When asked to name the definition of ‘fancy food’, there’s a good chance many a mind gravitates towards caviar. Typically enjoyed as an expensive garnish—often alongside a glass of Champagne at those ostentatious and inexplicably full airport bars you catch a glance of as you rush past, late for your flight—by those looking to try the finer things in life, the spread of fish eggs have quite the reputation.
And now, London has its its first ever Caviar Café and Deli – so if you happen to wonder in and do a double take: don’t worry. That is the price of caviar, not your regular flat white order skyrocketing in price (yet).
You may have also noticed that Petrossian are responsible for something of a new trend, which is basically a ramped-up-in-class version of your houmous and chilli dips at a dinner party. Their ‘crisps and dip but make it fancy’ concept involves, you guessed it, caviar. For the, uh, small price of £49, you can dip your potato crisps into the finest dip you can think of — it’s all the rage on TikTok, didntchaknow?
How did Petrossian come about?
But who is behind this new concept? Petrossian. The caviar connoisseurs are well-versed in this field, having been around for over a century in the city of love; so it’s a good thing that the Paris collective are arriving in London just as the calendars turn the page into December to provide us with some fine culinary libation over Christmas.
What else can we expect from Petrossian?
Since December last year, frequenters of South Kensington have been able to swap the cured meats and cheese for some fine caviar when the deli and boutique opens its doors.
The newly opened café offers up cult dishes—croque caviar, foie gras, smoked fish platters, king crab salad—and an outdoor terrace, where you’ll be able to dip your crisps in fish eggs to your heart’s content.
Taste smoked salmon sliced before your eyes and indulge in some fresh tamara before tackling the caviar, guided by expert staff to help your caviar journey move along swimmingly. Then, you can make a beeline for their shop where you’ll find hampers and dining accessories.
Plus, if you don’t fancy leaving the house, you can find your own caviar crisps and dip method: ordering the stuff online and then bagging yourself a sharing bag from the newsagent.
Petrossian has been around since 1920 with its first site opening on Boulevard de Latour-Maubourg in Paris; and the still-family-owned business founded by brother Melkoum and Mouchegh Petrossian knows a thing or two about the art of caviar. Today, you’ll see the name in NYC Brussels, Las Vegas, and West Hollywood; with South Kensington just the latest name on their ‘places to conquer with caviar crisps and dip’ list.
Petrossian Deli and Boutique is open now, and you can find it at 6 Fulham Road, South Kensington, SW3 6HG.