I am embarrassingly going to admit to you all that before my lunch at Seven Park Place, St James’s Hotel, London I had NEVER eaten at a Michelin starred restaurant. There, it’s out there and somehow I feel a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Not to say that I ever really hankered after eating at anything Micheliny but it’s an experience that we should all have at least once in our lives.
So finally, the Michelin opportunity came when the sharp tongued protagonist Zeren Wilson of Bitten and Written fame dropped me a call inviting me to join him for lunch at Seven Park Place and taste the finest that Executive chef, William Drabble, had to offer.
Now my review could quite neatly end here, as Zeren pointed out whilst we ate, “Your review should just consist of OMG, OMG, OMG, Sorry but OMG, OMG, OMG.” Yes, thank you my dear compadre, that just about sums it up but I’ll go on.
The hotel itself is beautiful, set quietly back from Piccadilly in St James’s so you’d be forgiven for missing it completely as you walked on by. It is a boutique hotel and a perfect location for an intimate stay in London. The restaurant, Seven Park Place, is carefully managed under the exceptional skills of William Drabble, formerly of Aubergine in Chelsea holding one Michelin star for ten years before his departure. Now William and his team are proud to have gained their first Michelin star for Seven Park Place. William’s repertoire is essentially modern French in style but with a strong emphasis on the use of quality British ingredients and so his menu is seasonal and always fresh.
We chose from the A la carte menu although lunch was a great offer at only £29 for two courses or £39 with wine matching. However, we wanted to sample what the best of his kitchen had to offer. For starters, before our starters, William was kind enough to provide us with a very cute amuse bouche of Lentil soup with truffle cream. It was delicate, smooth and creamy with a gentle smoky truffle cream topping but remarkably light. A nice touch there Mr Drabble. I was already hooked at this point. For my real starter, I had the Roasted chicken wings with potato gnocchi, chicken emulsion and wild mushrooms. Zeren had the Tortellini of langoustine with cauliflower. My wings were beyond perfection, crispy outer, tender meat, no bones thank you and I didn’t require a bib and wet towel either. The wild mushrooms were like little bon bons, velvety soft and melt in your mouth, the gnocchi light and moreish and the chicken emulsion glossy and full of flavour. To be honest, the whole thing was moreish and I could’ve gone for another plate but that would be terribly uncouth, non? Zeren’s Tortellini was, well, ‘perfection’ as he put it, the pasta spot on in texture, the filling subtle yet delicious. The cauliflower base so heavenly you actually wanted to love the stuff. A great start to our meal. Each plate of food both aesthetically and lusciously pleasing.
For our mains, I had the Roast fillet of turbot with horseradish and oyster beignet, Zeren had the Veal cheek slow cooked in Madeira and served with bone marrow mash and grain mustard sauce. My fish was so perfectly cooked, soft, falling away from the fork and with a subtle flavour. The beignets were cute and tasty, I’ve seen some bad ones before but these were tiny little cocoons of oyster goodness. Zeren’s Veal cheek was to die for, slow cooked and a tender hunk of meat, singing on your tongue, a seriously OMG, fist clenching, noise making moment. I think the very stuffy, posh old couple near us thought we were a couple of peasants but we didn’t care! The food was too damn good to keep quiet.
For our sweet finish, we decided to have all the desserts, there were only three after all. We had Roasted pineapple with lime and ginger, pineapple sorbet; Lemon chiboust with rhubarb; and Milk chocolate with ginger bread, salted caramel ice cream. Each of these desserts was outstandingly marvellous. Without going into vast amounts of detail, each element was carefully thought out, cooked and delightfully presented. The Lemon chiboust was like a light moussey, syllabubby cake thingy accompanied by a gift of soft, blanched, blushing rhubarb. The salted caramel ice cream was salted and caremelled in equal measure, one of my absolute favourite sweets in life! The Roasted pineapple left me speechless accompanied by the tangiest lime and ginger, pineapple sorbet. It all left me quite breathless and hot under the collar.
As an indoctrination into the Michelin world of dining, I was overwhelmed and thankful it was William Drabble at Seven Park Place who whet my appetite. Not all Michelin dining is great, or so I’ve heard, but here I lucked out. What I loved most about William Drabble’s menu was the simplicity of it. No fancy, schmancy words and tons of dishes to confuse or frighten you. Instead, cleverly thought out, delicious plates of food to beautifully dress your eyes and your stomach. A great combination of flavours, seasonal ingredients and supporting our British producers.
William Drabble and his team are full of style and panache yet brimming with substance and skill. He surely deserves more than the one star but as he put it, “I cook for my guests, making sure that I deliver the best quality food and if that receives a star then so be it.” He is modest, eloquent and very sweet. Please visit this wonderful restaurant, you deserve it.
St. James’s Hotel and Club, 7-8 Park Place, St. James’s, London SW1A 1LS
Tel: +44 (0)20 7316 1600
http://www.stjameshotelandclub.com/
Kitchen East 