What a L’ETO down
Walking by the cake display by the café, it’s tempting to enter for a hot drink and dessert…
Before I start, let me preface this by saying I’ve visited L’ETO in London 3 times. Once in 2018, another in 2020 and finally in 2023, so things may have changed in the years between each visit. This will be a short post detailing the first and last time I visited.
L’ETO is a restaurant chain with over 40 restaurants in over 7 countries. With a unique interior design in every restaurant, it’s easy to forget about the outside noise and just enjoy the food that’s in front of you. My first visit was in 2018, when I first moved to the UK and was introduced to L’ETO by a childhood friend, while the second visit was in 2020 just before the pandemic, and the third was in 2023 with my partner. On all occasions, I was there mainly for the desserts.
The first visit to L’ETO was at Wardour Street in Soho, London. Before even entering L’ETO, you will notice that they have an open display of their selection of cakes and pastries for passing pedestrians to admire. There’s something about walking in the cold London rain and seeing those delectable desserts in the window that makes you wanna pop in for a drink and just devour all the cakes. The first visit to L’ETO was quite special to me, it was my first month studying and living in the UK, and I met some friends from middle school. L’ETO was the first restaurant I had eaten in London by myself without family, and what do I order? A hibiscus & rose ice cube tea, a chocolate fudge cake, and a cheesecake with berries mmm… The ice cubes are made from the tea, as opposed to regular ice cubes. By doing so, the tea doesn’t get diluted with water and its flavor stays the same. As far as how good it was, it definitely was different from normal sweet tea. I thought the ice cube idea was genius, and it’s kind of like a second drink. As the ice melts, you get to drink it after you finished the tea. The chocolate cake featured 4 layers of cake and frosting, with each layer having a thin layer of jam, and a chocolate ganache to top it off. The cake was incredibly rich, moist and decadent. Meanwhile the cheesecake had a graham cracker base and a very light cheesecake texture to it. Having them one after another may be unorthodox, but I thought that it highlighted the best of both cakes. The service was great, the staff were very friendly and I had a great time at L’eto chatting with friends and enjoying these cakes.
It’s safe to say that after this visit, I definitely wanted to return, as I did later in 2020 and then in 2023. I’ll skip 2020 as I had pretty much the same cakes as before, and in terms of quality, it was about the same. That can’t be said for my visit in 2023…
Now, it might’ve been because it was late, or that it was raining outside so we were miserable... but my experience at L’ETO was not a pleasant one in 2023. We visited the branch on Wardour Street in Soho, London. Let’s talk about the service, it was incredibly rude and disheartening. This was the first time I had brought my partner to L’ETO and I wanted it to make a good impression for them so we could come back again in the future. When we asked how we could order the cakes, they rudely told us to go up to the display and take note of the cakes (or pictures) then show it to a staff member. It was as if it was common knowledge. Unfazed, we ordered a drink and took turns going to the display. When I tried to take a picture of one of the cakes I wanted to order, a staff member rudely shouted at me, saying that I wasn’t supposed to be where I was. I looked at him in confusion before explaining that I was trying to check out the cakes. Again, he rudely stated that I was in a staff only area. I looked around and realized that I was standing at the bussing station. In my defence, there were no markings on the floor telling me I could not stand there. I apologized and explained I just wanted to take a quick picture, but they were adamant. So I moved, literally 2 steps over and he started mumbling under his breath. I couldn’t tell what he was saying as I didn’t speak the language, but one can guess it was a complaint about me. After I took the picture of my selected cake, I went back and ordered.
This time, I had gone for the red velvet cake. Visually, it looks great. It’s got 5 layers of cake with cream cheese frosting between each layer, a red layer of something at the top and a blackberry at the edge of the cake. Taste wise, it was very dense and underwhelming. Personally, I thought the cream cheese was too much, and the cake’s texture was too varied. The bottom was too dry, the top layer of cake looks moist but actually isn’t. The cream cheese isn’t even between layers so sometimes you may get just a spoonful of cream cheese and some cake. Perhaps it was the red velvet cake that day that wasn’t up to standard, who knows?
Normally this is the part where I tell you how much the bill was for the meal, but unfortunately I can’t remember the first visit as my friend had treated me as a welcome to London gift, and the third trip’s bill was footed by my partner (I swear I pay for food!). So I’ll skip ahead; was it worth it, and would I go again?
I’m torn. On one hand, my first 2 visits were great. However, my latest visit of L’ETO in 2023 has soured my impression. It didn’t help that my latest visit was with my partner on our anniversary, so those impressions are more impactful than the previous visits. I think the cake display is incredible and very inviting. There’s a reason why people queue up outside even when it’s raining to eat at L’ETO. I’m inclined to give the benefit of doubt to the staff members that were rude during my latest visit. I understand that I shouldn’t have stepped into the bussing station, but being rude and shouting at me wasn’t going to do anything apart from giving me a bad impression. Maybe they’ve had a bad day, I’m not sure. I think I would say it’s worth it, but maybe go during the day and not at night. I would try to revisit L’ETO again, but maybe at another branch.
Overall, I’d rate L’ETO a 5/10. A cake display for passing pedestrians is definitely a head turner, but maybe keep your eyes on the road.
Unlike how I like my Beef Wellington, this was well-done
Can Gordon Ramsay do it on a cold December night? Will his Beef Wellington stand up against the expectations?
If you’re a Gordon Ramsay fan like myself, you would’ve seen his scrambled eggs tutorial countless times, or watched compilations of Hell’s Kitchen on YouTube. So naturally when the opportunity to dine at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant presented itself, I didn’t hesitate at all. Now I’ve had the chance to visit Heddon Street Kitchen in London twice, the first time was in December of 2022 when my partner and I stayed in London overnight for an event and the second time was in the summer of 2023 with some old friends. So for this post I will mainly focus on the first visit.
