Lucky Cat Gordon Ramsay
Going out to dinner used to be a big event, but with the rise of fast food fixes and chain restaurants, some speculate the magic and entertainment of an evening out is all but lost. Luckily for those visiting Mayfair, however, Gordon Ramsay has crafted a fully immersive dining experience in his Asian restaurant Lucky Cat.*
It should surprise no one that one of the world’s most famous TV chefs is an expert at visuals as well as food. The dark textured bamboo walls, warm ambient lighting, and rows of burnished metal lucky cat sculptures tell you exactly what the menu is going to be like – a splendid, high quality, modern take on your favorite classics with an extra bit of pizazz.
You can kick off your dining experience with sushi- maki, sashimi, nigiri and the like – which is expertly and lovingly hand crafted by Lucky Cat’s Chef Kim, who also offers a sushi masterclass at the restaurant to those with a real passion for the art. As a native of California, I use the California Roll as my own baseline for sushi in any Asian or Asian-fusion restaurant, as I would the classic cheeseburger for any bustling cheeseburger spot or a grilled cheese and French fries for any American diner. This was one of the best quality California rolls I’ve had to date, bar the one I had 15 years ago at a tiny out-of-the-way spot in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, and definitely the best one I’ve had in England.
Because the dishes are portioned to be shared with the table, and because I love being able to take her on crazy adventures, I brought my mom with me, and we shared the Australian Wagyu Beef Tataki with shaved truffle and ponzu sauce and the tofu and the tomato salad. This was my first time trying Wagyu beef, though not my first rodeo, as it were, with tataki / tartare, and the beef practically melted on your tongue. The sauce and truffle offered excellent uplifting citrus and umami elements, but you never lost the taste of the beef in the flavors.
Next was the egg fried rice, cooked in black vinegar and chili oil, which was presented in a large bowl with a perfectly poached egg on top and then mixed tableside. The creaminess of the egg was a phenomenal balance to the heat and the acidity, and the rice served as a superb vehicle for all of those flavors. We chose a teriyaki chicken with eggplant to accompany the rice, and this is really where you get to see the most impressive part of Ramsay’s knowledge of flavor. Despite being able to order every dish at random from the menu, there was never a single competing flavor. Each dish, with their own level of individual complexity, sang in glorious harmony with the others.
Finally we were treated to the show stopping dessert that is the Lucky Cat Black Forest Cake. A chocolate lucky cat, molded from one of the many statues in the restaurant, is brought to the table and then drenched in molten chocolate to reveal layers of decadent black forest cake, ice cream, and crème fraiche. The passion fruit souffle and the apple treacle cake were also a delight, but if you have to pick just one dessert to put a bow on your evening, or if you are a choco-holic like I am, the namesake treat is a MUST.
*press visit CC Mason
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