Fera, London, 11/8/14

Sign at Claridge's
Sign at Claridge’s

Fera is in the gorgeous Claridge’s hotel in the Mayfair section of London and just opened in May of this year. Simon Rogan is the chef and co-owner but splits his time between here and 3 other restaurants he runs. We visited his first London restaurant, Roganic, on our last trip and loved the place, so we went with great expectations.

Entrance
Entrance
Interior
Interior

The room is splendid and large which is bad for a noise factor on the floor and fortunately we were on a raised level by the wall which helped our experience. I also have included several shots of the ladies room as it was so lovely it just had to be shared, but this is Claridge’s not just Fera. The service here was friendly but less than I would expect, attentive-wise. Although they did make up some ground with a kitchen tour and a visit with the manager and executive chef.

The menu offers a 7 course tasting or a la carte options for dinner. We took the tasting but it seemed that most were doing otherwise. They started with a mixed group of amuse bouche. The lightly fried rabbit was delicious but I thought the blue cheese should have had more of a pop. The smoked roe came in a creamy emulsion with some lovely crisped duck bits on top. The bread was nice but the caramelized butter was the star – it tasted just like you spread it with browned butter – YUM! The dumplings were tender and the truffles reasonably strong and the raw veal was tender and nice. The sea bass was bland but well cooked and the razor clams were lost in the mix. Of the desserts, the fig seemed unripe or just not flavorful and the chocolate malt was uninspired. There were no bad tastes but the there was not enough of the “lick your plate” clean offerings for a restaurant of this caliber.

menu
menu
wine
wine
blue cheese foam on cracker
blue cheese foam on cracker
Stewed rabbit in a crisp onion tapioca coating with lovage emulsion
Stewed rabbit in a crisp onion tapioca coating with lovage emulsion
Mackerel with tastes of seaweed, cucumber and horseradish
Mackerel with tastes of seaweed, cucumber and horseradish
Smoked roe and red cabbage
Smoked roe and red cabbage
Guinness bread with caramelized butter
Guinness bread with caramelized butter
Swede dumplings, Isle of Mull cheese and Wiltshire truffle
Swede dumplings, Isle of Mull cheese and Wiltshire truffle
wood bowl to serve dumplings
wood bowl to serve dumplings
Raw veal, oyster, kohlrabi and apple
Raw veal, oyster, kohlrabi and apple
Narive lobster, kale leaves in lobster cream, crispy pork, sunflower seed
Narive lobster, kale leaves in lobster cream, crispy pork, sunflower seed
Sea bass, razor clams, salsify and sea beet
Sea bass, razor clams, salsify and sea beet
sea bass plated
sea bass plated
entrance to ladies room
entrance to ladies room
stall doors in ladies room
stall doors in ladies room
tile in ladies room
tile in ladies room
ladies room
ladies room
ladies room
ladies room
Entrance floor
Entrance floor
entry ceiling
entry ceiling
room
room
entry flowers
entry flowers
wine
wine
Goosnargh duck breast, watercress, celeriac, sprout tops and mead
Goosnargh duck breast, watercress, celeriac, sprout tops and mead
Chocolate malt nitro, prune and dandelion (smoke is intentional)
Chocolate malt nitro, prune and dandelion (smoke is intentional)
Roasted fig, gingerbread and fig leaf yoghurt
Roasted fig, gingerbread and fig leaf yoghurt
Frankie was enjoying the warmth of our candle
Frankie was enjoying the warmth of our candle
(far left) Pumpkin and whiskey, marshmallow macaroons, licorice cake, jelly with roasted nuts
(far left) Pumpkin and whiskey, marshmallow macaroons, licorice cake, jelly with roasted nuts
looking into the dining room from the kitchen
looking into the dining room from the kitchen
kitchen
kitchen

IMG_6360

more kitchen
more kitchen
General manager Benjamin Hoffer and Dan Cox, Executive chef
General manager Benjamin Hoffer and Dan Cox, Executive chef
herb and micro green growing area
herb and micro green growing area

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