It was a spontaneous decision as we were looking for somewhere to have dinner after an event. If you’ve been to London during the holidays, you’ll know that it’s often PACKED, and everywhere will have a line. In a desperate attempt, we found Heddon Street Kitchen and decided to take a shot at making a last minute reservation, and it worked.
Our initial impressions of the restaurant were excitement and awe. We were finally able to have a meal at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant. While we’ve had Gordon Ramsay Plane Food at Heathrow Terminal 5 a couple times, this was the first time we’ve ever been to a sit-down restaurant where it wasn’t in an airport. Naturally, my head was swiveling around in awe of the restaurant’s cozy and intimate atmosphere. If the décor had a theme, it would be a New York City loft inspired décor (at least that’s how their website describes it).
After sitting down, we were served some water and given the menu. As expected, Gordon’s famous Beef Wellington is on it, along with some classics such as Fish and Chips, a burger, and Butter Chicken Curry. As it was our first time, we opted for the Caesar Salad with grilled chicken as a starter and the Beef Wellington (ordered medium rare), because why not? We also ordered a couple of mocktails, the Berry Boost and the Lemon Swizzle. The waiter informed us that it would take at least 45 minutes for the Wellington to which we were fine with.
After maybe about 10–15 minutes of waiting, the salad was served. Like I said, we’ve had Gordon Ramsay Plane Food a couple times during our travels out of Heathrow, so we’ve had the Caesar Salad before. But for some reason, I was thinking to myself “this is going to be different, it’s in a restaurant!”, It was the same but in a good way. The lettuce was crunchy and mild, and the sauce was so good I found myself wanting to get lettuce just to scoop up the sauce. The pancetta (not bacon) was crispy and slightly salty but it complemented the lettuce well. The soft boiled egg was done to perfection, as cutting into it revealed a runny egg yolk. A lot of places that serve Caesar Salad end up serving a dry chicken, or over cooked chicken. However, Heddon Street Kitchen does it incredibly well. The chicken is juicy and soft with grill marks on the surface and a mild char flavor that isn’t too overwhelming. We ended up finishing the salad so quickly, we were kind of embarrassed and left wanting more. But after another 30 minutes came the star of the night, the Beef Wellington.
Let’s talk presentation. Served on a stone board, it practically took up about 70% of the entire table, I’m not kidding. It was sliced with 4 portions, and the ends cut off on the sides. Served alongside were some mashed potatoes and a red wine jus (like a thin gravy sauce). But it doesn’t stop there. Apparently as we sat down at our table, we didn’t notice that there was a lamp above us pointed directly at the center of the table. So when the staff served us our Beef Wellington, it legitimately looked like it had came from the heavens. Because it was so well lit, that everything else on the table seemed like it was in the background. The beef was cooked medium rare as expected, and wrapped with the mushroom blanket that we always see Gordon do in his videos. It was done with such precision, that the layers are practically the same in terms of thickness.
But visuals aren’t everything, so how does it taste? Well, it definitely tastes how I expected it to be. The beef was tender and juicy, and the pastry was equally amazing. The mushroom layer had an earthy aroma and taste, perhaps a bit too strong for our liking. Although the corner pieces of the wellington were mainly just pastry with hints of beef and mushroom, they were still delicious. I sincerely hope that when they cut the sides off the Beef Wellington on Hell’s Kitchen, they actually keep it for snacking. The red wine jus definitely enhances the taste of the beef and pairs extremely well. It made the beef taste much meatier (if that’s possible), but I would pour sparingly as it may make the pastry a bit soggy. The mashed potatoes are creamy and buttery, something one would expect out of a Gordon Ramsay restaurant. The portion size is also deceptively large, as we weren’t able to finish it. In fact, we were struggling to finish the entire thing. We did notice that some tables had trouble with it too, and asked for the remaining to be packed to-go. However, we thought it was a disservice to the food, and also we probably wouldn’t be able to recreate the amazing taste through a microwave.
Despite the signs of a food coma, we managed to finish it after some time. As the staff cleared our table, they asked if we’d like some dessert. To be honest, I wasn’t feeling it but after looking at the menu, I opted for the classic Sticky Toffee Pudding. My initial impression was similar to the Beef Wellington, the portion size was a bit smaller than expected. But I learned my lesson, so we took our spoons and dug in. Perfectly sweet and warm, with a touch of saltiness. The ice cream melting gently on the pudding and caramel below. This time, the portion was definitely not enough. I swear, I could’ve had 2 more of this and still wouldn’t be satisfied.
The total cost of the dinner was £169.48, or about S$285. As usual, the big questions are; is it worth it and would I go again?
For fans of Gordon Ramsay, or foodies like myself, I think it’s worth a venture. It should be noted that Heddon Street Kitchen have branches around London and around the world, like the one at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. As someone who’s watched a lot of Gordon Ramsay videos in the past, I always wondered how his food actually tastes. In fact, when I first visited the UK back in 2008 as a child, I wanted to dine at his restaurant in Royal Hospital Road, London. So to be able to dine at one of his restaurants was certainly a dream come true. The price of £169 is expensive, but you can always opt out of the Beef Wellington experience and instead try some of his other dishes. As I mentioned before, I have visited the restaurant again in 2023 so I guess that answers that question, but more on that in another post.
Overall, I’d rate this experience a 7.5/10. The Beef Wellington was exquisite that night, and the atmosphere in the restaurant definitely makes the holidays in London feel more special.
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