London Restaurant Week - Papillon

A meal deal through London's Restaurant Week means that those with a tighter budget with a taste for high end will get to enjoy a gastronomical pleasure with a guilt-free wallet. It gives a chance for these restaurants to showcase their cuisine and expertise to a more accessible audience.

Papillon looks like the picture-perfect corner bistro in a smaller, upscale neighborhood that you would frequent once a week or so. Draycott Avenue is a lovely, charming street in South Kensington dotted with unique shops and indulgent places to eat. The interior matches the vibe and is not too fussy. As "another stunning venture from Danish born restauranteur Soren Jessen, owner of top London eatery 1 Lombard Street," the food is expected to match the high caliber of the top City restaurant.

The fixed menu was divided into vegetarian and omnivore with little options for starter, entrée, and dessert. When the food produced by Head Chef David Duverger arrived, the conclusion is that it is decidedly French. From an amateur French palate with simple understanding of French cuisine, the dishes were characteristically buttery and salty - too salty and buttery.


The stand-out dish of the meal was the starter, foie gras on a bed of lentils with a drizzling of some sort of balsamic reduction and rocket. Decadent. The foie gras was lightly grilled to develop a subtle caramelization. The buttery texture was contrasted with the peppery bite of arugula and intense flavor subdued with the lentils. The meal went somewhat downhill from that point. The other starter was a mushroom creme soup which was more creme than mushroom flavored. Sea bream on a bed of spring vegetables with an olive paste was the beautifully presented main. It was unfortunate that the presentation did not match the flavor and the bright color of the green baby vegetables covered the thoughtlessness in choice. The entire dish tasted as if it were mopped with clarified butter and then dehydrated with salt. The purpose of the olive tapenade was not clearly understood as it more masked the taste of the sea bream than enhanced it. For dessert was a simple apple tart, which had no distinguishing qualities from any high street bakery.


Papillon was worth the one-time visit only to experience what everyone else in the world believes is characteristic of French food leaving the diner heavy and bloated afterward. It would not be advisable to have your cholesterol tested the next day as a few days after would be required to siphon off the unnecessary use of excess butter and salt from your system after a visit to this restaurant.

Papillon. 96 Draycott Avenue, London, SW3 3AD. www.papillonchelsea.co.uk