The Wolseley
The Wolseley
160 Piccadilly, London
020 7449 6996
Everyone thinks this place is a) really expensive, b) really hard to get a booking at and c) really snooty.
Wrong. It's actually no more expensive than your average Cafe Rouge, you can get in pretty easy if you're not fussed about eating slightly earlier or later than normal and because this is an extremely classy restaurant, the staff and atmosphere couldn't be more relaxing, polite and generous. These guys - Chris Corbin and Jeremy King, of the Ivy fame - really know what they are doing when it comes to running a restaurant, and they know that one of the most essential things is to have the best possible staff and treat every single customer as a king or queen, even if you've only come in for one of their exquisite pastries and a cup of tea, you're wearing holey trainers and be-draggled by the rain (as I usually am).
The food here is always impeccably reliable. It's not trying to be, and isn't, some kind of Michelin spectacular - it focuses on classic European cuisine (coq-au-vin, cassoulet, Wiener schnitzel, Dover sole) with a Mittel-Europa bent. The 'concept' is put very well on their website, as 'a Cafe & Restaurant in the grand European tradition' - a place where you can get a real Club sandwich, Eggs Benedict, a good steak or a slice of toasted brioche, lean back and pretend you are an outtake from a movie where men smoke big cigars and look like Orson Welles. Which is a pretty fun fantasy to indulge in, and made all the more realistic by the real glamorous people and movie stars who frequent this place - a huge former banking hall and Wolseley car showroom with gilded Chinoiserie and beautiful tablecloths.
So, if the food may not shock and surprise you, it is always incredibly well-executed, precise and very classy in that understated way. Little touches (two different types of quince compote with my spit roast belly pork and black pudding, when I went at Christmas) show you that someone in the kitchen is putting serious thought into the balance and composition of these 'simple' dishes. It's an object lesson in really good cooking. (And my 18 year old cousin works in the kitchen. I'm so proud.)
In line with the theme of doing the classics perfectly, this place does a fantastic martini. Makes me feel good just thinking about it. And it opens very civilised hours - 7am to midnight. You can order food here late, people. And they keep a proportion of table back for people to be able to drop in as they are passing (OK, so they will always have space to fit in Nicole Kidman) which somehow sums up how very civilised this place is.
Food: In keeping with Ben's little system, A - would come back often.
Wine: As you would expect, a solid stable and the markups are very reasonable.
Atmosphere: Definitely good to impress your date, to pamper yourself, for pretty much any purpose I can think of when you are in central London. Perfect for after the theatre.
Value: Good. Starters £5-£11, mains £9.50-£27.50, desserts £4-7. You can get away with paying precious little if you order carefully, or if someone else is paying, go all out.
Veggie friendliness: A little limited, unless you eat fish, in which case there's plenty. But their salads, pastas and risottos are good.
Top tip: If you're feeling really poor but want to treat yourself, you can get sandwiches all day, even in the more 'restaurant' bit. Also great for a luxurious breakfast.
160 Piccadilly, London
020 7449 6996
Everyone thinks this place is a) really expensive, b) really hard to get a booking at and c) really snooty.
Wrong. It's actually no more expensive than your average Cafe Rouge, you can get in pretty easy if you're not fussed about eating slightly earlier or later than normal and because this is an extremely classy restaurant, the staff and atmosphere couldn't be more relaxing, polite and generous. These guys - Chris Corbin and Jeremy King, of the Ivy fame - really know what they are doing when it comes to running a restaurant, and they know that one of the most essential things is to have the best possible staff and treat every single customer as a king or queen, even if you've only come in for one of their exquisite pastries and a cup of tea, you're wearing holey trainers and be-draggled by the rain (as I usually am).
The food here is always impeccably reliable. It's not trying to be, and isn't, some kind of Michelin spectacular - it focuses on classic European cuisine (coq-au-vin, cassoulet, Wiener schnitzel, Dover sole) with a Mittel-Europa bent. The 'concept' is put very well on their website, as 'a Cafe & Restaurant in the grand European tradition' - a place where you can get a real Club sandwich, Eggs Benedict, a good steak or a slice of toasted brioche, lean back and pretend you are an outtake from a movie where men smoke big cigars and look like Orson Welles. Which is a pretty fun fantasy to indulge in, and made all the more realistic by the real glamorous people and movie stars who frequent this place - a huge former banking hall and Wolseley car showroom with gilded Chinoiserie and beautiful tablecloths.
So, if the food may not shock and surprise you, it is always incredibly well-executed, precise and very classy in that understated way. Little touches (two different types of quince compote with my spit roast belly pork and black pudding, when I went at Christmas) show you that someone in the kitchen is putting serious thought into the balance and composition of these 'simple' dishes. It's an object lesson in really good cooking. (And my 18 year old cousin works in the kitchen. I'm so proud.)
In line with the theme of doing the classics perfectly, this place does a fantastic martini. Makes me feel good just thinking about it. And it opens very civilised hours - 7am to midnight. You can order food here late, people. And they keep a proportion of table back for people to be able to drop in as they are passing (OK, so they will always have space to fit in Nicole Kidman) which somehow sums up how very civilised this place is.
Food: In keeping with Ben's little system, A - would come back often.
Wine: As you would expect, a solid stable and the markups are very reasonable.
Atmosphere: Definitely good to impress your date, to pamper yourself, for pretty much any purpose I can think of when you are in central London. Perfect for after the theatre.
Value: Good. Starters £5-£11, mains £9.50-£27.50, desserts £4-7. You can get away with paying precious little if you order carefully, or if someone else is paying, go all out.
Veggie friendliness: A little limited, unless you eat fish, in which case there's plenty. But their salads, pastas and risottos are good.
Top tip: If you're feeling really poor but want to treat yourself, you can get sandwiches all day, even in the more 'restaurant' bit. Also great for a luxurious breakfast.
posted by Hana Loftus at 9:05 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home