Hélène Darroze at The Connaught

I had brunch today at The Connaught - Hélène Darroze, whose cuisine is usually inspired by her roots in south-west France, bizarrely was doing an traditional American-style brunch, with dishes ranging from "The Connaught hot dog" to a posh burger.

First off, there was an impressive buffet, with lots of things to choose from. I went for some smoked salmon from a remote Scottish island, which was good but not quite on par with Forman's in my opinion, which is less smoky. I liked the salad of prawns and celery with a bloody Mary dressing, and the buffalo mozzarella and beetroot were refreshing. An interesting concept were these filled brioches - one with milk chocolate, the other with raspberry. I tried the raspberry one, which was delicious - a bit like a doughnut!

For my main course, I had macaroni cheese. I was a little shocked to see that all of the main courses had meat in them, but they were very kind and cooked some macaroni without the Bellota ham for me! It was truly scrumptious, with tasty Comté cheese and a crispy gratin - but still managing to be not too heavy.

Dessert was a real treat. The waffle was cooked to order, and topped with whatever I wanted - I opted for the waffle-maker's favourite: a drizzle of maple syrup, a dollop of Chantilly cream, a dusting of icing sugar and a dash of chocolate sauce. Indulgent, oh yes.