There is something about Claridges… It has the power to hypnotise you, no matter what is happening in the kitchen or the level of food delivered to your table, you can’t help but like it no matter what! Ok, this is not entirely the truth, but I am not far off. Was it the Claridges christmas decoration that everybody comes in purposely for, to stand and gawp at for minutes on end? Or was it just the fact you were simply stood or sat inside the premises? Something does happen to you when you walk through those famous doors. There is a feeling that this place can do no wrong, after all it is one of the most iconic hotels in London, however that today doesn’t mean an awful lot-The proof is in the pudding as we say. But I must admit, I felt like I had been possessed when I came for lunch at their newly opened restaurant…
The service was excellent as it is always to be expected, and I could easily waste the hours away sat in here, the feeling is magical, especially during the Christmas period. “Just focus on the food!” I kept telling myself, I was indeed getting carried away with the ambiance and finding it difficult to focus with clarity- Claridges are very clever, they know how to deliver an experience, but was the food amazing? Alone I found what I chose to be nothing special, but the fact you are sat in this hotel, it made you believe that it was better than it was- I told myself at once to come back to earth and start thinking properly about the cuisine. What the hell just happened to me?! Oh, the power of Claridges…
I took to start the salt baked beetroot, goats’ cheese, fig, pecans with aged balsamic. This is a usual suspect combination, and it always works well, it isn’t supposed to be innovative, but this was my choice as I was trying to be healthy. Obviously, it isn’t groundbreaking, it is what it is. The flavours all came through and married together, with a good balance between the textures. The goats cheese was needed, or it would all be far too sweet. I could have done with more of it. It was fine, enjoyable to an extent but if I had taken this in a different place, I would say far worse things about it. That’s Claridges…
There was one thing that I really didn’t like from the off, and this was the chefs pounding through the dining room and delivering the plates themselves to the diner. One chef had the look of the world ending on his face when he approached my table, which for a moment ruined the experience- Guests don’t want to see you unhappy or upset, but I forgot it is 2024, standards have slipped. Either nobody wants to be a waiter here or the front of house doesn’t completely exist, and this is their new concept. I thought this cheapened the standard of the group, it was weird because you had some excellent front of house staff in a lovely setting and then cramping their style randomly were the chefs as they tried gracefully to work the dining room, (Or some didn’t even try or know how to) But that is the whole point, back of house is there for a reason, everyone in hospitality has their respective roles that they do best, I honestly didn’t understand it. I find it unprofessional generally when chefs serve in their whites, especially if they are not pristine white that day! But it really depends on where you are and what the concept is, I hardly see this in restaurants these days. Call it a personal preference, but for me it doesn’t suit Claridges at all. Suddenly the excitement and magic wore off. I can see clearly now.
And when my main course of Turbot appeared, grilled and off the bone, I could see even more precisely. It looked a little bit sorry for itself, but once again this was my choice, and it was basic. However, these are the things that are often the hardest to get exactly right. There was a squeeze of lemon on the side in muslin, the fish had defined grilled marks, but it was slightly over, dry and underwhelming. It felt very bog standard, and not with a beautiful simplicity. I added steamed potatoes and vegetables for a hefty price and the bread and butter was average- The photos of this on instagram look miles better than in real life, there is far superior out there.
Amongst the newly renovated décor and a bright gold glistening tree in the middle of the dining room, this was acting like a mask, a mask to hide behind and draw the attention away from the food. Well, it certainly worked on me because I happened to be enjoying an average meal. But now that I went away and whirled myself out of the Claridges vortex, I had some time to think about this more. I could have ordered something else exciting to compare, but this shouldn’t be up to me. A menu should be balanced across the board. Would I come back here from a culinary standpoint? Unfortunately, the answer is no.
