The Perfectionists’ Café
Black Pudding Scotch Eggs – Quail Eggs from Cornwall, Black Pudding from Stornoway, served with Piccalilli
Extraordinary Fish & Chips – Day Boat Cornish Fish. 3x Cooked Chips, Mushy Peas and Tartar Sauce
Malt Vinegar and atomizer of Vinegar with Pickled Onion Juice
Pizza Guiseppe – Tomato and Buffalo Mozzarella, Buffalo Ricotta, ‘Nduja Sausage, Confit Tomatoes, Parmesan
Marmalade on Toast Milkshake
Carrot Cake
Located in The Queen’s Terminal of LHR, recent events in London making the process of getting there ever more laborious as all but those flying in or out of Terminal 2 will require the typical security check plus a purple suited escort both in and out of the concourse, it was with a bit of persistence that lunch was enjoyed at Heston Blumenthal’s The Perfectionists’ Café, the man behind The Fat Duck’s latest outpost focused on serving “fantastic Food fast.”
Notorious for a history in Molecular Cuisine, his scientific approach to flavor pairings must read material by way of the Fat Duck Cookbook and more recently on display in reconstructed versions of classic British recipes at Dinner, it was during a 7-day stay in Britain that both of those restaurants as well as Michelin starred The Hinds Head and The Crown at Bray all lived up to their billing, recent reviews raising hopes that the second floor spot at Heathrow could do the same.
Certainly not the storied house containing Heston’s flagship, nor the multi-million dollar space inside The Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, The Perfectionists’ Café instead occupies a ledge overlooking the airstrip and upscale shopping concourses, a wood-fired oven turning out Pizzas stretched by hand just to the side of a Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Parlor as legs of Acorn-fed Spanish Ham also hang behind the counter as a temptation.
Open for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, nearly everything made on-site and the rest brought in from one of Blumenthal’s other kitchens, a first look at TPC’s menu reads like the typical ‘everything to everyone’ airport restaurant, though those looking closer will find more than what they bargained for including Beer Batter aerated by a siphon and an ever changing list of ingredient-inspired Cocktails the likes of which are rarely seen outside of fine dining venues.
Best suited for early arrivers and those on a layover, the definition of ‘fast’ here approximately fifteen minutes between order and delivery with most of the items not particularly amenable to being consumed in the tightly packed seats of coach, it was after a warning from the waiter that three plates would be “too much” food that the items were nonetheless presented, first bites of the ‘great marriage from extreme ends of the British Isles’ showing great attention to detail as the outside was golden crisp over smooth black Sausage while the yolk was lightly cooked and creamy.
Certainly not a cheap meal, though not particularly overpriced when accounting for quality and a captive audience, it was with mustardy Piccalilli set aside that attention shifted to the “Extraordinary Fish & Chips” featuring an ample filet of Line-caught Cod delicately coated in Batter and served alongside Blumenthal’s world-class fried Potatoes, each of them every bit as good as those tasted at The Crown in 2014 and here gussied up with a fragrant garnish applied via spray bottle.
Typically not fond of Mushy Peas, though the Mint here was far more subtle than many, it was admittedly tough to choose between Pizza, Chicken Tikka Masala or the Hoisin Duck Burger for the meal’s final savory, the decision eventually coming down to the fact that the Guiseppe Pie features housemade ‘Nduja Sausage and DOP Mozzarella di Bufala that perform particularly well atop a lightly charred crust covered in confit Tomatoes.
Sipping a creamy Milkshake throughout the meal, several flavors available but bitter Orange Marmalade mixed with Milk steeped with brown Bread and Vanilla Nitro-Ice Cream certainly the most striking, it was with a texture almost like Cool-Whip that the meal finished up, but not before a £4.25 wedge of Carrot Cake that seemed as though it was made of nothing more than Fruits, Vegetables and Nuts with the crushed Pineapple playing quite well off the spices and Pecans soaked in a sugary Liquor.
http://www.theperfectionistscafe.com/
