Our meal at The Cube by Electrolux

Clemmy here, Hello!

On Friday we were lucky enough to enjoy a fantastic meal at The Cube by Electrolux, a temporary restaurant placed on top of the Royal Festival Hall by Waterloo Bridge. Roxie had won the opportunity through a competition in Woman and Home magazine. We looked it up and discovered that the lunch price was £175 per person, this really was a once in a life time opportunity.

We arrived and were shown upstairs, and handed a free glass of champagne so sip as we admired the fine view from the roof terrace. Obviously this is not something we are used to so we made sure we took in as much of this experience as possible. We were also offered canapés of Horseradish Ice-cream sandwiches, which were surprisingly delicious given the unusual combo of ice-cream and horseradish.

Hungerford Bridge

A brilliant mosaic of the world, made of millions of Lego bricks

Secret Garden on the South Bank

Waterloo Bridge

Soon our jackets were taken and we were ushered inside. We found a long table, to seat 20, laid out in the most immaculate fashion. Pots of herbs provided decoration, napkins were very neatly folded, and cutlery was laid out in blocks instead of the traditional "start from the outside and work your way in fashion".

We were sat down quickly on crazy 'pod' chairs, and introduced to our chef for the day, Sat Bains.  Bread and butter was offered by the very attentive staff, and we eagerly awaited the first course.

 

This was a fantastic course. It was Loch Duart Salmon, served with miso, passionfruit and oyster. Compliments emanated from the other diners as this one was eaten, and rightly so as it was lovely, even the little pickled mushrooms. Served with a white wine that clearly cost more than a tenner, my introduction to high dining had begun.

The second course was a salt baked celeriac, served in truffle juice. This was certainly the simplest course, but I liked it nonetheless. The truffle juice was my favourite taste in the entire meal.

The third course was the most traditional. It was slow-cooked mutton served with shallot 'textures' and lamb ragu. I've never eaten mutton before, though I do like lamb so this was quite familiar and highly tasty. I also found this one very filling.

 

The cheese course followed. It was a cheese known as 'Beauvale blue', which is only made into 6 wheels per year according to Sat Bains. It was served on top of a warm banbury cake with a port syrup glaze. The cheese was very sharp, and was almost too much but I persevered. This course was served with a glass of port, which I'm sorry to say I just found too strong.

Finally, the start of three dessert courses. A little pudding of three layers - Chocolate, yoghurt and coffee. My favourite dessert course by far, since I'm so into chocolate. It was served with a glass of red wine, which was very very sweet.

A lovely fruit course followed, consisting of pickled berries and a cheeky side of cornflakes, served over a breakfast bowl compote. I really enjoyed the fruit here.

To finish, we were served something very interesting. Lollipops made of mango, white chocolate, and curry. Somehow the curry (not something I normally think of as a dessert) really added to the taste, and I loved the presentation inside a wooden block.

Unfortunately, the meal was now over, and it was time to leave. I don't think I will ever have a lunch of this calibre again, I certainly can't afford one! I tried to make sure I appreciated every moment because of this, and we were very lucky to have the opportunity.

Update

Hi there, Clemmy here.

I can only apologise for taking so long to update this blog.
We're both still well and very much still alive but have not updated due to a move to a new flat. I'm pleased to say that we have upgraded from one bed to two bedrooms, and with a 27' living room to boot - needless to say, I'm pleased! We've mostly unpacked by now, but there are still a few stubborn boxes which remain untouched.

We still plan to begin the knowledge together soon, and have both obtained medicals, but had to put further progress on hold during the move. However, we will no doubt restart very soon.
The Smart car is still pottering along nicely, and should soon be due it's first service as we've already added 7000 miles to the clock. It's saved us an absolute fortune in travel costs over the previous months and still achieves around 76mpg on average, and I will never stop appreciating not having to pay congestion charge. I maintain that this will be the perfect vehicle for people in our position to practice routes in, especially as summer is starting to draw to a close (already!).

Tomorrow is a day off for us both, and a rare treat! We've been fortunate enough to win a free lunch at The Cube, a temporary restaurant atop the Royal Festival Hall. Lucky indeed, as lunch tickets at this venue start at £175 per person normally, and include a 6 course meal cooked by Michelin star chefs in front of you. This isn't something we're used to at all, and we'll probably never have something like this again so we'll certainly appreciate every bite :).

Night all,
Clemmy.