British fine dining has come a long way since I moved to London in the 1990s. Of course there have always been the well established and justly admired restaurants like Rules, J. Sheekey and Wiltons but English cuisine in general has not been my top choice when choosing a London dinner destination. That has recently changed with a flurry of new restaurant openings, many launched this year, serving excellent Modern British cuisine.
1. Kerridge's Bar & Grill is the first London restaurant by Tom Kerridge and the team from the Hand & Flowers in Marlow, the only UK pub that has two Michelin stars. The large dining room, in the luxury Corinthia Hotel in Westminster, manages to feel both cozy and stylish, with dark wooden walls, specially curated artwork and dark red leather banquet seating. Funk and soul music added to the chilled atmosphere when we had a delicious Sunday afternoon roast at Kerridge's this month.
Central to Kerridge's menu is the rotisserie that accounts for nearly half the main menu items. It includes 28 day dry aged Herefordshire Cross Aberdeen Angus from Ayrshire, free range pork and chicken by Packington, Wiltshire Downlands lamb and game from West Wycombe Estate. I had roast beef from the rotisserie, nicely rare, accompanied by a fluffy Yorkshire pudding stuffed with beef ragu and celeriac flavored with truffle. The lamb was perfectly cooked too with a mini shepherds pie on the side. However, the highlight for me was a gluten-free vegetarian dish, a mushroom "risotto" starter that cleverly substitutes finely diced mushrooms for rice. The "risotto" is topped with an egg in a crispy fried potato case. The flavors and ingredients in this dish are genius, making it one of the best things I've eaten all year.
Kerridges Bar & Grill, No.10 Northumberland Ave, London WC2N 5AE +44 (0) 20 7321 3244
2. Acclaimed Australian chef Skye Gyngell's Spring restaurant is in the new wing of the elegant eighteenth-century Somerset House, also home to the prestigious Courtauld Institute of Art and gallery. The dining room is lovely and bright and the food is fantastic. Skye Gyngell worked at The French House , The Dorchester (with Anton Mosimann) and was head chef at Petersham Nurseries in Richmond. It was at Petersham that Skye became renowned for her distinctively seasonal cooking, creating dishes inspired by what she saw growing and blossoming around her. She has brought that wealth of experience to the delightful Spring. I was pleased to learn that Skye plans to make Spring one of London's first plastic free restaurants by 2019. Like many other London restaurants and bars, Skye eliminated plastic straws last year and has looked into bio-degradable Saran wrap alternatives. Next steps will be eradicating the use of plastic containers in the restaurant.
The menu at Spring offers starters like tagliolini with lemon and sage, crab and corn soup and a light goats curd salad, all delicious. Mains are equally satisfying and imaginative, including spiced leg of lamb with fermented tomato, crème fraîche and yellow beans, river trout with cauliflower purée and curry butter, fillet of beef with porcini pearà and autumn greens and monkfish with rosemary, almonds, aïoli and bruschetta. Not only was the monkfish cooked perfectly, it left room for dessert, a warm damson pudding with jersey cream and walnuts.
Spring, Somerset House, New Wing, Lancaster Place, London, WC2R 1LA +44 (0)20 3011 0115
3. Ormer Mayfair in Flemings Hotel has a menu inspired by Chef Shaun Rankin's love for the Channel Islands where his first Ormer restaurant opened. Seafood focused, the menu offers seasonal choices such lobster, crab, oysters, hand dived scallops, Jersey royals and hand-picked shoreline foraged herbs. My starter of lobster ravioli, followed by turbot with a pistachio and pine nut crust accompanied by cockles and sea vegetables were both excellent choices. And my friend was equally pleased with her cod and squid ink tortellini.
The savory courses at Ormer are excellent but the desserts are incredible. A highlight is a very creative version of apple crumble consisting of a white chocolate apple shaped shell with apple and crumble inside and out. Ormer is in a well known luxury Mayfair hotel but it has an insider vibe with a separate entrance into what feels like a private club.
Ormer Mayfair, 7-12 Half Moon Street, London W1J 7BH +44 (0) 20 7499 0000
4. Gridiron is a more subdued affair than the lively cocktail bar that it replaced on the ground floor of the COMO Metropolitan hotel on Old Park Lane. This fantastic new live-fire grill restaurant offering meat, vegetable dishes, game and ethically sourced fish, is a collaboration between top British chefs Richard Turner (of Hawksmoor) and Colin McSherry (The Fat Duck and The Ledbury).
