108 Brasserie, Marylebone Dish of the Month

Roast Turbot fit for a King at 108 Brasserie, Marylebone:

108 Brasserie, the restaurant at the Marylebone Hotel is a chic, open space with comfy banquettes and leather upholstered chairs.  Perfect for the Marylebone ladies who lunch and for local workers.  Perfect too for me.

Roast Turbot, the February dish of the month chosen by executive chef Russell Ford is spot on.  Known as ‘The King of the Sea’, it’s rare to find a restaurant serving whole turbot, even if it is for two to share.  I invited my pescatarian friend The Hedonist along to enjoy this fishy feast.  Russell’s aim is to introduce a new dish each month that reflects seasonal and local sourcing.  I imagine 108 Brasserie is the kind of place where if you live or work locally you might pop in a couple of times a month, so it’s a great idea to have a constantly changing option on the menu.  It’s also a good opportunity to showcase seasonal specials.

Displayed beautifully, the Turbot was served with trompette mushrooms, spinach gratin, a potato mousseline, roast winter vegetables and some tiny caramelised shallots.  I particularly liked the creamy gratin and the earthy yet delicate black trompettes.  A stunning dish of pearly white fish shining out under the generous layer of trompettes.  We attacked with gusto – the fish was served on the bone which added flavour and helped keep this perfectly cooked.

We enjoyed a glass of Gavi de Gavi with the fish, a perfect accompaniment to my kind of perfect lunch.

Dessert probably shouldn’t have happened at all – a whole turbot really is quite a lot for two.  But, the lure of chocolate fondant with peanut butter ice-cream was too much – so one dessert and two spoons were ordered.  Delicious and far too tempting!

Sadly, February is a short month and there were only a few days left until the end of the month when we turned up to review.  The dish of the month has already changed.  The silver lining, though, March’s dish of the month is the seasonal roast rack and slow cooked neck of Devon Lamb with spring vegetables at £20.  Sounds delicious and definitely worth a visit.

108 Brasserie
108 Marylebone Lane,
W1U 2QE