Rowley’s
This is not somewhere where I would usually choose to have lunch but the owner recently handed over to his son Will Guess, who now runs it with his sister. The reason I would not normally go is based on little more than the fact that it would not really occur to me.
The most striking thing about Rowley’s, for those who have not visited, are the interiors. The property was once the butcher’s shop of the distinguished Walls family whose meat business obviously grew considerably. The remarkably vibrant green and orange tile work remains. It has been a restaurant since 1977 and is best known for its entrecote with herb butter that comes to the table on a sort of fajita-style sizzling platter. I ordered this. The steak was pretty good but the butter was a little cloying. The sizzling platter seems anachronistic.
Will Guess is a charming and enterprising young chap who is keen to attract a new generation of people to Rowley’s. Of course, when they opened in 1977 there were considerably fewer restaurants in London and steak frites was considered a luxury. This is no longer the case and at nearly £20 Rowley’s does seem steep. I’d make the butter an option and think about losing the sizzler – not least because it means that the last piece of meat is overcooked.
That said, the service is excellent, the “all you can eat” fries are pretty faultless and the atmosphere – in the heart of St James’s – is rarefied without being fusty. And then there’s the magical tiles. It’s well worth a visit.
Address: 113 Jermyn Street, London, SW1. Tel: 020 7930 2707
Maggie Jones
To lunch with the lovely Charlotte Ross who runs the features department at the London Evening Standard. The paper is one of our media sponsors for the London Restaurant Festival and will also be publishing our festival guide and supplement. Charlotte is a keen supporter of the London Restaurant Festival and I was keeping her up to date with some of the events, chefs and restaurants that we are starting to confirm.
The Evening Standard will also be keeping you informed about the London Restaurant Festival through their food pages that are now published on a Thursday. Obviously we have a close link to the newspaper as Fay Maschler is its celebrated restaurant critic, chair of the London Restaurant festival and also my business partner in our consultancy company, A Private View Ltd. I was also features editor and travel editor on the paper for several years. We appreciate the support of the London Evening Standard and of Geordie Greig, its new editor who is fully behind the London Restaurant Festival.
Maggie Jones is an oddment. A cluttered, jumble of an interior but not without charm. It resembles the inside of a Romany caravan combined with a Normandy bric-a-brac shop. Lunch was a mackerel that was fresh and unfussy. The salad was a bit lazy. Still, it’s never really been about the food here and I wasn’t too hungry as I was double lunching (see below).
Address: 6 Old Court Place, London, W8.
Imagination Gallery
A midday meeting with Fay at the inspired Imagination Gallery offices morphed into a lunch as we joined up with Mark Philpott and Phil Roker of Vacherin. This is an exciting catering company that recently opened the new café at the renovated Whitechapel Gallery and also does the restaurant at the Imagination Gallery. It’s really an uber staff canteen. Mark knows his stuff and is a former chef. They are ones to watch.
Address: 25 Store Street, South Crescent, London, WC1. Tel: 0207323 3300
George
I meet with Des McDonald to talk about the London Restaurant Festival. Des runs Caprice Holdings for Richard Caring and both of them are on the steering committee for the London Restaurant Festival. There are several ideas we are working on. Alvin Caudwell – the business development manager for Caprice Holdings and the ‘go to’ girl to get things done also joined us. I can’t reveal what we’re hatching at the moment but will be able to soon. Snacked on the most delicious cod goujons.
Address: 87-88 Mount Street, London, W1. Tel: 020 7491 4433
The Wolseley
Breakfast with Jeremy King, co-owner of The Wolseley along with Chris Corbin. Jeremy was keen to find out more about the London Restaurant Festival and, as the owner of arguably the most stellar restaurant in London, it is important for the festival that he is on board. Happily, he was extremely enthusiastic about our plans and we are now working on the best way to include The Wolseley and also St Alban, their other restaurant on Regent Street.
Jeremy is a man of discerning sensibilities – and a fellow cyclist – so to have his support, and the involvement of his restaurants is yet another vote of confidence for what Fay and I, and the London Restaurant Festival team, are endeavouring to achieve for London. I had a plate of The Wolseley’s delicious kedgeree, a dish that is far too difficult to find on menus these days.
Address: 160 Piccadilly, London, W1. Tel: 020 7499 6996.
Wild Honey
Chef Anthony Demetre also has the feted Arbutus in Soho and is a supporter of the London Restaurant Festival. We’re looking forward to seeing what event he, and his business partner Will Smith, come up with for his restaurants, as they are extremely knowledgeable and inventive.
Myself, Fay and Penny Smith – the London Restaurant Festival manager – were having lunch with Dan Thomas, the news editor of Caterer and Hotelkeeper magazine. This is considered by many to be the bible for the hospitality industry and so it’s important that they understand the London Restaurant Festival and are kept in the loop. I’m pleased to say that they are happy to help in any way they can.
Lunch at Wild Honey was typically fresh, well sourced and seasonal. The new season morels with chicken wings in Madeira sauce were notably good as was the chicken and duck terrine and the tartare of Arctic char. Mains included a dish of cod, cockles, chorizo and chickpea and a traditional bouillabaisse.
Address: 12 George Street, London, W1. Tel: 020 7758 9160.
By the by…
On another note, I spent a few hours the other evening joining Soho House director of operations Martin Kuczmarski on one of his ‘Night Watch’ tours. Nick Jones, the founder of Soho House, is on the steering committee of the London Restaurant Festival and is helping with various projects. He wondered if I wanted to get a behind the scenes tour with Martin – his extremely capable commander-in-chief who used to work with Gordon Campbell-Gray. It was a fascinating glimpse into the measures one really needs to go to in order to maintain the decent standards that the Soho House group of clubs has built up over the past 15 years or so.
The premise of the ‘Night Watch’ is fairly straightforward. About half and hour or so is spent in each of the six London venues talking to staff, visiting the kitchens, scouring the scenes for any hiccups or inconsistencies. We began at Shoreditch House, which was throbbing with people on the roof as the sun was out. Martin let me in on their new plans for the roof that I promised not to reveal, suffice to say that they are as renegade and fun as you would expect. Then it was off to the Café Boheme, Soho House and bkb to look at the kitchens and listen to any problems staff may have. It’s all done in a very friendly and productive fashion. It was impressive.
We skipped Cecconi’s and headed to High Road House in Chiswick where we had dinner and a chat with the talented Jesse Dunford Wood, the new chef. After we had eaten, Martin and I ran through some of the dishes with Jesse and made our comments. It’s this sort of immersive and responsive attitude to restaurants that makes all the difference. We then repaired to the Electric on Portobello Road to see how things were brewing up towards midnight. The place was fizzing. We had a vodka tonic – just to ensure it was being mixed correctly.
Many of the Soho House Group restaurants will be involved in the London Restaurant Festival. Perhaps we can create a version of the Night Watch event for those who want to see behind the scenes? We shall see.
