St Pancras Grand

Oh dear. "If they can maintain the standards promised by an early visit" I said last time - well, after a further visit, when much busier, I am having to downgrade my review quite heavily.

A visit for Sunday lunch - packed out - was a great disappointment. Foodwise, the principal offenders were the main courses and in particular a "roast duck" which left me a little queasy. I am not quite sure how it was possible to get the skin at once so dark brown and yet so soggy and the interior flesh so undercooked and yet so rubbery and juiceless. I suspect a very thorough searing and then "sous vide" cooking, but I actually struggle to see how is could possibly have been achieved by roasting. And the sauce put me far more in mind of bisto than anything related to duck gravy. As for the veg - I have seen similar veg (overcooked shrivelled peas, unlovely wilting courgettes) sitting in warm trays at unambitious hotels. I had not thought to meet them here. Other food ranged from acceptable to the right side of good, but the overall effect was very mass catering, and unspecial.

Likewise the service which was slow and dominated by scantily trained staff - to the embarassment of the competent members of the crew.

It may be that they were overwhelmed by the Sunday rush - but surely it can be no surpise to them this this will be a busy time of week?
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Sara
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Monday, October 27, 2008

I love St Pancras station! It's everything a station should be and no McDonalds! This restaurant is run by the same folks as the Champagne bar so i was expecting it to be upmarket and wasn't disapointed. Inside they've gone for a an Art Deco look which is pretty good apart from the glass panels - should be frosted and etched. Started with a lovely glass of house champagne - I had the Braised Beef with Medieval spices! Lovely and the sherry trifle dessert was gorgeous - although I couldnt taste the sherry! Service a little snooty! Not cheap!
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Sunday, October 26, 2008

St Pancras Grand is not long open and is still relatively quiet. However if they can keep up the standards promised by an early visit, they ought to be very busy very soon. Aside from retaining a top flight chef (formerly MPW's right hand man in the Oak Room days) they have reportedly sought advice from Richard Corrigan and Fay Maschler. Certainly the menu suggests this may be true - it is full of simple, delicious sounding things that eveyone will want to eat. And the execution is really first rate. Potted salmon was moist, richly flavoured, hopelessly more-ish and paired with an excellent salad and thin slices of what looked very like Bentleys lovely soda bread. Smoked eel salad came with the most perfectly flavoured and dressed potato salad (and the eel was wonderful too!). Not a hair was turned when we asked for quasi starters instead of main courses - a delicious rare beef with russian salad and the most technically correct and understated steak tartare in London (no cheating with the mincer here!).

Cheese comes individually in meaningful pieces with an appropriate accompaniment (lest the French piling in off the Eurostar should think that we dont understand cheese here). Add charming but not over attentive service, a good wine list, a pleasing room and an interesting view over the champagne bar to the arriving and departing Eurostar trains, drenched in light by the St Pancras roof, and you have a restaurant well worth making a detour to visit. Yes, the idea of a really good restaurant in a London train station is a bit of a stretch, but on this showing, such a thing does exist!
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Sara
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Monday, October 06, 2008