Fathers & Daughters Dine – The Goring Hotel
My parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary with an overnight stay and dinner at The Goring Hotel and so it was particularly pleasurable to continue this ad-hoc family-oriented series with a meal at this smart, comfortable hotel with my daughter.
After a drink in the very busy bar – where Bill Nighy had offered us his seats at the bar as he left for home – we enjoyed another pre-dinner drink in the basement kitchen where head chef Graham Squire chatted to us about the menu while plating up for early diners upstairs.
He has earned the hotel’s dining room a Michelin star and runs a calm – and expansive – kitchen that turns out British-focused, seasonal cuisine that concentrates very much on the ingredients rather than the latest fads.
My starter of roasted Orkney scallops, English pea, lemon verbena and broad bean and my daughter’s Hampshire watercress veloute, sunflower seed pesto and three corned leek give a flavour of what the place is all about.
I’d seen the mini hot pot pies in the kitchen and they were sufficiently visually appealing that I had to go with one for my main course. It sat on a side plate alongside the core of the dish, Rhug Estate lamb with stuffed morel mushrooms, aubergine and apricot. My daughter being vegetarian plumped for the heritage potato gnocchi, summer truffle and herb sauce.
As with venues of this calibre The Goring excelled with the quality of its sauces that stood out for their clean, fresh character. Prior to these courses we’d enjoyed canapes at the table and in the kitchen along with freshly-baked bread so it looked unlikely dessert would play a part. But then whenever I spot a rum baba on a menu I reassess the situation.
This version came with zesty apple to lighten the dish but the alcohol-soaked sponge remained fully intact and it came with the added bonus of being flambeed tableside for a bit of theatre.
The dining room was full on this late-summer’s Friday evening but such is the scale of the space that there was none of that forced proximity to other diners that mars so many modern dining rooms today and the absence of muzak along with abundant fabrics resulted in very relaxing acoustics.
The Goring Hotel remains family-owned, which is very rare in London for this class of place, and gives it a unique feel that is reflected in the dining room and among the team delivering excellent service and food.
This is the latest in the ‘Fathers & Daughters Dine’ series. This is the previous piece.
Glynn Davis, editor, Retail Insider