"I Tried The First Michelin-Starred Breakfast Tasting Menu"

‘Michelin-starred breakfast tasting menu’. It sounds straightforward, nearly obvious. You’d think that with all of the Michelin-starred hotel restaurants in the guide, some chef had written up a tasting menu catered toward mornings. You’d think that, but you’d be wrong, because the first Michelin-starred breakfast tasting menu opened just this month in The Four Seasons in London at Pavyllon.

These are high-performance athletes in this kitchen, working a sport that combines performance, strategy, and endurance. As I sat at the counter, I watched the game.
Mallory, Junior Food & Drink Editor

What sets it apart

…Under the guidance of Yannick Alléno, the world’s most decorated Michelin-starred chef…

In all honesty, you’d probably think that a tasting menu for breakfast is over the top, a bit pretentious, slightly unnecessary. I had my reservations about it, the concept of Michelin dining at 10am. I expected bite-sized dishes, hard-to-understand micro-ingredients, and the looming fear of leaving hungry. Pavyllon is anything but what I expected from an early-morning Michelin tasting menu.

The experience occurs at the counter, where you look into a fully operational kitchen, all eyes on the pass, as a team of chefs work diligently to prepare dishes from the mind of Benjamin Ferra Y Castell under the guidance of Yannick Alléno, the world’s most decorated Michelin-starred chef. These are high-performance athletes in this kitchen, working a sport that combines performance, strategy, and endurance. As I sat at the counter, I watched the game.

Pavyllon should be filled with an overwhelming pride that the kitchen operates with such organisation and respect while serving a menu that, at the time of my reservation, had only been on its second shift. The movements looked effortlessly flawless, the team very obviously living and breathing the breakfast service, the stations pulsing with the rushed focus of a grand master. As for the menu, it is nearly misleading to use the word “tasting”, as each course comes as a full portion. I left with only one regret — stiff jeans.

What we ordered

Pavyllon is anything but what I expected from an early morning Michelin tasting menu.

First course

The ordeal kicked off with your choice of a baked good. That’s full-sized pain au chocolats, croissants, personal baguettes, and anything else that pastry happened to be making that day. In my case, it was a slice of a hazelnut pastry pie with frangipane and warm chocolate sauce poured over. These were among the flakiest and butteriest pastries I’ve had, served warm and tableside. Usually, for breakfast, this would have sorted me out, but this was the hors d’eourves.

Second course

Following the croissants came another… croissant (welcomed). This time savoury with a lobster croast topped with dressed arugula. Here, they have taken something so simple and comforting, the breakfast staple of the butter croissant, and they’ve turned it into a luxury, a high-end yet unintimidating and palatably accessible luxury served with orange juice.

Third course

Between mains was a bit of a “palette cleanser”, as our server called it, Greek yoghurt with granola and berries. More than a bit, really a bowl, albeit beautifully well done in its simplicity. The granola was perfectly crunchy and indulgent. This, to me, felt like the kind of breakfast a lucky someone might get after waking up in an off-duty chef’s apartment — a little thing you didn’t realise could be perfect until you finally have the one.

Fourth course

Finally, the main, which you were able to make a bit of a gamble on. Either a special, thought up weekly and spanning from pizza to Turkish Eggs to Tiramisu Pancakes, or the classic of an eggs Benedict, Florentine, or Royale. I went for Royale.

Sat atop a perfectly warm and fluffy English muffin was an equally perfect poached egg, rotund and full in shape, topped with a hollandaise that was not runny but fluffy, drapedly balancing around the membrane of the egg and wearing a crown of caviar and a skirt of smoked salmon; this was truly a work of art, a showcase which proves how important simplicity is, how crucial it is that nothing is ever taken so seriously that it strays too far from home, that it loses sight of who it is. Because while this eggs royale was elevated, it was exactly what it said it would be — eggs royale.

A showcase which proves how important simplicity is, how crucial it is that nothing is ever taken so seriously that it strays too far from home, that it loses sight of who it is.

Fifth course

Yes, there is more — the sweet ending. The French toast is served tableside straight from the pan and topped with caramelised hazelnuts and an airy, whipped vanilla bean cream. When I took my fork to it, I immediately knew what this texture would be: cloud-like with this sweet caramelised casing. This is what you think you’ll get when you make French toast, but can never quite achieve. It is a pillow, a golden glimmering soft hug, the final straw for an already full stomach, the kind that invites a nap, a non-negotiable.

This is what you think you’ll get when you make French toast, but can never quite achieve.

Verdict

Some people may think a tasting menu for breakfast is “too much”, for example, the people next to us who were overheard expressing their grievances about the sparkling beet juice. I would say that they are wrong. This is an occasion meal, absolutely, but it is also an innovative push within the industry, an expression of Michelin dining which is both accessible and uncomplicated. The kitchen is methodical and disciplined, but simultaneously nurtures the kind of playfulness that comes with presenting lobster atop a croissant. For £70, I say, bring it on.