Cliveden has undergone the most amazing refurbishment of its main restaurant and now has the celebrated chef, Andre Garrett, at the helm as Executive Head Chef. Andre was awarded his first Michelin Star as Head Chef of Galvin Windows Restaurant in Park Lane. His experience is second to none having also worked at Chez Nico’s in Mayfair, Nico Central, Orrery, Guy Savoy in Paris and the Ritz. He also won a Roux Scholarship. His passion for seasonal British ingredients is evident from the various menus he has compiled. I was thrilled that dishes from culinary classics have been included and refined with up-to-date expertise. The fine cuisine, the superb selection of wines, the faultless service and wonderful ambience all combine to create a great dining experience.
On arrival at Cliveden one enters a magnificent hall, rather like a large sitting room, for pre-lunch or pre-dinner drinks (especially a glass of Tattinger champagne!); a very imposing but comfortable area with stone fireplaces and warming logs, suits of armour and fresh flowers. A lovely painting of Lady Astor adorns the main fireplace. There is much history connected with Cliveden. Royalty and aristocracy have been associated with Cliveden for over three hundred years. At one time, the house was bought by William Waldorf Astor, America’s then richest citizen. Cliveden became a hub of society where notable guests from Charlie Chaplin to Winston Churchill and President Roosevelt to George Bernard Shaw would be entertained, or perhaps provide witty entertainment!
The spectacular restaurant is a south facing room with impressive chandeliers and six sets of French windows offering panoramic views over the Terrace and River Thames beyond, a very grand setting for any occasion. This is an ideal venue for business lunches, special occasions and those ladies who lunch (and who will be very well looked after!). After lunch, what could be better than a stroll through the magnificent grounds down to the river?
The à la carte lunch menu consists of three courses with coffee and the famous bonbons trolley at a cost of £65. The lunch menu, or Market Menu as it is called, costs just £28 but coffee and the bonbons are extra. The evening tasting menu costs £95 with an additional £75 for wine pairing. The evening à la carte menu is £65. Lunch is served from 12:15pm to 2:30pm and dinner from 7pm to 10pm (last orders for the tasting menu being 9pm).
For lunch my guest and I chose starters of the Ballotine of Foie Gras with Cumbrian ham, salt-baked celeriac, golden raisins and hazelnuts and a Tartare of South Coast Mackerel with black radish, smoked eel beignets, cod roe and English caviar. The Head Sommelier, Guillaume Gorichon is very informative and offered to choose our wines for each course. For the Ballotine he recommended a Vin de Constance 2008 from Klein Constancia in South Africa, and for the mackerel he chose a Gruner Veltiner 2011 from Austria.
My main course was a Dover Sole (Veronique) Verjus with salted grapes, fennel, chicken jus gras and a delicious pomme puree served in a small copper pan. With this course Guillaume proposed an Albarino 2011 from Rias Baixas in Spain. My guest chose the Fillet of Cumbrian Long Horn Beef with smiled bone marrow containing oxtail (crumble), roast carrots and pomme mousseline, accompanied by a Chateau Caronnes Ste-Gemme 2005 from Bordeaux.
For dessert I chose the chef tester - a Souffflé, this being a Rice Pudding Souffflé with agen prunes, vanilla and Earl Grey (not the Lord!). My guest chose the Mille-Feuille with passion fruit, mango and fromage frais sorbet.
Finally came the bonbons trolley, a vast choice of sweets including nougat, macaroons, mango marshmallows, honeycomb, white truffles with cranberry jelly filling, chocolate orange and more - all prepared in the kitchen. A very fitting finale to a gourmet experience.
This restaurant and a visit to Cliveden House is a truly wonderful experience; do put a date in your diary for a visit!
Just over 10 years ago, the Cinnamon Club’s Founding Father and Executive Chef, Vivek Singh, set out on a passionate mission to convert an old Victorian library in a musty corner of Westminster into a top class restaurant which would transform and redefine Indian food in the UK.
Since then, the overwhelmingly successful Cinnamon Club has won umpteen awards, attracts a thoroughly international clientele of more than 100,000 visitors each year, including a generous sprinkling of celebrities, royals and politicians from nearby Houses of Parliament, and is regarded as one of the world’s finest Indian restaurants. There’s now a Cinnamon Soho, Cinnamon Kitchen and four Cinnamon Club cookbooks.
The Club’s innovative spirit is alive and well in its subterranean cocktail bar, where you can savour a range of spice-infused cocktails and an Asian flavoured ambience. New Year 2014 is ushered in with a fiery winter cocktail menu created by head mixologist Gabor Onufer, a perfectly formed selection of 15 deliciously spiced drinks, thoughtfully conceived and thoroughly original. Unlike many other bars, the Club doesn’t rely on overuse of sugar, salt or heavy flavourings in its cocktails; instead, tastes are encouraged to play with the palate and let underlying flavours through.
Take the extraordinary La Fiesta, for instance, a fragrant, fresh and fruity gathering of Grand Marnier, orange marmalade, lime juice, dandelion bitters and rosebud tea- infused Olmeca Reposado tequila. The indulgent Golden Brown is a richly delicious mix of cognac, apricot ‘shrub’ (apricot honey, Sauvignon Blanc and spiced rum), coffee liqueur, a dash of exotic Cynar and a flotilla of gold leaf. Ten celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Club in style, blending vodka, crème de figue, orange sherbet, lime and a top up of ginger beer. Champagne lovers will want to try Southbank Royale with its smooth, alluring scent of cucumber and mint and a surprising sharpness when tasted.
If you’re in the mood for a total heatwave experience, Don’t Mess with Naga is for you, a heady combination of Olmeca Plata tequila, caramel, lime juice, pear, green tea, cinnamon and Naga Bitter, made with the world’s hottest chillies. On first approach, you’ll welcome its fresh, citrusy-sweet scent, but this bouquet completely belies the spicy Margarita which soon greets the palate, followed by an explosive whoosh of chilli in the mouth. There are also some tasty non-alcoholic options like Very Berry Lassi and Apple & Cucumber Fizz.
Club cocktails are brilliantly matched with gorgeous nibbles and sharing plates like crisp whitebait with carom seed and chilli served with masala mayonnaise, garlic and herb naan or shrimps with a chilli and apricot glaze. Although the bar’s a destination in its own right, it’s only a short upstairs climb (or wobble, if you’ve messed with Naga) to the restaurant for the remarkable full-on Cinnamon Club experience, one we can’t recommend highly enough.
Cinnamon Club also offers monthly Cocktail Masterclasses, giving guests a chance to learn and try the tricks of the trade while mixing signature cocktails under the watchful eye of its expert bartenders.
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