Le Beaulieu, Sofitel Legend Metropole, Hanoi

This late lunch quest comes from Hanoi, where my wife and I went to celebrate our first anniversary as a married couple. We dined at Le Beaulieu which is located on the ground floor of the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel, one of the best places to stay in this city.

The restaurant is elegant, without being to opulent and the maitre'd greeted us and led us to our clean and presentable table. It was not full but not completely empty either. Both of us went for the set menus consisting of four courses and this is how we got on.

Table Setting

The starter from my set menu was duck and fig pâté shown below. This was wrapped in a pastry crust and served along with baby leeks that had a mustard dressing. This was a nice looking starter, which could have done with a touch more flavour but quite filling too.

Starter

Tomato Confit

My wife's starter from the set menu was the tomato confit shown above, which had apparently been cooking for eight hours.

The second course was Tiger Prawn with squid. The prawn was meaty and slightly spicy with the squid being nice too. This was accompanied with some peas and peppers adding some crunch to the dish.

Prawn

Lamb was chosen for the main third course. The two pieces of lamb were well cooked to the medium standard that I asked for and was tender and juicy. It was served with a coffee type sauce that was interesting and sat on a bed of sauteed vegetables. A pumpkin puree was served as a side which was a lovely and sweet alternative to mash potatoes.

Lamb

For dessert the option was the Chocolate Burger. This to me was the best dish of the evening by far, good enough to make my wife envious of it (she got a parfait with marinated fruits). This delicious treat had layers of biscuit and crumble with different chocolate flavours mixing excellently.

Chocolate Burger

Le Beaulieu was a lovely place to have an anniversary dinner. The setting could have been slightly dimmer for a more romantic ambience and there were a few families there but these are minor things. Service was friendly and attentive, with a good standard of English (I am not sure how good their French is). As with quality establishments this is not cheap and very expensive in Hanoi terms but a very good restaurant nonetheless.

Scores:
Food: 4/5
Presentation: 5/5
Service: 4/5
Setting: 4/5

Overall: 17/20

Total Bill: Complimentary, so many thanks to Sofitel Hotel!

I ate: Duck and Figs Pate en croute with Baby Leeks; Grilled Tiger Prawns and Squid with Carrot; Roasted Lamb Rack with Pumpkin Puree; Chocolate Burger.

I drank: Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc, Sparkling Water.

I wore: The anniversary gift of a Rolex GMT Master II watch, from my wife.