This week we were invited to visit Petrossian, a famous Parisian caviar house which landed in London this year.
Petrossian boutique, whose expertise lies in caviar and smoked salmon, opened its doors in the prestigious area of South Kensington (6 Fulham Rd, South Kensington, London SW3 6HG). It doesn’t exclusively operate as a boutique but also as a gourmet cafe and deli, and you can place an online order too!
Petrossian Caviar house is a family business of several generations. Melkoum and Mouchegh Petrossian who were originating from Armenia came to Paris and established the business in 1920 on Boulevard de la Tour-Maubourg. Now the company has been known for the luxurious goods for decades and is run by Armen Petrossian.
Tell me about caviar!
Let’s recap some basics about the caviar first. Caviar is matured sturgeon eggs and roe is an umbrella term for all fish eggs. There are different grades of caviar, and a grade depends on the size of each individual egg, texture, flavour and the aftertaste, or finish. Colour of the eggs is another important factor however it varies not only between grades, but between different fish too! At Petrossian’s, you can find five grades of caviar: Classic, Royal, Tsar Imperial, President, and Special Reserve.
Here at Petrossian’s you can also find different varieties of caviar coming from different fish. Those are:
- Ossetra, originally from the Caspian Sea but now farmed as fishing for it is illegal;
- Daurenki, naturally occurring hybrid fish from Huso dauricus and Acipenser schrenki raised in China;
- Baïka, fish originating in Siberia but now it’s farmed in France, China, and Germany;
- Beluga, the largest sturgeon fish that comes from the Danube Valley;
- and Sevruga, or a starry sturgeon, originally again from the Caspian Sea.
Learn more from the the official Petrossian infographic below.
Our visit to Petrossian
Our visit to a stylish boutique in South Kensington started with a glass of champagne followed up by caviar testing. We tried Beluga Royal, Baïka Tsar Imperial and Ossetra Tsar Imperial, and appreciated the differences between different varieties of caviar.
After that, we had Salmon tartar and Tarama.
For the mains, we shared Nordic salad with crab and had Caviar potato (with a super generous portion of caviar) and Rigatoni pasta with caviar (you can also go for the White truffle option too). Other options to try are Organic Soft Boiled Egg served with caviar and a range of dishes that include smoked salmon as a star of the show.
We finished our lunch with Armenian teas and chocolates reminiscent of the caviar eggs.
Overall, it was a splendid experience – one of absolute indulgence and well worth a repeat on a special occasion.
You might also like: Guide to champagne in 15 facts
Hope you liked my new blog!
Yours,
Anna
xxx