St. John
Resto chic
" La qualité du service et des mets. Les plats sont aussi simples que le menu imprimé sur une feuille de papier A4. Les vi... "
Alexandrine G. (1597 pts de réputation)
Poissons/Fruits de Mer, Viandes, Britannique
Nom du Chef: Chris Gillard
Plats Remarquables: Snails, Nettles & Brown Butter
Fermé: Samedi midi, Dimanche soir
Les évaluations des membres iTaste
Decor is minimal, not in the interior designer sort of way, but simply non-existent. The walls are painted white and lined with pegs for coats. It was lightly misting the evening we went so lots of coats were hanging on the walls. There's a small desk where you are greeted as you enter and a bar lines part of another wall, but otherwise, the place is one big room with a high ceiling and tall windows. Somewhere that I didn't notice is a private dining room. The place was noisy but in a good way, full of energy and laughter. The servers are mostly young and very engaging. The founder of the St John restaurants, Fergus Henderson, is famous for his nose to tail cooking, which honours the tradition of not wasting any parts of the animal, particularly, the pig. The food is not necessarily traditional, but basically British, not fancy gourmet and prepared with serious care. Many restaurants change the menu daily, here, they change it hourly. We started with roasted bone marrow and parsley salad with toast, native oysters, smoked eel and sprats, which are like sardines. For mains, we had roasted Middlewhite pork with swede, and partridge with savoy cabbage, sides of runner beans and greens. All of it was very unpretentious and very tasty. The wine list, mostly French, was well priced. Finished with an Eccles cake and Lancashire cheese, raspberry sorbet and Russian vodka, and stem ginger ice cream. We were treated to the view of the table next to us, some 15-20 celebrating young men, who ordered the roasted suckling pig. The whole pig was presented to the table and caused quite a stir as so many at the table wanted to take a photo. It smelled pretty amazing as well.
L'endroit pour découvrir la cuisine traditionnelle / d'époque du Royaume Uni. Le vrai British Cooking. Et c'est bon et bien servi.
Ambiance un peu froide...
Great ingredients, treated simply and permitted to sing for themselves. Flavoursome ales served in the bar, and sourdough and eccles cakes available for sale in the corner if you want something to take home. And hey, where else can you have a whole suckling pig if you want it?
Very occasionally service can be a little haphazard but always friendly and knowledgeable.
I have been eating at St John for years, and it never disappoints - basic food of the highest quality, in almost stark surroundings that encourage the focus on the excellent food. Lots of offal, Fergus Herderson is known for his 'nose to tail' eating! Highlights include roasted bone marrow with a tangy parsley & caper salad, sea salt & toast, as well as the chance to eat many unusual animal parts - delicious. Portions are generous, if you make it as far as pudding - these are also of considerable size, and very traditional English recipes. Wines are good too.
Harder to get a table after all the awrds St John has deservedly collected.