It’s been over 20 years since I’ve last been to London. I’ve looked at it as a long stopover option over the years to start/end other trips to Europe. But when push came to shove, I’ve never chosen it, mainly due to the cost. At its height with the pound = CDN$2.50, cities like Paris and Amsterdam were just a better value than visiting Jolly Old.
It took a business trip as the chance for me to spend a week to reacquaint myself and hopefully fall in love with London. I was worried as early February isn’t an ideal time to visit, but in the end it turned out to be perfect. The weather was balmy but dry, making it a delightful walking city minus the crowds that one would experience during busier travel seasons.
A red-eye from Vancouver had me landing in London early afternoon.It was a quick ride on the Heathrow Express and a few tube stops later I had checked into my hotel with time for a nap to recharge for my evening.
I hadn’t had a lot of time to research London for myself, but had a great list of places to check out from friends. My food list was long, but my list of cocktail bars was overwhelming. I knew I was only going to be able to sample a small portion of my “musts’ so I strategically started choosing by proximity to wherever I was closest to.
Night 1
My first stop was Scarfes Bar located in the beautiful Rosewood Hotel. I loved that it was elegant but not stuffy, which quickly got me into ‘Vacation Sus” mode. I was graciously seated at the bar and it took me but a moment to relax into the feeling of how much easier it is to travel when done in your native tongue. There were no feelings of confusion, awkwardness and bad translating which immediately gave me the burst of energy needed to push through my jet lag.
When I started building my list for London, St. John was one of the first places I added. Its come up in so many conversations I’ve had in the past many years on the city so it was a must for this trip. I know Fergus Henderson as one of the father’s of nose to tail dining with feelings of being utterly English. It seemed the perfect place to (re)introcduce myself to British cuisine.
I ordered the bone marrow and pork cheeks and was quickly (too) full with their generous portion sizes of each. I wished I weren’t dining solo so I could have tasted more of the menu.
After dinner, I had one more stop in me before I called it an evening. My plan was to go elsewhere, but as I came up from the Tube, it had started raining. I noticed from my map that Kwãnt Mayfair was close so I changed my destination. The bar was almost empty when I walked in and I had second thoughts about staying. But I was greeted so welcomingly by the staff and the rain started to get heavier so I decided to sit for a drink.
As I was alone, I was invited to sit up in one of Kwãnt’s special seats behind the bar, beside the bartenders preparing drinks. It was a fantastic opportunity to chat with the staff and they took the time to find out more about me to help guide me through their menu with drinks they thought I’d enjoy. My first drink, the Green Park Margarita was near perfect for my palate with its avocado & yuzu flavours. From there, I was too caught up in conversation to remember what I was being served although I do remember everything was delicious.
I was riding high from adrenaline but knew I had to try to adjust to the time change as I had an early train to catch to Brussels the next morning. I had the most fantastic solo first night in London and I was very happy with my decision to stop in at Kwãnt.
Night 2
Arriving back in London late (because I’d missed my train) from Brussels 2 nights later, I didn’t have enough time to go back to my hotel before dinner. With an overnight bag in tow, I pulled into Tayēr + Elementary for a drink. Only the front bar (Elementary) was open on a Wednesday and it was packed.
All of the cocktails at Elementary are on tap, making service quick. Seeing a yuzu margarita on the menu, of course that’s what I had to have. It was slushy and yuzu-y and perfectly refreshing to perk me up from my travel afternoon without rest. I had intentions of veering away from my usual with a second drink, but didn’t want to ruin my experience for my meal ahead.
Of all the meals I’d had planned for my week in London, my reservation at The Clove Club was the top most highly anticipated. Over the past few years, I’ve slowed in my desire to chase Michelin stars and sit for multi-course menus (especially in North America), but there was something about this trip to London and specifically what I’d seen with The Clove Club that had me
One of the reasons I’ve veered away from tasting menus is that while I want to try everything, my appetite isn’t huge. I find that I’m often uncomfortably full halfway through and I’m unable to fully enjoy the entirety of the coursed meal. I was happy to see that The Clove Club had a short tasting menu and even happier that they took note of my request to the kitchen that my portions be made smaller so I could comfortably get through the meal.
The short menu is noted to only be served in the front bar area of the restaurant, but when I arrived, they let me know there was a table available in the dining room that I could have, “to be more part of the action”, if I desired, which I did. That was the start of the incredible hospitality and thoughtfulness I experienced throughout the meal.
While I knew I had to stick to my guns on the shorter menu, there were so many delights included on the long menu that were seriously tempting me. Tops of that list was the Cornish sardine sashimi, as iwashi is one of my favorite raw fishes that I rarely get to eat. But I knew I couldn’t be overly ambitous and glancing though the short menu, with its 7+ courses, I knew I would not be disappointed.
The evening started off with the most heart warming welcome on the cold wet evening with a comforting green herb broth. It was simple, clean but packed with flavor. With such a beautifully simple start, I was giddy in excitement for what was to come.
The next 3 amuses were equally delightful and whimsical. (1) Buttermilk Fried Chicken with pine salt that brought me into the Christmas spirit (2) Cornish Crab Dumpling with brown crab hollandaise was a bite of happiness with a great trifecta of sweet, salty & umami 3) Beetroot + Apple Gazpacho which was earthy and sweet and the perfect segway to the meal ahead.
The actual courses started with a cold Smoked Wiltshire Trout which was perfectly cooked rare and topped with a dollop of Petrossian Ossetra caviar and a shard of crispy skin. The slivers of toasted almonds in brown butter on the side were reminiscent of a dessert my mom used to make, which immediately put a smile on my face.
The raw Orkney scallop with hazelnuts, clementine and English truffle is the dish I identify most with The Clove Club. The earthy rich black truffle puree with beurre noisette at it’s base lent as a wonderful compliment to the brightness of the dashi jelly and clementine on top.
I was surprised and delighted that even though I’d decided on the short course, I was served a bonus of Cornish sardine sashimi that I so dearly wanted to try. Served with ginger, chrysanthemum on a potato crisp, I could have had 10 of these and was so thankful that I was presented with this treat. The creamy broth made of sardine heads with Craigellachie whiskey was another infusion of comfort which solidified this meal’s place in my tops of the year (even though it was still January).
Next up was whiting tempura with pursha lime and oroshi which was good, but what I swooned over was the butterbur that I’ve only ever had in Japan. It was a great taste of bitterness that I appreciated to set me up for the course ahead.
I was so excited to make it to the last savoury course of slow roast Herdwick lamb with kales, haggis and fresh curds that I wolfed it down without even taking time to appreciate the dish.
To take me from savory to sweet, was a grilled habanero granita on top of a berry sorbet and sheeps milk yogurt.
To end the coursed meal was a dessert that made a non-dessert eater/would rather eat potatoes girl like me so happy and uncharacteristically eat every bite . The warm potato mousse with coffee meringue, potato jam, caramel ice cream and shavings of truffle was perfection in every spoonful. The perfect happy ending.
There were little sweet treats at the end, most of which I packed to take back to my hotel. I asked to show my appreciation to the chef of the evening, they cleared the kitchen to give me the opportunity to take clean photo in their workspace which again, showed their attention to every detail. It was the most delightful meal to end another solo evening in London.
My evening may (or may not) have ended spending time drinking with an Oscar winner, grammy winning/nominated artists, some of Canada’s most famous Trailer guys and perhaps one of the most iconic British rock guitarists in the history of the world, but then again, that’s not my story to share…
The places I visited in this post:
Call Me a Food Lover... 