Holborn Dining Room | London
Holborn Dining Room - The Pie Room
I took my recent trip back to London as an opportunity to capitalise on as much food ‘research’ as possible. Not only was it still technically the festive season (standard carte blanche to eat EVERYTHING), I also have the wonderful excuse of catching up with old friends while in the UK. In addition I feel the need to stockpile on favourite foods and temptations we can’t find in Saudi Arabia. A triple whammy of “why the heck not?”
I had long been looking forward to this day. A date to catch up with one of my old Leith’s buddies. We had planned a glorious day wondering the streets of London from lunch through to dinner, with multiple pit stops on the way. The beauty of my chums from Leiths School of Food & Wine is that we can happily bang on about food and drink until the cows come home, and we will eat from dawn to dusk without hesitation or recrimination. Anyone who ever utters the words “but you’ve just eaten” to me can consider themselves beyond redemption.
Starting in Covent, we gave the newish Sticks & Sushi a go. Tucking in to a shared platter, I can report that it was all very pleasing. Not the best sushi around by any stretch, but very satisfying, great service and a buzzy environment. A good starter through the gate.
We meandered through Chinatown to Soho in search of our first tipple of the afternoon and landed in the Dean Street Townhouse, settling in at the bar for our continued catch up. However, we were somewhat disappointed with the choice on offer - both fans of English wine we were hoping to see some of our favourites on offer but alas.
Remedy Wine Bar & Kitchen
We decided that walking was very much the order of the day considering the reservation in place for dinner, so we continued with our meandering, heading towards a faintly remembered wine bar somewhere near Goodge Street. Narrowly escaping a Crosstown Donut on the way, we hit our target - The Remedy Wine Bar & Kitchen. A cosy, neighbourhood feel awaited us - as did happy hour prices. We arrived as the first customers (well, it was only 3.30pm on a Thursday) but by our departure it was bulging at the seams with a very happy bunch of merrymakers. Excellent wines, excellent knowledge and some great sherry choices too. The kind of place you dream of having on the doorstep.
Holborn Dining Room - Gusbourne Estate Sparkling
We were sorry to tear ourselves away but our trek up to Holborn awaited. Braving the freezing London streets, we wove our way to our ultimate destination - the Holborn Dining Room. The enclave of Chef Calum - the Pie Master himself - the restaurant is in the excellent Rosewood Hotel. On arrival, the bar was full for a pre-dinner aperitif but we were offered seats in their ‘outside area’. A look of horror barely managed to pass our already blue-tinged faces before we were shown a wonderful ‘indoor-outdoors’ haven called the Glenlivet Glade. Candles, stars and blankets provided a very cosy pre-dinner option.
The Dining Room itself is an atmospheric, dark and warm brasserie environment. It is exactly what I enjoy from good restaurant setting. The menu is described as ‘seasonal British cuisine with a twist’: think award winning scotch eggs, rabbit terrine, a fish counter, pies, and a roast and grill section. We settled ourselves in and finally got the glass of English sparkling we were hunting all day for - this one from Gusbourne Estate. Delicious and creamy. We accompanied it with the cornish crab toast with avocado and bloody mary jelly. Not a mind-blowing starter but very tasty and light.
Onto the main event and, of course, it had to be a pie. This is what Chef Calum is known for - his intricate and beautiful creations are an Instagram sensation and mindblowing to someone who makes her own pastry and struggles to achieve acceptable presentation. So, would the flavour live up to the exterior perfection?
Holborn Dining Room - Chicken, Morel and Tarragon Pie
A resounding yes. I had a chicken, morel and tarragon pie and, in all honesty, I was blown away. The pastry, of course, was on another level, almost a mix between shortcrust and puff (I did ask but no recipe was forthcoming). But the filling was perfection - a balance of flavours that worked perfectly together. Chicken and tarragon is a no-brainer but the addition of morels brought a richness and decadence to lift the good-olde British chicken pie to another level. Empty plates abound.
And that is where this foodie should have stopped but I pressed on to dessert despite my equally pressing waistline (whose idea was it to bring back high waisted jeans?). Reiterating my ‘why the heck not’ mantra like a battle cry, I dove into the Paris-Brest - a choux pastry delight of praline and salted caramel. No regrets here.
Triple points awarded when I noticed I could finish off with one of my favourite teas Marco Polo from the Mariage Frères Tea House. Okay, not very British but if anything we’ve learnt that lovely French neighbours know a thing or two about food and drink.