Tuna Ceviche with green papaya salad, London Malmaison Brasserie

London Malmaison Brasserie, Farringdon, Review

ByQin Xie 04/04/201319/05/2020

London Malmaison, 18-21 Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6AH

The impressive façade of the Malmaison Hotel holds court in its own secluded square; serenely picturesque in the centre of the City, around the corner from the hustle and bustle of Smithfield meat market. The alluring scents of Sunday roast or freshly baked bread will occasionally drift up from the basement brasserie, enticing passers-by into the informal but lavish space. A selection of self-styled Mal lollipops – bitesize skewers of chicken satay, prawn tempura crab spring roll, Thai pork and fish cake – are a fun opening to a meal, each morsel elaborately presented and particularly well flavoured. Meat is big on the agenda, and it doesn’t get much bigger than the Mal Burger Stack: 250g of beef is topped with bacon and crowned with a succulent seared foie gras slider and onion rings, and served with ultra-thin crisp fries on the side. It’s entirely excessive but all the more enjoyable for it. This is not a place to come for moderation.

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Qin Xie

Qin Xie is a London based food, wine and travel journalist and trained chef.

When not infiltrating Michelin restaurants as a kitchen tourist, she writes about food, drink and travel. Her work has appeared on Yahoo, FT, The Times and CNN.

Her first cookbook, co-authored with YS Peng at Hunan Restaurant, is out March 2014.

According to friends, her watch is always set to UTC -- ready for the next big adventure. In reality, she is happiest at the dinner table or by the sea.