The answer is go to Studio Gauthier. The original Gauthier is London's most fine-dining of vegan restaurants, offering beautiful tasting menus in a very formal setting. Studio Gauthier, however, is a more chill affair - although it's got a lot of the same cooking style as Gauthier, Studio Gauthier offers its food in a more relaxed setting.
What's more, happily, if you subscribe to the Studio Gauthier mailing list (it's at the bottom of the page here), there's often a two for one deal for the tasting menus.
And if that's not enough, Studio Gauthier proudly notes that "all our menus are designed to be made gluten free if necessary", and when I did request a gluten-free menu, they came round to check about cross-contamination too, which was very much appreciated.
But onto the food!
The amuse bouche: a dainty cup of autumnal soup. Normally, I can't get too enthused about soup, but this was a beautiful thimble-sized delight of warmingly-spiced butternut and apple soup, finished with a creamy flourish and sprinkle of chewy apple.
The first dish was kale and cabbage houmous with coconut yoghurt and crispy kale. For those eating gluten, the bread element was a brioche feuilleté and for those dodging gluten dodgers, a slice of gluten free bread. I can't tell you how the brioche feuilleté was, but I can tell you the gluten free slice was wonderfully reminiscent of proper brioche. It couldn't escape the slight gumminess that gluten free bread can sometimes suffer from, but I couldn't fault the flavour. The hummus was sadly a bit less exciting, and the coconut yoghurt that accompanied it beat the already subtle dip into submission, losing its flavour to the astringency of the yoghurt.
The sushi dish was somewhat surprisingly one of my favourite parts of the meal. There were three perfect sushi: fried sushi with palm heart tartare and dill; parsnips rolls sushi with avocado and sesame kimchi, and beetroot nigiri with crunchy wasabi and fennel. I couldn't fault any of them. As a secret dill fiend, I thought the fried sushi would win for me, but the beetroot tipped it. The slippery beetroot, whose muddy flavour normally dominates food, was tempered by the crispy wasabi and scenty fennel.
The third course for gluten-eaters was a celeriac agnolotti. The gluten-free third dish wasn't a nod to the pasta dish, but entirely its own beast, and glorious for being so. It was a wintery feeling dish, a box of fried potato, a creamy sauce, and a topping of vegan caviar. How you make vegan caviar, I can't tell you, but I can confirm the little bombs of umami are great fun to eat.
The last savoury course felt like the biggest nod to Gauthier's classical French cookery: smoked maitake mushroom, creamy potatoes, fried capers, and vin jaune sauce. The potatoes were great, the mushroom was great, but the sauce was next level - so incredibly rich. I would have happily eaten a bowl of that on its own. The crispy fried mushroom morsels on the side were a great textural foil to the rest of the dish.
By the time dessert came out, I was entirely stuffed. I had no wish to eat more food. I had eaten enough, and then I had eaten a little bit more. I did not want another course. Then the dessert came, and I did very much want another course.
The dessert is billed as 'pear and almond' on the menu, and there is an understatedness to the little Christmas bauble-looking delight that arrived at our table. And it did remind me of a Christmas bauble - dainty, fragile, sparkling and so pretty to look at.
The 'pear and almond' was a pear entremet - a layer dessert of mousse and sponge in a chocolate shell - with puffed quinoa and a caramel sauce. It was glorious. It was a great meal, but I might even go so far as to say this was the highlight.
This was a generous meal, beautifully cooked, and interesting to eat. It's one of the best meals I've had in ages, and especially as I didn't feel like I was missing out without the gluten. I'm looking forward to going back as soon as I can.
Studio Gauthier
BFI Building, 21 Stephen St, London W1T 1LN
07759 155 344
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