A posh meal at a pleasant price at Ganymede, Belgravia

BY PALOMA LACY

The day couldn’t have begun any better.

As I sat in a Belgravia café working to fill the time before my nearby lunch reservation, I heard a familiar voice.

The man attached to the dog stood in front of me requesting space in the garden was none other than Sir Andrew Lloyd- Webber.

As a life-long theatre fan, I wanted to talk to him. To say what, I’ve no idea but sense prevailed and I thought better of it.

Off to Ganymede I trotted to meet a friend for lunch.

She greeted me with a cheerful smile. “You won’t believe who I’ve just seen?”

We swapped notes on our favourite songs from the musicals and pondered on what the great impresario might like to hear us sing.

It’s pretty hard to believe that Ganymede is in South London but it is, albeit the posh part.

I kept expecting the cast of Made In Chelsea to skip through the door – it’s that kind of place but remains accessible to all at the same time.

Like its namesake, Ganymede, son of Troy according to Greek Mythology, is a thing of beauty, both inside and out.

The outpouring in this instance is the menu, the a la carte, which changes regularly and the ever-changing set menu.

Three courses for £27.50 is reasonable by anyone’s estimation and this is what I mean by accessible.

I went this route as I like the thought of lunch and a glass of wine in the heart of central London for around £35.

Loin of cod, wild garlic veloute, Oyster mushroom goujons ticked every culinary box – from inventive to refined.

The star of this plate, goujons – juicy in the middle and crisp fried, eaten exceedingly quickly to avoid any sogginess from the luminous green veloute.

Main course of bavette of beef, served with celeriac puree and parmesan fries, was pretty near to plated perfection.

No question was proffered as to how I’d like the steak cooked – it arrived barely pink but not quite well done.

Saving grace, a deep jus that set the plate off beautifully.

Baby monkfish, coconut spiced lentils and onion bhaji also caught my eye.

Dessert was enticing, though the simple description didn’t do it justice.

Apple and hazelnut tarte fine with honeycomb and chocolate chip parfait is a pudding that will live with me forever.

This was a wondrously sweet finish to a truly excellent meal.

For balance, my friend ate from the a la carte, which doesn’t come cheaply, making it more of a special occasion choice.

Let’s not forget that food prices are on the rise and consumption good food, much less fine dining, is not an inexpensive affair.

Moreover, it’s a question of labour and cooking from scratch takes time and energy, which needs to be rewarded.

Hand-made pasta is one such example and chicken ravioli with leek fondue and green peppercorn Madeira sauce and foie gras was worth every bit of the £14.50 price tag.

Every dish here is well thought out and executed to an exceptional standard.

Pan fried stone bass, ginger, chilli and coconut bisque, sesame prawn toast with basil delivered every flavour note it promised and given its complexity, there was little surprise to find it at £29 and at the higher end of the menu.

 

GANYMEDE (London)
139 Ebury Street, Belgravia SW1W 9QU
0203 971 0761
Ganymede (ganymedelondon.co.uk)