Toulouse Lautrec Brasserie, Kennington, and "Painting the Modern Garden" at the Royal Academy

This is a pen portrait of Gannet 2 the day after our latest trip.  Somewhat the worse for wear...

Where did we go?

We were feeling French and adventurous, and so ventured to deepest, darkest Kennington to visit Toulouse Lautrec (yes, yes, I know he's dead - Toulouse Lautrec the trendy jazz brasserie, not Toulouse the artist).

I say "all the way" (which reminds me why you should never fly Virgin Airways as it doesn't go that far...) but oddly Kennington turns out to be only 4 short stops on the Northern Line from Leicester Square, whilst Leicester Square is only a short walk from the Royal Academy on Piccadilly which is currently showing Painting The Modern Garden.  So although when booking it felt like intrepid exploring, the trip there from central London was incredibly quick.

So last Sunday started with a late afternoon trip to the Royal Academy to see an exhibition largely featuring Monet but also other garden paintings.   We were not the only people with that same idea and the Exhibition was uncomfortably crowded - I would recommend going on a weekday if you can unless like Mr Gannet 1 you are 6Ft4 - and yet it was still well worth while:  there was a variety of artists displaying the evolution of the European garden.   I especially loved the Pisarro paintings.  He may be the only great Impressionist AFAIK to have depicted the lovely streets of South London in his painting The Avenue in Sydenham.  Dulwich still looks a bit like this:

Enough about art!  Mr Gannet 2 and I rapidly descended (literally) to the little known Shankman Bar in the Royal Academy complex, tucked to the side in the Keeper's House.  Good as the exhibition was, the Bar was a gem.  Its capacity is about 30 people - you can only order if there is a chair upon which to sit which ensures it feels roomy whilst still being small and intimate.   There is no  loud music and you can hear yourselves talk whilst feeling very trendy and in the centre of things.  It is subtly lit, bathed in the red glow of reflected light from sumptuous velvet and leather.  Actually the lighting is a bit too subtle for Mr Gannet 2 who put his drink down on a bar surface that did not exist, thus showering himself in Elephant Gin.

Gannet 2 gushed to the bar man how very much she likes Italians and before long he was mixing a complimentary replacement cocktail so all were happy.  The barman could not have been more helpful, giving us different liqueurs to taste before taking our orders and recommending various delicious combinations of exotic alcohols.  As well as being delightfully Italian (IMO!)

Despite the drinking, we still made it safely to Toulouse Lautrec by the allotted time of 7.15pm at which point the Brasserie was still almost completely empty - filling up really only by about 9pm.

We were a party of 6:  The two gannets and their husbands, together with the Plovers.  Here is Mr Plover discussing matters of state with Mr Gannet 2.  You can see the authentic french atmosphere and vibe - excitingly, there was a poster up showing which acts were performing which night and Sunday night was to be French Chansons at 9.30pm.  At the start of the evening, we were fully intending to stay up that late.  The Gannets were very excited to read through the very traditionally french menu:  onion soup, frites, charcuterie all featured.

The waitress was a charming Romanian but we could hear a lot of french coming from the kitchen which was open to the restaurant (always reassuring)

The food was perfectly acceptable and generally well executed but nothing out of the ordinary, reflecting the price point.  However the general congeniality and the feeling that something might be about to happen made it feel warm and welcoming.  Personally, I wouldn't travel especially to Kennington for this restaurant but would definitely go back if I were in the area.

The creme Brulee was certainly bruleed:  we saw the Chef blowtorching it practically in front of us,   Perhaps with over enthusiasm as it left the creme rather curdled.  At least they hadn't bought it in!

By 9.15pm, Gannet 2 was ready for bed and the general consensus was to skip the French Chansons happening on the top floor (extra cost of £12 per person) so we paid our £45 each including tip and copious drinks, and left.

Mrs Plover chauffeured us home beautifully, although it is not clear whether this was owing to, or despite, all the help from the 5 back and front seat passengers.  Thank you Mrs Plover!