The White Room was a large one star Michelin restaurant located in the NH Collection Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky. The lovely room re-opened in April 2016 after extensive restoration of the room and paintings. Gold and white dominated the very ornate room with white upholstered chairs and banquettes, white walls with gold trim, white table clothes and frilly chandeliers. The panel paintings in the walls date back to 1885. Windows look out onto the street but have opaque sections at head level whereas the windows facing the hotel have gold stained glass patterns. The menu offered 4, 6, and 8 course tastings, a la carte options and 2 and 3 course surprise lunch menu with wine pairings available. The lunch is interesting because different tables will get different things. We chose the lunch menu with the wine pairing and portion control was good and the wine pairings a generous pour. I would call it technically perfect food served with some flavor. Service was friendly and timing was good.
Just after we were seated they brought out a lightly smoked macaroon filled with goat cheese and cucumber and topped with roasted mackerel. It had an interesting texture and taste.
Small rolls of sourdough bread were served warm and came with unsalted butter, seaweed and green tea butter and olive oil. The bread had a nice crackly crust and a doughy, chewy interior.
The next amuse bouche was a crispy thin roll filled with smoked trout. It was very crisp and quite smokey tasting. I’d call it okay. It was served on a liquid nitrogen that produced smoke.
A roasted scallop was seasoned with mushrooms and parmesan in a Vadouvan sauce. The French curry was very tasty and all the flavors in the dish melded well. There was a slight hint of citrus and it left a good aftertaste.
Tuna sashimi was served with marinated nori with radish and green herb oil. It was a lovely mix of textures and a beautiful plate of food.
Cod with leaf vegetables, green asparagus, carrot and a lemongrass sauce was wonderful. The large flake fish was completely moist and combined great with the other flavors. The wine pairing here was particularly good.
Dessert was a combination of Jasmine, lemon and alorian. There were lots of textures and flavors, like lemon and sweet. It came with a creamy ice cream that blended well with the other ingredients to produce a very good dessert. The jelly portion was from the aloe vera plant.
