Having been working my way around the single Michelin starred restaurants of London over the past 15 months or so, I ventured into a double Michelin starred establishment for the first time in entering Pétrus. Located within the Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge, I guess it would be difficult to get a much more exclusive address, although I always feel that restaurants located in a hotel are less inspiring and overshadowed, as though the hotel takes away the fact that the restaurant could stand on it’s own two feet, which Pétrus assuredly could.

The décor takes inspiration from the name, Pétrus being an exclusive bordeaux, with the lush velvet walls creating a feeling of opulence. The velvet did absorb quite a lot of sound, though, which gave the ambience more of a library feel, which some people may prefer, but which Ms R and I felt muted the overall atmosphere somewhat.

The wine list at Pétrus is immense and I felt as though I was holding an encyclopedia when the sommelier handed it to me. Being flabbergasted at the prices on the special ‘Pétrus’ section, prices starting at ₤995 for a bottle and going up to an astounding ₤49,500 for a Magnum of the 1961 Pétrus, I spent rather more time at the wrong end of the menu than I should and ended up ordering a sweet Riesling by mistake. The sommelier kindly pointed this out before recommending a more appropriate Saint Aubin 1er Cru, a much dryer wine and one which wasn’t going to require we remortgage our house to pay the bill!

A double dose of amuse-bouches consisted of foie gras toast (heavenly) and houmous (confusing, but nice) with very thin slices of toasted brioche. Following the amuse-bouches, we had the pleasure of getting an appetizer, too, before we’d even been served our starters. The appetizer was served in a shot glass and consisted of a layered concoction of golden raisin puree, celeriac soup and topped with a hazelnut foam. Despite only being an appetizer, a lot of thought had gone into it and the delicate, nutty foam effortlessly eased into the earthy celeriac before finishing on the sweet note of the raisin puree. Delicious.

Starters consisted of finely sliced poached veal with white onion mousse, dried olives and an anchovy jelly for me, and the poached lobster tail with lightly pickled baby vegetables on a pigs trotter and onion sauce for Ms R. I really enjoyed my starter, the delicate mousse contrasting with the flavoursome anchovy jelly but both complimenting the veal well. The lobster tail (minus the pigs trotters) didn’t give half as much enjoyment and was quite disappointing. I’ve prepared better lobster myself and the accompaniments didn’t really enhance the dish in the way the mousse and jelly did with the veal. Even taking into account the fact that Ms R had altered the dish in requesting the finely chopped pigs trotters be removed from the sauce, I couldn’t see that their addition would have transformed the dish into anything above average.

The disappointment of the lobster was completely quashed once we had tasted the mains. Ms R’s slowly poached Wild Sea Bass on a bed of mushrooms, baby spring vegetables with a sea urchin & vermouth sauce was sublime, with my Dorset Turbot with frogs legs with golden raisin puree and jus roti probably the best fish I have ever eaten.

The impressive cheese trolley was offered, but seeing the cheese hating Ms R immediately cover her nose and mouth when the trolley was within 10 feet of the table, I thought it prudent to decline for the both of us and leave space for dessert.

The gastronomic excellence of the main courses continued with our pre-dessert shot glass of apple granita and vanilla cream with caramelized basil on a sauterne jelly. Neither of us could really taste the basil, but the vanilla cream was luxuriant, the apple granita amazingly refreshing and the sauterne jelly a delight.

My chocolate and orange dessert came in the form of mini chocolate gateau diamonds with bitter orange jelly and chocolate dipped marmalade ice cream. A clever and delicious pud, which I think slightly outshone the white chocolate mousse, griotine cherries and spiced cherry chocolate on the other side of the table, but not by much. A glass of vin de constance dessert wine from Klein Constantia was the perfect accompaniment, enhancing without overpowering the chocolate and orange flavours.

One of the things I really do like about the top restaurants, and Pétrus is undoubtedly one of them, is the fact you get given so many little treats in and around each course. Pétrus really excelled in this area and in addition to the amuse-bouches, appetizer and pre-dessert dessert, we were offered chocolates from the bon-bon trolley, which I readily accepted and then felt like Mr Creosote immediately after consuming them. The service was very slick and I cannot fault it in any way. Our waitress even noticed we had switched plates to taste eachother’s starters, which is a level of attention to detail not found in many places. The waitress was also unfazed by my request to see the kitchen (thanks to Mr T for that tip (not the one from the A team)) and gladly introduced us to the head chef, Alan Green, whilst explaining how the different areas in the kitchen were assigned to various tasks/courses.

The pricing for the a la carte menu is ₤75 a head for three courses, which is expensive, but I think is worth it. The wine list is exhaustive, but doesn’t have a lot of choice on the per glass section and with the prices starting at around ₤30 a bottle, the bill can easily get out of control if you’re not careful. Half bottles are also offered, but again there is a limited choice.

Overall, I think Pétrus is probably the best restaurant I have ever eaten at. It is slick in it’s operation and serves exceptional food. I did have to book 3 months in advance for a table at the time I wanted (early evening), but I think it’s most definitely worth the wait.