Is London getting bored of tasting menus? If you listen to the (self-appointed) tastemakers and opinion-formers, then the answer is a resounding ‘yes’. We’ve been told now for aeons that people aren’t interested in being served tiny platefuls of exquisite food, but that what diners want – at the same prices, it should be noted – are big platefuls, bold and knock-out flavours and gusto.
As someone who’s generally happiest in places like Noble Rot and the French House, which boast such things in abundance, my own relationship with formal, Michelin-baiting places is a complex one. I often admire the intent and the technique more than I do the actual meal; if I’m not such a Philistine to leave such a place and demand a smash burger, there have been terms that I’ve contemplated the experience more in terms of theatre than in food.
Victor Garvey at the Midland Grand is something wholly different. If you’ve ever been to the famous dining room at the St Pancras hotel – an enormous space that none other than the food critic Tim Hayward has described as the grandest and most impressive place to eat in London – you’ll know that it’s a hugely imposing room, which needs a big operation to fill it.
Marcus Wareing once had his more casual establishment there, and there has been a French bistro recently (fittingly, given its proximity to the Eurostar) but it’s lacked an A-lister for a while. Enter the talented Mr Garvey, who has won plaudits and a Michelin star for his SOLO establishment in Soho, which specialises in creative Californian cooking. Could he pull off something even more challenging, and keep sceptical Londoners on board?
I’m a great believer in comfort in restaurants, not just in terms of the physical size and material of the seats, but in how they make diners feel as soon as they walk in. And you won’t be remotely disappointed in the Midland Grand, which has a near-ecclesiastical feel to it, with an appropriately hushed, although never sombre, atmosphere. (This is carried right through to desserts, when we’re amused by the excellent, surprisingly young sommelier referring to ‘sacrificial wine’ rather than ‘sacramental’ wine.) Garvey’s food here is a modernist take on French haute cuisine and so there’s a near-reverential feel to the experience that feels like the perfect match of chef, setting and food.
There is a short, focused a la carte menu, but to be honest with you, the only proper way of experiencing dinner here is to opt for one of the two tasting menus, the ‘Menu Experience’ or the more comprehensive ‘Menu Gastronomique’, which comes with two extra courses and costs an extra £40. However, for most people, the first will be more than enough. It comes as a series of small, exceptionally formed offerings, all of which utilise fresh ingredients and mean that the menu changes regularly. We’d just missed well-regarded dishes of lamb and turbot, but beautifully presented jumbo quail with boudin noir and white asparagus and superb poached lobster with sand carrot and osmanthus more than make up for it.
The courses come two at a time, and consistently impress; after a barrage of pescetarian-friendly canapes (this is definitely a place where fish wins out over meat) that include tuna garum with tomato and gazpacho and a very fine dish of Cevennes onion and anchovy. A glass of Rathfinny English sparkling wine is preferable to champagne – like the snow in the Christmas hymn, deep, crisp and even-flavoured – and then a couple of small but delicious samples of Gruner Veltliner and Pouilly-Fumé are a fine match for a combination of Great Amberjack Crudo – ‘La Sériole’ – and a crab dish, ‘Le Tourteau’, which mixes Devon rock crab with sweet pea and seaweed vinegar. There are four of these savoury offerings, and all are technically flawless, delicious and show up what Garvey and his brigade are capable of.
Still, although it’s serious, it’s by no means po-faced. The staff, particularly the fine young sommelier, are all jolly and friendly, light-heartedly informing us not to eat a rock that a quail sausage has been presented on, ‘as chef wouldn’t like it’. (Another guest had tried to in the past, apparently.) There’s plenty of theatre and excitement here, as befits the soaring surroundings, and by the time we get into the desserts, there are a couple of treats in the form of a palette-cleansing pamplemousse sorbet, followed by the more conventional sweet delights of ‘L’Opera’, which features 80% Tuma yellow chocolate, an extraordinarily rare and interesting kind, matched with the Geisha ‘Elida’ coffee.
A couple of deconstructed petits fours later, including an excellent take on a lemon meringue pie, and it’s time, two and a half hours after entering, to take a regretful leave of this fun, sumptuous experience. We will be back, and so, you imagine, will everyone else who’s dined here.
Victor Harvey at The Midland Grand, St. Pancras London, Euston Road, London NW1 2AR. For more information, including details of menus and the chef’s table, and for bookings, please visit www.midlandgranddiningroom.com.
