By Denis Sheehan MIH: Corinthia London, the art of lunch.
I am always intrigued when I hear a phrase for the first time and often ponder its meaning, I recently heard one and immediately understood it precisely, the art of lunch. The understanding came through hindsight.
I was at Corinthia London’s The Garden restaurant and chatting with Maureen Mills after we had enjoyed the art of lunch there. If you work in the London restaurant scene you will know who Maureen Mills is.
One of the great privileges of working in hospitality and catering media is that you get to go to incredible places and enjoy amazing experiences. To fully appreciate these encounters, it always helps to be accompanied by someone that is familiar with them.
So, when an invitation to lunch at Corinthia London arrived in my inbox from Maureen the other week a grateful reply accepting immediately followed.
When you arrive at Corinthia London you know instantly you are somewhere special, its presence tells you so, graciously. Everything about the hotel is just so, including the impeccably dressed members of the team that work there.
As you enter The Garden a spread of pink bougainvillea adorns the room, interspersed with lemon trees, olive trees, and a smattering of herbs. Welcome to alfresco dining in SW1 that transports you to the Italian Mediterranean.
In between chatting we reviewed the menu, which of course has an Italian Mediterranean theme. We ordered an amuse-bouche to share, pizzette of tomato, burrata, basil, olive oil. It was yum Italian stylie.
To start I selected yellow tail tartare, radish, avocado, olive oil, and lemon, it was delicate with just enough zest to sparkle, highly recommended.
For main course I selected pan seared halibut fillet, cucumber, new potatoes, and sorrel sauce. The fish was cooked perfectly as were the accompaniments, again highly recommended. If like me you are a fan of fish, fish followed by fish is the way to go here.
For dessert there is just one choice, Tiramisu served tableside, so, we both settled with the menu’s recommendation. One of the exquisitely dressed restaurant team steps forward to engage with you in restaurant theatre.
Savoiardi sponge fingers are laid on the plate which then has Marsala poured generously before lashings of mascarpone cream are added and topped with cocoa powder. I concur with the menu’s recommendation.
Every dish was served on elegant tableware, and the drinks served in innovative glassware, the attention to detail was pronounced and cohesive.
As we compared notes on our choices, we were joined by Corinthia London’s Executive Chef, Andre Garrett. Chef had come to investigate if we had enjoyed our lunch, I had difficulty explaining precisely just how much.
Thank you for the introduction to ‘the art of lunch’ Maureen, and thank you Andre Garrett and team for the experience.
