The Marquis Cornwallis

I’m very surprised that I haven’t read many reviews on Marquis Cornwallis but those I have read seems to highly praise it and I couldn’t agree more. It is located conveniently near Russell Square, spacious and bright, furnished very nicely with wooden tables and warm colours but most important they dish up delicious generous portions of one the best pub food I’ve had. Depending on what you’re looking for it kind of have everything to love about a bar unless you prefer something more smaller and local. Service is not faultable and you will come to understand why as you read on.

Being quite cheeky, both of the visits I made were using a voucher I got through signing on to their newsletter club with the first voucher offering me and a guest to a completely free main meal each with no exclusions. That is another thing I love about them, they interact with their customers, asks for feedback to improve and stays connected with you without spamming you. On my last visit however I used a buy 1 get 1 free voucher which may not be as generous as the first but returning from such a successful first visit I had to go again and of course it is still a bargain.

Even though I was paying nothing or half of what everyone else was in the bar I still received top notch service with a warm smile, attentiveness and efficiency all the way to the end with staff checking up on us to make sure we were okay. But I was most pleasantly surprised with the service I received on my last visit. With my last voucher I asked if it could be possible to be charged for the lowest priced item rather than the highest and they replied back jokily ‘Honestly, we don’t care’. Yes, they really do put their customers first. And I’m writing this based on two separate visits with different staff member serving me too.

As there is not much written about them on the web I really doubted how good their food was on my first visit when they’re giving food out completely food. I was actually expecting the worse thinking it was a tourist trap but I couldn’t be more wrong. Making the reservations over the phone, each time I would enter to find a table set out for us with the latest menu that changes seasonally and my name written on a name tag. It was a good start and a very nice welcoming.

Our first visit was a Sunday and I decided it had to be a roast chicken for me whilst my mum went for the rib-eye steak. It was that roast chicken that changed my opinion on all other roast chickens out there after less satisfying ones I’ve had before being very dry and tasteless. This one was very succulent, beautifully flavoured and presented beautifully in two, the breast and the thigh. And of course it came with all the trimmings. Meat was so tender in its own juices coated in perfectly seasoned gravy which had the perfect consistency too. I wished I had asked what was in that gravy as it was delicious. Side vegetables tasted fresh too and of course with the gravy tasted even better. Potatoes roasted to that crisp coating into a quality tasting fluffy inside. The yorkshire pudding were amazing too, incredibly light,airy and firm and done perfectly so it had a slight crispy coating as well. I seriously have nothing to fault. I started to ask why it was free.

Mum’s rib eye steak came more rare than we asked for but it was a good thing! Never had we tasted a steak so juicy. It had a meaty sweetness to it that I have never tasted in a steak, not even a Michelin one we’ve had. The herb butter on top just added to the succulent taste making it more rich and tasty. Fries were very well fried, crispy on the outside, fluffy in the inside and not a taste of grease. All presented beautifully with fresh watercress and a grilled tomato for colour.

When I thought they couldn’t up their game with our meals came some condiments in jars but not the usual kind of ketchup, mayo and HP but instead, mint jelly, apple and sage jelly, beer mustard, English mustard and horseradish. How thoughtful! How pretentious! We had fun trying all of them out.

After such an amazing experience on our first visit we returned again months later to have another go on their roast chicken hoping for the same consistency. The thought was exciting enough. We found the bar a lot busier than our first visit maybe because it was a Saturday but that is always a good sign.

So they generously offered the roast chicken for free leaving us to pay for the beef burger only which was nearly £3.00 less than the chicken. They already won our hearts before the food was even served.

Burgers are one of the typical bar foods, looks simple but so many people get it wrong and mess it up. But here they didn’t. Once in sight as the waitress approached us with it I saw the brioche bun and immediate knew they knew what they were doing. I have always believed brioche bun are the best buns to ever hold a burger as they are fluffy, light and easy to bite into with the burger. The only thing I regret not doing was asking for the patty to be medium rare rather than well-done. But to be honest, I didn’t up caring as it turned out to be one of the best burger I’ve had. For a well-done patty it was still incredibly juicy and maybe because it was grilled long enough it was very flavoursome. So the bun was successful and so was the patty being chunky and succulent. But the fillings had also been given much care and attention to as well like the fresh juicy chunky cut of tomato along with crisp lettuce. The melted cheese was also apparent adding a real creaminess to it and the layer of crisp bacon adding that extra depth of flavour to it. Served on the side were also the same greaseless crispy fries but also coleslaw adding that extra crunch and creaminess flavour to my burger. It was extremely satisfying.

As it was a Saturday the roast chicken came with fries instead and a lovely succulent portobello mushroom. It did not disappoint and was just as good as the first, succulent with more of that moreish gravy.

I cannot recommend Marquis Cornwallis enough for the atmosphere, location and of course the food. The menu is very extensive too with a brunch menu on offer on the weekends so I’m sure there is something to suit everyone. If you feeling very eager you could even sign up to their newsletter to get amazing deals like the one I grabbed. I’m sure I’ll be back very soon myself.
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Lamchowder - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Friday, May 04, 2012