Valentine’s Day at Sauterelle

Sauterelle is one of the two refined restaurants that are to be found within the Royal Exchange.

To give some idea of the lavishness of the venue, the other dining area had been roped off for a private dinner for people working at Clifford Chance.

Given its proximity to the City, it is not surprising that it is frequented by those that are found to be working in this area. What is surprising is that the Sauterelle restaurant is offering a Valentine’s Day dinner that is remarkably good value for the standard of the food and the restaurant’s location within the plush surroundings of the Royal Exchange.

My Valentine’s Day dinner was preceded by a lip-smackingly good cocktail, which was flavoursome and not too strong. As for the dinner itself, I started off with Cornish crab ravioli along with cucumber, samphire, lemon gras. This was a delightful start to the meal with enough flavour whilst maintaining a charming lightness to the dish. My companion’s dish of Gressingham duck ballotine, celeriac remoulade, spiced prune was equally well received with the ballotine getting a lot of smiles for its exquisite taste.

After a Sussex beetroot salad with goat cheese curd and roasted hazelnut, which skimped a little on the salad, it was on to the mains. I was very impressed with my choice of roast venison saddle with Jerusalem artichoke, wild mushroom fricassee, celery and autumn nut crumbs. The venison was a prime piece of meat and was complimented excellently by the fricassee.

Both my companion and I finished off the meal with a Granny Smith apple and roasted nut ‘muesli’ with dried cranberries and vanilla ice cream. After all the richness that had gone before, this was much more restrained and a tidy way to complete what was an excellent meal.

However, the trimmings were not finished there. On top of the meal was a box of Paul Young chocolates and a gift of Kiehl’s cosmetics. Both of these were snaffled by my companion with the strict affirmation that I wouldn’t make good use of them.

Given the problems that are to be found on Valentine’s Day in getting a good meal at a decent restaurant without having to suffer a sizzled violin player grinning in your direction, Satuerelle is a very good bet. The only problem you might have is the proximity of the restaurant to boutique shops such as Hermes and Cartier. The limited outlay needed for the meal may leave another purchase necessary.

Book your Valentine’s Day dinner, on February 14, at:

Restaurant Sauterelle
The Royal Exchange
Bank
EC3V 3LR

Tel: 020 7618 2483