Set within the almost comically swish Great Scotland Yard Hotel, The Yard restaurant is both cosy and inviting, with exposed brick walls, mahogany wood tables and blue and white patterned tiles.
The venue has an impressive head chef too, with Robin Gill, of South London’s the Dairy and Sorella, heading up the kitchen. Gill has evidently brought his determinedly ‘farm to table’ mantra to the new venue, with the seasonally influenced menu at the restaurant clearly showing his influence.
The front of house team make an immediate impression as I arrive, with the lovely Meriem and her ever smiling colleagues ensuring that my visit gets off to a flying start. Happily, the food comfortably matches these high standards.
A country pate with a moreish prune mustard accompaniment proves an early winner. The pate, a pleasing mixture of wild boar and venison, is both meaty and hearty, and the prune mustard makes a sweet yet subtle foil.
Next up, a bowl of mussels with a side of gluten free sourdough bread seems like a warm bowl of comfort. A simple dish, perhaps, yet so easy to get wrong. The mussel broth is the real star here, though; rich, creamy and with just the right mix of herbs, the dish is perfectly complimented by the excellent gluten free rolls.
The mains are just as good. I tried the roast cod, celeriac brandade and eel velouté. The dish is creamy, nuanced and warming, with the cod delightfully succulent and the velouté: rich and flavoursome.
The Yard restaurant has come in for some harsh, and, in our opinion, unfair criticism recently, with reviewers even going as far as to pick on the waiting team’s uniforms. However, if my experience is anything to go by, then the Great Scotland Yard Hotel is almost certainly onto a winner.
The Yard restaurant is at the Great Scotland Yard Hotel in Whitehall Place, London. More information about the restaurant can be found here.
For information about other great restaurants in London, please click here.
