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Temple Place
What's in a name? Quite a lot it seems. While in its old guise the restaurant space at Swissôtel The Howard was called Jaan and served up exquisite French/Asian fusion creations, now it's changed to Temple Place and focuses on the best of British cuisine. It's simple, elegant and unpretentious – just like the locally sourced, seasonal ingredients in Brian Spark's food. That's not to say that the execution of his dishes can be described in the same way: thoroughly British they might be but uninspiring they ain't. I went for the assiette of suckling pig: loin, rillette, belly bacon and crackling to start. It sounds heavier than it actually was – the portions were carefully judged, allowing the celeriac, apple and grain mustard to come through. My guest likes to try a risotto whenever it appears on a menu, and the one here, with its earthy morels, chives and chargrilled baby leeks, almost saw her coming over all Meg Ryan-ish. Sometimes when your starters are so good, the main dish can be disappointing. Not so at Temple Place. I had the roast fillet of Scottish halibut with clams, oyster, spring onion and samphire potage with spring lovage, while my guest went a little lighter with roast fillet of linecaught sea bass with fennel, tomato and dill tagliatelle. With the carefully matched wines chosen for us by the charming and ever-so-handsome Restaurant Manager Alan Calzari, the meal, as well as the service scored top marks all round.
August 2008
Review by: Where London Magazine September 2008
A friend took me to lunch and I was bowled over. I had been in the hotel before but didn't know there was the restaurant with such a great garden. The sun was shining and we were surrounded by trees and waterfalls with fish.
I had the lamb which was cooked to perfection. The staff were really friendly and attentive. Didn't feel rushed at all and could have sat out there for hours enjoying the wine but had to go back to work.
Will definitely go again
30th June 2008
Review by: Adrian - London |
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