Review Gilbert Scott Restaurant St Pancras Hotel by Marcus Wareing…..
The Gilbert Scott at the St Pancras Hotel, London is an elegant brasserie and bar by master chef Marcus Wareing.
The restaurant is named in honour of this overwhelmingly magnificent building’s original architect, Sir George Gilbert Scott.
Offering elegant, hearty & traditional food with a refined touch, Wareing’s menu at the Gilbert Scott is British classics with seasonal produce presented in a fine dining atmosphere.
This restaurant is a real treat from the moment you arrive. Live piano adds an extra touch of opulence.
Set in the exceptional, incredible and stunning St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, The Gilbert is open daily from breakfast through to supper, and everything in between.
With brunch, classic afternoon tea or great cocktails – this eatery offers glamour from better times, 2016 standard service and relatively great value food for this standard of 5+* hotel!
The room is gorgeous with the history of this sensational building laid out before your eyes.
I insist you walk through the St Pancras Hotel main entrance to get to the The Gilbert.
You’ll pass the ‘Grand Staircase’ which has to be one of the most glorious achievements of engineering and examples of prosperity in British history.
The St Pancras Hotel is my favourite in London and this hotel therefore deserves a restaurant of this quality and elegance.
To begin, the best value at The Gilbert is the ‘early bird’ offer from 5.30-6.30pm which offers 3 courses for £25 – quite exceptional.
However, outside of this the menu is not outrageous with starters averaging £8 and mains around £20. Tremendous value.
You are greeted at your table with gloriously warm and fresh wholemeal bread – always a great start and indication of a fabulous restaurant.
To begin we sampled the scallops which were perfectly cooked and packed with delicious flavour.
Next, the Dorset Crab was a gorgeous with Cornish carrots, kohlrabi, cashew nuts. What a glorious dish!
My personal favourite was the ‘Pressed Foie Gras’ with pear, saffron, toasted brioche. Utterly decadent and divine.
Next came the mains….
The Grilled Lake District venison was a real treat with a very rustic ‘faggot’. This comes with a very winter warming pumpkin & beetroot – again, cooked to perfection.
My personal favourite was the roast saddle of lamb with Lamb belly, turnip tops & black garlic. Served rare but the belly was fall apart perfect!
Finally the confit duck with prunes, bacon, mushrooms & red wine was a delight. Such perfect flavours and a delicious sauce.
What I love about this type of restaurant is that it is not trying to be pretentious – it knows exactly what it is and does it perfectly!
The elegance and glamour of the room and surroundings delivers a memorable dining experience before you’ve even been served your starter.
This food plays to the strengths of the glorious St Pancras Hotel – classy, refined but relaxed and incredibly welcoming.
4* dinner & atmosphere in a 5* location.
Visit http://www.thegilbertscott.co.uk/ for more details.
Review by Alex Belfield for Celebrity Radio 22nd March 2016.
