London 2015. Contributed by Kathrin Sion.
Finally I found besides all the lovely Shangri La, Mandarin Oriental, Cadogan, My Fair eg. hotels the right one for me. The wonderful Brown’s hotel in “my city”.
Their doors opened on Albemarle Street in 1837. Since then, Rudyard Kipling, Agatha Christie and Winston Churchill have come to eat, sleep and write here. Teddy Roosevelt came by to prepare for his wedding day, and it was from the hotel reception that Graham Bell made Britain’s first telephone call.
The receptionist keeps the names of today’s illustrious guests under lock and key.
These days the guests arrive in taxi cabs rather than hansom cabs, but one thing has not changed: the understated hospitality that makes Brown’s famous.
Things to do: Fortnum & Mason. Bond Street boutiques. Dover Street Market. The Royal Academy of Arts and the contemporary galleries on nearby Cork Street.
With Mayfair on your doorstep, there is plenty to do.
Whether you are drawn to the elegant atmosphere of Burlington Arcade, the crisp tailoring of Savile Row or Soho’s round-the-clock bonhomie, Brown’s is perfectly situated to get right into the heart of it.
Like any good host, they are keen to show you around. People, working for the Brown’s have been here long enough to learn some of London’s best-kept secrets. The roads less travelled. The stones that usually go unturned.
A food-tasting ramble around Borough Market? A tour of the city’s timeless Victorian pubs? Individual access to some of Mayfair’s finest art?
With so much to see, making the most of my time in London means separating the ordinary from the extraordinary.
Quite simply, a hotel room like no other. Victorian antiques meet modern classics. Italian marble meets English oak.
The 88 bedrooms and 29 suites were designed by Olga Polizzi. Her intriguing blend of styles and vintages gives each room a distinctive charm, as do her countless thoughtful touches. I enjoyed it.
Restaurant tip: Heirloom
The ground floor dining room extends quite a long way to an area at the back with a skylight.
Décor is casual, with a tiled floor and no tablecloths.
The name Heirloom is not just a marketing gag– they use vegetable grown in a dedicated plot on Hazeldene farm near Amersham.
The kitchen also uses rare-breed meat, such as Japanese sika deer. Vegetables from the Buckinghamshire farm are supplemented by ones from Rungis market in Paris.
Chef Chris Slaughter was previously at The Pig and Butcher pub in Islington, The Princess of Shoreditch and before that at Sands End and The Crown in Burchett’s Green.
Unlike many chefs these days, Chris butchers all his own meat rather than relying on pre-packed portions.
Just four chefs were working in the kitchen tonight.
The wine list here had just over 50 labels, ranging from all around Europe.
Sourdough bread is made from scratch in the kitchen. It is based on a three year old starter with a whole grain organic spelt, and a bread spice mix involving caraway, sunflower and fennel. It was fantastic, served warm, tasting subtly of the fennel and caraway. The crust was excellent, the texture soft: some of the best bread I have eaten in London.
A nice amuse bouche was followed by crab with asparagus.
It came with brown butter sauce and butteroak lettuce. The white asparagus was seasonal and had good flavour and the crab was fine. Pork terrine came wrapped in pata negra, with radish and black pudding salt. The terrine was excellent, coarse in texture but with deep pork flavour.
Raw scallop hazelnut and frozen horseradish came with Granny Smith apple jus. This worked quite well, the scallop sweet, the apple flavour a logical acidic contrast to the scallops, the horseradish fairly subtle and lifting the dish . An intermediate course and vegetarian alternative was lentils with morels, enoki mushrooms, barbecued Asian greens and onion crumb. .
For dessert, pistachio cake had nice texture.
Service was excellent, I enjoyed the meal at Heirloom. The menu was appealing, the quality of ingredients unusually good. I can easily understand why it was so busy.
London calling.
Check in / Hotel: Albemarle Street, Mayfair, London W1S 4BP, England.
