Restaurants seem to love obvious names these days, but this is the most unnecessarily definite name I’ve seen in years. I was partly attracted to try a midweek lunch here because the name just looked utterly ridiculous, and partly because the set menu lunch was most agreeably affordable.
We were the first in the room, so we enjoyed some very intense service as we made our choices. The place itself is part of the St. James’ Hotel which is reserved and refined as a
Our meal was an enjoyable sojourn through the set menu which was thankfully interesting and varied. We started with an amuse-bouche of salmon with cream and beetroot. It was entertaining if nothing else, and I always find little pre-meal treats like this very cute. It wasn’t necessary, but it was a nice touch.
Looking over the set lunch, we ate the card with a shared dessert. It veered between half decent and excellent. The okay parts were the starters: some crab and coriander ravioli swimming in a thin broth of mussels and garlic with a little chilli. This may sound wonderful but in truth it was a somewhat showy starter that was stylish yet insubstantial. Similarly, the pigs head galette sounded fantastic (served with capers and langoustine) but was a touch too dry for me (below).Main courses were where the lunch began to hot up and I started to really enjoy myself.
My eyes had lit up when I saw there was a pot roast guinea fowl on offer, but it was with a mite of wariness I agreed to split this with the salmon confit. The bird was very good. Well-cooked in that it was not at all tough, and the sharpness of the lime on the side along with the redcurrants made for an absorbing dish.
However, I was blown away by the salmon (below). The menu listed the accompaniment as a “tarte tatin of endive” which sounds pretentious and suspect at best. And I honestly do not believe salmon should be served with red wine as part of the dressing. Correction: I did not. The endive accompaniment was sublime; sweet, smooth and crunchy to compliment some of the very best-cooked fish it’s ever been my privilege to eat. Essentially, this dish was a winner to the core.
We shared a genuine (apple) tarte tatin to finish, which was every bit as enjoyable as the endive one had been moments before it (below). Blob of vanilla ice cream on top: job done. The base was crunchy, the top was soft, it was innately sweet and enjoyable and that’s most certainly the way it should be.
There are a multitude of decent hotel restaurants in Mayfair, and I feel as if I’m slowly checking them off an imaginary wish list as I go to a new one. This was not just another hotel restaurant though; it is certainly worth a visit and I suggest you go there if you have the chance.
Seven Park Place by William Drabble
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