London's Best Cheesy Hangouts

Owner of the world famous La Fromagerie, Patricia Michelson, shares with U her favourite London restaurants serving seasonal cheeseboards...

There has been something of a renewed interest in the cheese course over the last few years. Although some restaurants have the traditional board or trolley this needs time and expertise to look after and not all restaurants have the luxury of dedicated members of the team willing or able to do this. However, there are bars with fabulous wine offerings also listing cheese that would complement or inspire more libation. After all, cheese always gives a wine no matter how pedestrian an essence of sexiness when enjoyed together.

Places like Blanchette in Soho and Brick Lane, and The Barge House in Islington have an easy-going casual ambiance underpinned by a serious approach to their food and especially their cheese. Absolutely heart-warming.

Although I love the joy of the cheese board whisked over to me on a trolley in say Marcus at The Berkeley or La Trompette in Chiswick or Gordon’s eponymous restaurant on Royal Hospital Road; I am equally overjoyed by River Café’s plate of carefully curated cheese, Bubbledog’s single beautifully chosen seasonal cheese at their Kitchen Table, and Chez Bruce or The Glasshouse neighbourhood restaurants in Wandsworth and Kew both with a sizeable seasonal selection. 

However, to be fair you’ll find me at Petersham for the sheer whimsical frivolity of dining in a Greenhouse with their ever-changing seasonal menu of fresh produce from their kitchen garden and the cheese offering equally belonging alongside. It is a restaurant that makes me so happy to be living in London.

For sheer indulgence and pure pleasure then Noble Rot is probably my favourite place. I love the intelligently curated wine list with absolute gems by the glass, and the fact that I can sit at one of the bar tables in the front of the restaurant, with a plate of cheese from their ever-changing list by season and a glass of gorgeous Burgundy or Bordeaux, fills me with delight.

Close to our Marylebone shop is The Portland; pared back and just a totally enjoyable experience. The menu reads like a dream, the wine list is small but beautifully formed and the cheese is changed often to blend in with the way the menu reads. There is a lot of talk about neo bistros and neo dining, but The Portland has, since its conception, been out there as a beacon for purity, modernity and precision when it comes to matching flavours and textures. 

La Fromagerie, which was established in 1991, is opening its third site in Lambs Conduit Street late summer 2017. Patricia's love of cheese began up a mountain whilst she was skiing in Meribel. She returned to London with a wheel of Beaufort Chalet d'Alpage which she sold from her garden shed, graduating to a stall in Camden market a year later. La Fromagerie now comprises two award-winning shops and a successful wholesale business. 

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