A Family Dinner at The Gilbert Scott
My aunt arrived in London the night of the Monty Python show, so we didn't really get to see her --- although, earlier in the day, we had a lovely afternoon tea together, which was brilliant. Before my aunt had made arrangements to visit us in London, I had booked three tickets at the Globe, so although we enjoyed a leisurely brunch with her, we didn't get to see her that afternoon either, so it wasn't until after the Globe that we got to truly hang out! That evening, we got to spend time as a family and enjoyed a good old fashioned family dinner!
The St. Pancras Hotel is a gorgeous building that houses "The Gilbert Scott"
My mother read about "The Gilbert Scott" in one of her Japanese magazines. One thing we have learned over the years is that the Japanese magazines are never wrong. If they recommend a restaurant, that means the food is delicious. We have relied on Japanese guidebooks and magazines for as long as I can remember, for of all of our travels, and we have never been led astray.
To quote the restaurant's website, "the Gilbert Scott dining room creates a sense of grandeur in a relaxed and informal brasserie-like setting. High ceilings and gilded frames exude a sense of magical charm whilst you enjoy our vast offerings. The ethos is a relaxed, friendly, and knowledgable service to put you at ease at any time of the day. Inspired by the wondrous history within the building our menu reflects British tradition and great British produce. With our large menu offerings we hope to be able to satisfy all tastes and preferences with out take on British classics as well as interesting seasonal choices." I think that description is fairly spot on! The dining room was quite large, with vaulted ceilings, and it oozed a certain art deco 1930s feel.
The dining room
The menu was very eclectic and it was definitely a nouveau spin on British classics. I was excited to see what the Gilbert Scott had to offer!
For starters, the choices were quite diverse. My aunt ordered the "warm ricotta dumplings with piquillo peppers, chickpeas, and anchovies," my mother ordered the "chargrilled quail with maple porter glaze and spring onions," whilst my father and I tried the "crispy pigs head with pickled cockles, laverbread mayo, and sea vegetables." My father and I were so intrigued by our dish. Would it really be a pig's head? What do they mean by cockles and sea vegetables? Is this a seafood dish unbeknownst to us Americans? What could this be? Well, it turns out that it's little bits of pigs head meat that have been chopped up and made into croquets. Those croquets were then served with the pickles cockles. It was rich, but so so so yummy!
Warm ricotta dumplings
Crispy pigs head
Chargrilled quail
For mains, I think we all made interesting and delicious choices. Both my aunt and my father went with seafood dishes. My aunt ordered the "pan fried sea bass with dhal, green chili yoghurt, and coriander" and dad ordered the "pan fried sea bream with garden vegetable salad and ginger vinaigrette." My mother was intrigued with the "Chicken Dorset snails and leek pie." I mean, who's ever heard of that combination before? In essence, it was like a chicken pot pie, but with more interesting ingredients. I went with the evening special which was a giant house made faggot, which is like meatloaf, served with fresh peas and cipollini onions. It was a little on the salty side, but it otherwise, very flavorful and the fresh peas were a perfect compliment to the richness of the faggot.
The evening special of large faggot served with peas and cipolini onions
Pan fried sea bass
Chicken Dorset snails and leek pie
Panfried sea bream
Finally, we come to dessert. "The Siblings" both enjoyed the beautiful and refreshing "yellow peaches with raspberry curd, hazelnut crunch, and white peach sorbet." It was both beautiful and delicious! My mother ordered the Anglicized version of her favorite French dessert called "oeufs a la neige" or "ile flottante." This desserts consists of "a meringue floating on creme anglaise. The Gilbert Scott called this dish, "Mrs. Beeton's snow egg." It was super light, not too sweet, and mega yummy!
Yellow peaches
Mrs. Beeton's snow egg
I, on the other hand, ordered the "Lord Mayor's trifle." This trifle consisted of summer berries, vanilla sponge, a creamy marshmallow-y topping, and stride strawberries. It was so decedent and I practically inhaled this treat! I really like the stark color contrast between the deep red of the berries and the white of the sponge/topping. I also loved the fact that the tartness of the berries was perfectly balanced with the sweetness of the vanilla sponge. I was also pleasantly surprised by the generous portion. I had a moment where I thought, "I keep eating this, but it doesn't look like it's disappearing." I eventually polished off my dessert and I loved every mouthful.
Lord Mayor's trifle
I very much enjoyed my evening at the Gilbert Scott. I thought the food was quite good, the waitstaff was quite attentive and I really liked the decor. I even loved the fact that the live pianist played Pharrell's "Happy." Kudos to you!
Food aside, this dinner was really wonderful because we spent it as a family. As I mentioned, my aunt lives in Europe, whilst we are in the USA --- so family dinners are not that frequent. For me, family comes first and it was such a treat to spend this much time with my aunt. What a delightful evening! My only criticism is that my uncle and cousins weren't there to join us. Next time!
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