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To be honest this review had us at the bread description
i som e t i m e s fi n d i t a li t t le egotistical to name a restaurant after yourself, but if anyone deserves it it’s Laurent Tourondel. His permanent residency is elegant in decor and more so in menu with a full grill and sushi set-up to suit anyone. On the first floor of the Hotel Café Royal, the restaurant is dominated by its view and hotel’s cascading chandelier. You can only ever get to grips with a wine menu with a cocktail in hand, and my ‘Cherry Kiss’, a sultry concoction of cherry liqueur, chocolate bitters and Champagne was rich and light in equal measure. Normally I’d leap into discussing our starters, but the bread deserves a moment to itself. Think half bread, half Yorkshire pudding; warm, fluffy and delicious. For some it’s salvation from starvation, for others it’s the reason they can’t finish their meal. At Laurent it’s almost a reason to go by itself. Sushi to start and the Bluefin Toro was buttery and full flavoured, enough to stand up to the jalapeños and avocado. On the other hand, I wanted to love the lobster roll, but it lacked the crunch I was expecting from the menu description. Still, I can’t say a bad word about the quality of the fish – especially with a nice bottle of crisp Albariño.
“The ribs fell off the bone at the slightest breeze, with marble fat melting in to beautiful richness”
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CULTURE
I’d already heard about the wagyu beef short ribs and king prawns and to be honest I didn’t look too much at the other mains. Even without recommendations, the choice was clear. The ribs fell of the bone at the slightest breeze; Greek kleftiko has a run for its money, I’m telling you, with marbled fat melting into beautiful richness. A glass of Zinfandel complemented the full flavour of the wagyu appropriately. The prawns were leviathans of the deep; large, juicy and succulent. They arrived by themselves without anything to accompany them. They didn’t need the help; these are prawns worthy of pilgrimage. That said, the courgettes were great, with a generous coating of basil pesto, and are worth getting with any main. For the first time in what seems forever, my sweet tooth was lacking so cheese was the round-off to dinner. The board was a good mix of goat and cow varieties, scattered with warm hazelnuts drizzled in honey, gooseberry jam and drunken figs. Over a final glass of Duoro Valley port, I wondered why I don’t choose the savoury option more often. The Hotel Café Royal might be a grander locale than we’re used to seeing from Laurent Tourondel, but with his flair for simple, flawlesslyexecuted dishes, his menu deserves a little pomp. It also very much deserves a second visit. Laurent At Ca fé Roya l 68 Regent Street , London W 1B 4DY laurentatca feroya l.com
TRAVEL
The Hilton Northolme Resort & Spa is situated on Mahe’s northern shore
S TAY H E RE Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa starts from around £277 in a King Garden villa per night on a B&B basis. Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa starts from around £403 in a King Hillside villa per night on a B&B basis. DoubleTree Resort & Spa by Hilton Hotel Seychelles – Allamanda starts from around £268 in a King Deluxe room with ocean view per night on a B&B basis.
the hotel is fantastic for snorkelling without being hunted by soulless, murderous sharks. If you’re really feeling active, a short shuttle bus can take you to water ski, parasail and scuba dive. Foodwise, breakfast is at the Hilltop restaurant with views to make you forget your eggs benedict. Evening presents themed buffets – we were here for the native Creole night – but you can dine more formally (and alfresco) at Les Cocotiers. Think red snapper with avocado puree and mango salsa and seared jobfish. All good things must come to an end, and we left the adultsonly island to hop over to the 92% untouched Silhouette Island and its only resort, the Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa. There’s nothing but private villas at Labriz, split into Hillside with
Visit hilton.com or call +248 429 9000 for info
“Our catch of the day was cooked by our personal chef, to enjoy at a private candle-lit dinner under the stars on the pavilion of our villa”
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stunning mountainous views (from £440 per night) and Beachfront, with ocean view and access to the private beach (£554). Personally, if I’m staying on a paradise island, I want to have a view of the ocean, so my choice was obvious. The villa was breezy and open, with one of the biggest Jacuzzi baths I’ve seen. You also get your own private outdoor space, complete with pool, rain shower and pavilion – not to mention direct beach hammock access. The only thing that got me to leave was the promise of turtles. The local reefs are immaculate, with green sea turtles, barracuda and parrot fish. I jumped at the opportunity to do the big game fishing, despite never having been in my life. Still, how hard could it be? My captain and his mate were locals who have been fishing before they could walk. I didn’t snare the kraken, but we did catch five large bonitos (kind of like tuna), the largest of which was set aside for later. The sunset cruise is also well worth doing. We had the boat to ourselves, sipping Champagne as the sun set. There wasn’t even another boat in sight – it couldn’t get more romantic, right? Wrong. Our catch of the day was then cooked by our personal chef, to enjoy at a private candlelit dinner under the stars on the pavilion of our villa. If you crave company, the resort boasts seven restaurants and bars – pretty remarkable considering it only has 111 villas. We didn’t try them all, but the traditional Creole of Grann Kaz, simple but flawless Italian at Portobello and the namesake dishes of Teppanyaki were all great. The two resorts are different in plenty of ways, but they both encapsulate everything that makes the Seychelles a truly tropical paradise. At the very least I’ll be back; two islands down, 113 to go…