We arrived very early and had enough time for a cup of Earl Grey before lunch. We were offered either Kasper's or the American Bar, but opted for the latter. Next time I think I'll go for the former. We all have a fantastic cup of Earl Grey brought to us in an art deco tea set. We had views over the strand and also some wonderful chocolate and white chocolate and cranberry biscuits. Tea set us up well for the ensuing luxury. Tea was £7 each, but I guess you need to expect that and the service was excellent. We finished up our tea and walked through the Savoy Museum to see the bottle of 1884 Champagne which the first "coin" at the Hotel was taken for. Glorious.
We went to the dining room in awe and in anticpation of our feast. Our coats were taken from us and we were seated promptly. We were eating off the lunch menu and had a winter bellini included, so we all started with that as an aperatif. I believe the Champagne was the Ayala, which is from Ay in the Champagne region where we stayed on our visit Epernay. It was crisp and fruity and felt extravagent.
We were brought a bread basket that was plentiful and varied. The restaurant began to fill up around us as we gave our orders to the attentive staff. The bustle of people and the chink of china brought the room to life.
We ordered all three of our courses at once. Around the table the two starters sampled were the salt baked beetroot tart with goats curd and caper berries and the suckling pig with artichoke salad. Both came beautifully presented and were wonderfully balanced dishes that we all thoroughly enjoyed.
We began to relax into our experience with the efficient, attentive and friendly service from the staff. Father in law Spread asked how we were going to beat this for next year's birthday. The whole ambience of the place was exquisite. Superb food, exceptional service in decadent and elegant surroundings. The main courses came and enhanced our views on the restaurant even more. These included the roulade of cornish place with courgette ribbons, tomato and samphire for everyone else and the ricotta and lovage ravioli with brown butter, lemon and shallot dressing.
I have not had a better pasta dish. The whole plate was in perfect harmony. The pasta was light and delicate and fragrent from the lemon butter. I could only describe the food as beautiful. My fellow diners were equally impressed with the food having surpassed all our expectations. On offer was also the special of the day which was a roasted lamb, whilst noone on the table had this, it was a fabulous addition to the menu for the meat eaters.
Over two hours later, it was time for dessert. Gipsy Spread and Father in law Spread could not be torn away from their classic choice of the profiteroles with tonka bean ice cream and chocolate sauce. Another dessert on the table was the chocolate marquis with honeycomb ice cream. I however, was no fool and opted for the Yorkshire rhubarb fool with pistachio and vanilla ice-cream. Again, this was a delicate dish with wonderfully tart and fresh rhubarb and sugared pistachios on top. It was the perfect way to end the meal.
I could not finish all my dessert, but this is fine as it fits with my feeder tendencies and means Gipsy Spread gets to have two desserts. We finished the wines we were all drinking by the glass and were asked about coffees. Nothing more for me, however Father in law Spread did, and we were brought out the wonderful petit fours. If I had known these were coming I might have eaten even less dessert. These dainty little delicacies were devine and I only managed a small taste of one of the macarons before forcing the rest of it on Gipsy Spread.
The staff had previously enquired whether were visiting for a special occasion. They kindly brought out a small cake for Father in law Spread with a candle in for him to blow out. He was chuffed. The prevailing sentiment was that it was one of the best meals they have ever had in the most extravagant of settings. The staff really could not have done any more to make our experience so enjoyable. He has now decided that the Savoy Grill can't be beat for his next birthday, so we are simply going to have keep coming back here. I'm not going to argue with that. I can't wait to return.
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