If you’ve been watching the (excellent) sixth series of Slow Horses, then you might have particularly enjoyed a scene in which the icy head of MI5, Kristin Scott Thomas’s Diana Taverner, heads to a tense lunchtime rendezvous with Samuel West’s slimy politico Peter Judd and, unexpectedly, Harry Lloyd’s media mogul Damien Cantor.
The purpose of the lunch is not a purely social one, but at least the location for it, Le Pont de la Tour by the side of Tower Bridge, is both picturesque and deeply classy. As everything about this restaurant has been since it opened in 1991 under Terence Conran.
For many years, this establishment was in the D&D group, who ensured that it ticked along nicely but you could also say that there were times that it felt as if it was coasting on its considerable reputation. But now it has become part of the Evolv group, along with many similarly excellent establishments, it feels as if its commitment to offering diners a properly high-end experience has been renewed and this might be the best it’s been in its 35-year history.
If you’re lucky enough to visit on an evening where it’s warm enough to sit outside and admire the riverside views, then that’s a plus, but the food and drink here are properly top notch now; good enough for MI5, politicians, media owners and the rest of us alike.
Kicking off with a cocktail is practically de rigueur here, and my choice of the ‘Light It Up’, a combination of whisky, Calvados and coffee bitters, got an approving nod from the waiter, as did the more traditional Vesper martini that my friend ordered. Then it’s onto the menu proper.
I was tempted, in the best of ways, by ‘l’oeuf parfait’, which is an egg presented in pea velouté with ham hock and girolle mushrooms. It was quite sensational, as was my chum’s tuna tartare, showing just how good modern French cuisine with a decidedly English accent could be.
We were then offered an unexpected but hugely welcome mid-course bonus in the form of a chorizo and pork belly risotto, which tasted and looked like something that will become a signature dish of the restaurant before very long.
Accompanied by a glass of Gruner Veltliner apiece, it was a fine curtain-raiser, before we tried a truly excellent cote de boeuf, accompanied by all the bearnaise, chips, creamed spinach and a bonus of a tomato and watermelon salad that you could have hoped for.
It was steak as good as we’ve had in London lately, and that’s saying a lot. The sommelier’s recommendation of the Lucter by Château de Haute-Serre proved to be a particularly fine suggestion, and the whole thing made for quite the repast, on a glorious autumn evening.
The evening was starting to wind down when we ordered dessert, and Jamie declared himself hors de combat and unable to eat another thing. I however am made of (slightly) more robust stuff and so ordered the vanilla-poached pineapple with mango sorbet and passion fruit espuma, which gave the potentially erroneous impression of being healthy.
Then, one decaffeinated espresso martini later – I have been burnt too many times before to have caffeine in them late at night – it was time to bid a fond farewell to the excellent team of staff and off we went, sated and very happy indeed. For Le Pont de la Tour has returned in fine fettle and you are guaranteed a good time here. And what else can you possibly, reasonably ask for?
Le Pont de la Tour, 36D Shad Thames, London SE1 2YE. For more information, including details of what’s on and monthly crepe suzette flavours, please visit www.lepontdelatour.co.uk.
