What is it with breakfast?! We travel the world, stay in glorious hotels and revel in their local cuisine yet, when it comes to breakfast, we have to have it our way. Chinese want dim sum, Europeans hope for ham, cheese and pastries, Brits love a fry-up etc. So the hotels are obliged to lay on a buffet of gargantuan proportions to stave off wobbly lower lips. This is the paradigm of comfort food; that which we crave most in our child-like half-slumber of the early morning. And frankly, who doesn’t love a buffet? The temptation to combine foods that should never share the same plate is bizarrely compelling. The options on their cold buffet were magnificent, occasionally baffling (hoummous for breakfast?!), including numerous cold cuts, cheeses, fruit, breads, smoked fish, cakes and pastries. As one would expect with a brunch, they prepare eggs to order, and there are waffles and maple syrup should you wish.
Since we arrived at 1:30, we diverted our attention directly from the ‘br-bit’ to the ‘unch’ bit, which is a significantly more compact menu focussing on roasts. They serve chicken, beef wellington, fish of the day and cauliflower cheese, all presented in self-serve bain marries or under heat lamps. The side dishes are the most excellent of roast potatoes, golden and crunchy, plus scrubbed carrots and parsnips roasted with shallots and rosemary, though I would have appreciated some green veg too.
As a space, it does feel like an aged hotel restaurant and there is no daylight, though the quality of materials is quite evidently high, and the upholstered chairs were very comfortable.
Allow me to gush for a moment about the beef wellington: This was exceptional. The joint receives the typical duxelle of finely chopped mushrooms, shallots and garlic then wrapped in a pale green herb crêpe to prevent the juices from permeating the outer crust. The result is fabulous: beautifully cooked and rosey-cheeked, with a fine crunchy pastry lattice. It comes with an excellent tartar sauce though sadly the gravy, aside from being delicious, is just too ‘wet’ without Yorkshire puddings.
We also tried the chicken which came as thighs cooked in tarragon butter. Moist and delicious, these worked very well. The vegetarian option on this occasion was cauliflower cheese, which sadly isn’t quite sturdy enough to endure the continuous heat, so was a little soft by the time we tried it. There is also a fish of the day option.
The brunch comes with a couple of price packages including limitless prosecco, Negroni or Bloody Mary for 90 minutes. Bloody Mary was warm and spicy, and their house prosecco, Via Vai, is deliciously dry yet fruity and very much to be recommended. We also shared a Negroni, which they make with Punt e Mes vermouth. You can, of course, order any other drink from their menu including wines by the glass or bottle and coffees, infusions and juices.
To finish the meal we had a couple of pastries and cakes from the buffet that were worth getting fat for.
The benefit of a brunch like this is the freedom to decide in the moment what you fancy eating, with a seemingly limitless choice, and the option to have a little bit of everything. For the beef Wellington alone it’s well worth a visit, and I wished I had arrived more hungry as this is a full-blown feast. Keep Sunday special!
Brunch is served from 12:30 -3:00
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