French, very French, but in central London and with black pudding on the menu, how French is Hibiscus? It does not matter how it is of anything as long as it is as delicious as Hibiscus is.

Head Chef and co-owner Claude Bosi and Restaurant Manager and co-owner Claire Bosi were married when they back in 2000 founded Hibiscus together in Ludlow which has been well-known for its gastronomic talents. Today Claude Bosi and Claire Bosi are divorced, but they still run their Hibiscus flawlessly in central London.

Hibiscus is one of those excellent restaurants that is far from finished with its journey of development. There is still a feeling of more to achieve, more to evolve and more to prove and this at one of the best restaurants in the United Kingdom and also one of the best in the world. The kind of hard work and passion that comes out from Hibiscus is enviable and many more restaurants that call themselves fine dining restaurants should copy and paste the spirit of Hibiscus.

So back to the black pudding, how did it manage to get on a plate served at the French Hibiscus? Well, book a table and experience it for yourself – it is delicious. Claude Bosi has named it the Hibiscus black pudding and it comes with Cornish winkles, green apple and celery juice. Our favourite is otherwise the brilliant ravioli of spring onion & lime, broad bean and Moroccan mint purée.

The flavours match perfect and it tastes fantastic. Another dish that you should not miss is the smoked and roasted labeled Anglais chicken with Cevennes onion fondue, banana, wild lime and liquorice. The flavours are spot on and your taste buds will have some fireworks for a while before you understand how brilliant it is. Poultry is something Claude Bosi masters to its finest form.

Head Sommelier Romain Henry started at Hibiscus in September 2010 and he is focused on biodynamical wines that today dominate the wine list. We have tried many of the eco wines and every single one of them fits perfect to whatever we have had. A good example of that is a glass of Domaine Comte Abbatucci, Diplomate d’Empire 2008 from the French Corsica paired with the goose barnacles, confit of tomatoes in Muscovado sugar, coriander and mint. That is very good to say the least and just one example of how good biodynamical wines can be with haute cuisine.

The competition between the very best restaurants in London is fierce nowadays. We are talking about the creative and gastronomic competition that has made London one of the absolutely best cities in the world today when it comes to fine dining and Hibiscus is one of the best proofs of that.

Written by Andy