Johnnie Walker Menu, Le Pont de la Tour

I’ve always been a little curious about the yachts that are moored along the South Bank. It costs thousands of pounds each week for them to be moored there and their presence is incongruous for a city with such un-yacht like weather. These vessels belong in Monaco, Athens, Barcelona, not heading in the direction of East Dulwich. Yet they come year after year.

Now comes a new ship making its way up the Thames. This thar be the Johnnie Walker and Sons Voyager, a 1920s-styled yacht. Docking on the 15th, it will be in town for two weeks before heading on up to the even more insalubrious location of Edinburgh. In celebration of it passing through, the folks at Le Pont de la Tour have created a bespoke menu incorporating the owner’s most famous product.

The starter is salmon cured with Johnnie Walker Platinum Label, along with a potato blini, creme fraiche and herb salad. This was a little disappointing as I find that salmon does not need curing with whisky. It gives it rather a husky hue and leaves it much too heavy on the palate. My companion ventured outside the menu onto the a la carte menu and was very impressed with her salad of spring vegetables with wild leaves, goats cheese and walnut truffles. The pairing of the walnut and goat cheese made for a resonant combination with the salad.

The main course of roasted duck breast a l’orange, confit leg and braised puy lentils. This was much more robust with both the meat wonderfully cooked and combined well with the duck and orange sauce. My companion was equally effusive about her wild garlic flan with tempura courgette flower, piquillo pepper puree and tomato couscous.

The meal was rounded off with a Johnnie Walker dark chocolate mousse. Here the whisky was a welcome addition to the course, giving a smooth richness to the concoction. My companion went for the coconut pannacotta which was rounded in its complexity and measured in its depth.

This time of the year is perfect for heading along to Le Pont de la Tour. Get your timing right and you can spend the totality of your meal in the purples, yellows and pinks of the gloaming whilst a matter of metres from the Thames. I’d recommend going when the Johnnie Walker and Sons Voyager is in town, for three days (15-17 July). Play your cards right and there’s the off chance that you can stow away.

Le Pont de la Tour
36D Shad Thames
Tower Bridge
SE1 2YE