William Curley Dessert Bar
Like most chocolate lovers in London, I’ve visited William Curley’s Belgravia Dessert Bar many times, but to my shame I’ve never tried the dessert bar menu.
The menu give you the chance to try what amounts to a five course meal made entirely of desserts. It’s only available at weekends from 1pm, and the contents of the menu changes every week, so you’re never quite sure what you’re going to get.
I love the atmosphere of the dessert bar. It’s modern and professional, yet relaxed and friendly.
You can sit at the bar, drinking hot chocolate or champagne and watch the team make the desserts right in front of you. The staff are enthusiastic, polite, and seem to take genuine pride in what they do. They’re happy to answer any questions you have about the menu, or just chat about chocolate while they work. It’s simply a nice place to be.
On this occasion, our menu had a distinctly seasonal feel. Our first course was a rhubarb & custard ice cream on a hazelnut crumble base. Rhubarb crumble is one of those flavours that brings back all kinds of wonderful childhood memories, and the flavours here were just like ‘the real thing’. It was neither too sweet, nor too heavy, which was good as we had four more courses to get through!
Next up was a spiced plump compote with greek yoghurt, topped with chocolate granita. Served in small glasses, but with generous layers of compote, yoghurt and granita, this too was delicious. The granita was particularly good, being intensely chocolatey without being heavy.
Once again, the balance of flavours was just right. The tangy compote and yoghurt work so well with the granita that I could easily have eaten a second one of these.
Third course was a caramelised apple tarte tartin with vanilla ice cream. This looked wonderful, although by the time I’d finished photographing it, the ice cream was well on the way to melting (the curse of the food blogger!).
This was simple and delicious, although I preferred the slightly more exotic flavours of the other courses.
Next up was this beautifully presented raspberry macaron with raspberry sauce. We watched as the patissier decorated the plate and assembled the macaron in front of us, then quickly demolished them.
Macarons aren’t my usually my favourite thing, but the generous chocolate filling and decoration won me over.
Finally came the petits fours.
At this point, we were full, without feeling stuffed. The portion sizes and flavours through each course are perfectly balanced, so nothing too sweet or too filling. At just £15, it’s very good value as well.
Five courses of desserts may seem a little overpowering, but if you’ve not had lunch, it’s the perfect amount. And if you have already eaten or you’re worried it might be a bit much, you can simply share it with a friend. I would highly recommend having one to yourself though.
When you go, your menu will be different, so don’t expect to have exactly the same courses we did. I think half the fun is not knowing quite what you’ll get. I’ll certainly be going back for more.
William Curley Dessert Bar Menu
£15 Per Person
198 Ebury Street, Belgravia, London SW1W 8UN
www.williamcurley.co.uk
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Perhaps this is good value for money given the price, but these small portions spell torture for someone like myself. I would have thought the whole point of a dessert bar was indulgence and not this tease and tickle business that is apparent in the photos above. Also, where is the chocolate??? No, no, really…where is it???
hi chef,
very good dessert decoration and I will apply your looks……..