Do you prefer a night at the circus or a slap-up dinner at a five-star hotel? Why choose – Town House at The Kensington has created a special pre-theatre menu to commemorate the return of Cirque du Soleil’s Ovo to the Royal Albert Hall.
A memorable evening is more or less guaranteed from the moment you arrive at The Kensington Hotel. The restaurant is a gorgeous space, as large and grand as a duchess's drawing room. Formal dress isn’t expected but a dinner jacket would certainly fit the surroundings, if you see what I mean. The wallpaper is pleasingly zany, lots of swirls and peacocks – the old girl clearly has style.
Ovo means ‘egg’ in Portuguese – as I’m sure you knew – and executive chef Isabela Vaz has created two exclusive courses that place the egg centre stage. For the starter, a perfectly cooked Scotch egg is paired with salt-baked Jerusalem artichoke purée, thin slices of Iberico ham and crisp winter leaves. Don’t like egg? Hit up the roast pumpkin salad with feta, almonds, and pomegranate.
The starter
Mains are simple yet effective, exactly what you want from a pre-theatre scran. I couldn’t resist the confit duck leg, which came on a large bed of lentils and onions. Highly recommended. There’s also the option of beetroot gnocchi or pan-seared cod fillet in a white wine, tomato and basil sauce. The latter is good but it might be worth adding a portion of chips to your order for added sustenance.
For dessert, you really must order the white chocolate egg with a plum and grape filling. It’s served on a bed of spongy green cake, a suitably theatrical dish for the evening ahead. The mango sorbet is also superb. We arrived at half five and the whole meal was turned around in barely an hour, leaving ample time for the 15-minute stroll to Royal Albert Hall.
The dessert – chocolate egg
As for the show itself? By and large, it’s a blast. The titular egg serves little purpose, and I’ll admit the central love story – I’m not sure you can call it a ‘narrative’ – between a vivacious ladybird and a clownish bluebottle left me unmoved. However the costumes are a colourful riot, and aerobics are always involving and often spectacular.
A synchronised troupe of red ants juggle kiwi fruit with their feet. A dragonfly balances a unicycle along a tightrope while upside down. Acrobatic insects fling each other around the rafters with dazzling insouciance. (Not sure on their supposed denomination: frankly I was too busy gawping at the skill to notice the outfits.) Fittingly, the climatic setpiece might be the highlight, performers jumping onto trampolines and quite literally running up the wall.
All told, we had a lovely time – even the latish tube back to Brixton wasn't so bad. Of course, if you want to make the night extra special I believe there's a rather lovely hotel round the corner...
The menu is available throughout OVO’s London run until 1 March
