellence awaits at Eric Chavot’s refined restaurant

Review by Sophie Aghdami

Eric Chavot’s career history reads like an impressive menu in itself. Having moved to London with just £20 in his pocket, just a year’s experience as a commis chef in France and barely speaking a word of English, the chef has clearly put his life and soul into his career gaining a high reputation within the restaurant industry.

Chef Chavot has worked with some of the world’s most acclaimed chefs including Pierre Koffman (La Tante Clair), Raymond Blanc (Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons) and Marco Pierre White (Harvey’s and The Restaurant at the Hyde Park Hotel).

Highly respected by fellow chefs and restaurant critics alike, Eric not only gained a Michelin star in the first year of opening Interlude de Chavot in 1995, he also held a star for two years after opening Chavot on Fulham Road in 1997. Unarguable the most impressive stint in his career, standing tall above the rest, was holding two Michelin stars at Capital for nine years from 1999, which is by no means an easy accomplishment; unlike most other Michelin starred restaurants, open just for lunch and dinner, Eric was also in charge of keeping Michelin standards for room service and breakfast.

It’s no wonder the world sat up and watched what would come next when he announced that he wanted to “to do something different” with his life; especially when he admitted (albeit with a confident big smile) in an interview that he had “no idea what I am going to do or where I am going to go”.

The adventure began: after working for the Weston family (owners of Selfridges) at the Windsor Club in Florida for two years from 2010 – 2012, Brasserie Chavot was born in 2013. And what a treat it is.

First impressions of Brasserie Chavot hint at the chef’s personality - understated and discrete. In a busy street of Mayfair the door opens into an elegant and refined restaurant. How very French. We are greeted by an extremely well-groomed host on the door and, although we have arrived at the end of lunch service, there isn’t a flicker of desperation across faces of the staff to get us ‘in-and-out’ – a well-known feature of so many restaurants with waiting staff itching to get on their (well-deserved) afternoon break.

Lunch starts well with a bottle of ice-cold R. de Ruinart, with which glasses are regularly kept full. We turn to the menu, which reeks of rustic charm from Chavot’s homeland, written simply and mostly in French. I silently thank myself for concentrating in A level class.

When the dishes arrive, the simplistic outer shell of the menu is enveloped with intricate finesse, which he has clearly developed throughout his years in high-end establishments. Starters are sublime: appearing as just a few ingredients but with immense depth of flavour created with layers of creativity in the kitchen of 20 chefs.

“Crab mayonnaise, avocado” comes perfectly seasoned with handpicked crab, mixed with a light mayonnaise, resting on slithers of avocado. “Tartare de saumon” is again the epitome of simplicity with freshly cut slabs of salmon presented with just the lightest of dressings. The star(ter) of the show is, without doubt, and - might I add gleefully - mine: “deep fried soft shell crab, whipped aioli”. Three large soft shell crabs standing proud in the lightest, crispest batter encasing the most divine flavours of the sea.

Main courses follow; drawing equal squeals and grunts of delight, again showcasing the trademark simple, clean presentation with layer upon layer (or should that be mille feuille?) of flavour. “Rib eye echalotes” arrives from the Josper Grill beautifully cooked to the waitress’ recommendation and topped with a ragout of slow cooked baby onions. “Daube de boeuf Provençale” is just as delicious, a slab of classically slow-cooked beef presented in a black copper pan with vegetables. “Cassoulet de canard et cochon” is a feast in itself and one of the tastiest dishes I have ever experienced; the deep iron pan filled with Toulouse sausage, chunks of pork belly and confit duck leg. Finished with haricot blanc and a chunk of bread ‘croute’, it’s pretty hefty but too good to leave so I’m glad to be dining with two hungry men. A side salad helps ease down the rich, delicious fatty meat down and a cone of perfectly cooked pomme frites scratches our itch for salty crunchiness. I’m pretty sure my heart slows down a little following all of this but I ignore it, taking one last bite of everything.
Although with barely anymore room in our ‘grands estomacs’, we soldier on with dessert. Perhaps the first courses were so wonderful that our expectations are too high, or perhaps our stomachs are slightly resentful of us plying them with more food, but the desserts come across ever-so-slightly underwhelming compared to rest of the meal (It’s probably a good thing or else I think I genuinely would have burst had I eaten any more). We opt for “crème brulee”, “baba au rhum with crème Chantilly” and “Feuillete de fraise at chiboust”.

Having had such a luxurious culinary experience in his restaurant it goes without saying that Chef Eric Chavot is a true champion in his field. It’s certainly a ‘special occasion’ sort of place but, by golly, find something to celebrate quickly because until you’ve been, you’re missing out on one of the great gems of the London restaurant scene. Allez allez allez!