Gordon Ramsay at The London - West Hollywood, California

Address: 1020 N San Vicente Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069

Items Ordered (DineLA):

• Lamb belly w/ Spanish chorizo, stewed gigante beans, jalapeno sauce
• Chanterelle mushroom risotto w/ sauteed scallop & quail egg
• Short rib served w/ Yorkshire pudding & bacon wrapped asparagus
• Tai snapper w/ coconut milk, shrimp curry broth over jasmine rice
• Lemon tart
• English sticky toffee pudding w/ mascarpone cheese & brown butter ice cream

Items Ordered (Afternoon Tea@Boxwood Cafe):

• Teas - rose w/ French vanilla & Mediterranean Mandarin teas
• Freshly baked scones w/ devonshire cream & lemon curd
• Sandwiches -black brioche w/ smoked salmon & cucumber, hummus w/ crisp shallots, curried chicken w/ golden raisins, roast beef w/ red onion marmalade
• Cakes - honey madeleine, L'opera cake, apple crumble, lemon meringue bar, fresh fruit tart

I tried to limit myself to only one DineLA restaurant in January, and luckily Gordon Ramsay's restaurant at The London did not disappoint. I thought every dish tasted amazing, except the lamb belly since it was a little too fatty, and I'm not a huge fan of lamb anyways. We should've gotten 2 orders of risotto instead. The creamy risotto was flavorful, the scallop cooked perfectly, and the quail egg added some richness--this was probably the best risotto I've ever eaten! The short rib entree was tender, and my tai snapper had a nice crispy skin, not to mention the Jasmine rice was fluffy and went well with the curry broth. I wish I could recreate this dish at home, it was so comforting and flavorful. The desserts were good, but definitely not the most memorable part of the meal. If you visit, definitely try the risotto option and Tai snapper--I'm still salivating over those dishes now!

Since we received $20 off a return visit, I thought it'd be a good idea to try their afternoon tea the 2nd time around. The scones had just the right amount of sweetness and weren't too dense. They were delicious with the lemon curd and cream. The savory sandwiches were interesting, but the breads were a little dry. The cakes were ridiculously cute, and my favorite from that plate was definitely the apple crumble since it wasn't overwhelmingly sweet. However, I wasn't impressed with the fruit tart since the cream tasted a little artificial and resembled something I could've purchased at the grocery store. I learned a lesson after having afternoon tea with my boyfriend...don't bring boys to tea, they will still be hungry after the miniature offerings! I guess Gordon Ramsay is a little warranted in his tirade against other chefs since I was pretty impressed with the dishes at The London. Try it and let me know if you agree.

--y