Diners can watch the chefs cook on the open grill at the back of the dining room, with fire-cooked specialities ranging from wood-roasted turbot with chicken salt butter, Isle of Mull rib of beef and ash baked turnip mimosa. I followed grilled lobster with sea herbs by what I hoped would be the smallest steak option on the menu, the onglet. It was just enough meat and my friend's deer chop satisfied her fondness for game. Sides were more interesting and tasty than the menu suggested with an assortment of multi-colored glazed grilled carrots being particularly delicious.
Gridiron, COMO Metropolitan, 19 Old Park Lane, London W1K 1LB +44 (0)207 447 1080
5. Marcus Wareing, one of the UK's top chefs, famous as a judge on BBC TV's Master Chef and for his acclaimed Michelin starred restaurants, heads up The Gilbert Scott in the glorious neo-Gothic St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. Such a gorgeous and grand dining room deserves an equally fine menu and Marcus Wareing does not disappoint. He has drawn on his Northern roots to create a contemporary British menu that is well sourced from farm and sea. A British version of a caesar salad included Dorset crab with baby gem lettuce and Parmesan aioli. Seared Cornish pollock on a bed of Portobello mushrooms with salsa verde was a great choice for a main as was my friend's sea bass on cockles and samphire.
The Gilbert Scott, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, Euston Rd, London NW1 2AR +44 (0)20 7278 3888
6. Aside, on a residential street away from the trendy part of Peckham, is great for classic British Sunday roasts and there are five on offer: duck, pork belly, lamb, beef and cauliflower. Launched last year by Rob Dunne, Richard Robinson and Cemal Ezel, the team behind Old Spike coffee roastery, every detail of Aside's chic, minimalist design has been carefully considered from the Donald Judd inspired tables with a clever shelf underneath to store your wallet, keys and phone to the cutlery and plates to the lovely art deco lighting. Chef Christian Taylor, formerly of Heirloom, has a fine reputation creating modern British food using seasonal, local ingredients. The ingredients are sourced from local suppliers including Peckham-based butchery Flock & Herd and family run Jones of Brockley.
Aside, 56 Goldsmith Road, London SE15 5TF +44 (0)207 358 1760
7. Bonnie Gull Seafood Shack as the name suggests serves fresh British fish and shellfish brought in daily. Alex Hunter, the co-owner of Bonnie Gull sold private jets and helicopters before setting up the restaurant with his co-founder Danny Clancy who is one half of DJ/promotor duo, Krankbrother, a well-known name in the house and techno scene. Both owners grew up near the seaside, Hunter in Scotland and Clancy in Dorset and were keen to "bring the seaside to the city." If you're an oyster fan, there are three kinds, all fresh and delicious. The juicy scallops from Isle of Man brought back fond memories of childhood visits to the island with my English grandmother. The grilled half lobster was a great followup and my friends were pleased with the John Dory and clams dressed in chilli, basil and cherry tomatoes. The attractive rustic interiors with white walls and wooden tables with white table cloths wouldn't look out of place at British seaside fish and chip shop.
Bonnie Gull Seafood Shack, 21a Foley Street, London W1W 6DS + 44(0)20 7436 0921
8. GBR at Duke's hotel in Mayfair does a fine job in delivering what its name (Great British Restaurant) promises. The menu, overseen by Norfolk-born Executive Head Chef Nigel Mendham, features traditional British dishes with contemporary twists. Nigel is keen to support British suppliers, with all ingredients being sourced by local butchers, fisherman and farmers across the UK. Scallops from north west Scotland and Wye Valley asparagus, Cumbrian lamb cutlets, or Loch Duart salmon are all good choices. Also on offer are hearty classics like burger with pulled pork or beer battered haddock is a firm favorite. "Best of British" highlights such as celeriac and crispy ham hock with truffle or fillet of grass fed beef with braised cheek, bone marrow and thyme crumbed carrot are also appealing menu choices.
GBR, Duke's, 36 Little St James Street, London SW1A 1NS +44 0207 491 4840
