The Dining Room at The Goring (Victoria)

First things to note are that the bar has been redecorated and (yellow wallpaper uplifted to a lighter hue), there is a conservatory dining area now called the Veranda (formerly Siren) which serves casual plates of food on a limited menu and there is also an outdoor garden terrace for drinks, so plenty to choose from.  The Luxury Restaurant Guide membership also came into its own here allowing a complimentary glass of champagne for all diners, so for 6 people that was a fairly welcome and superb start, not only for the visit but also for the bill at the end.

As this was a family occasion there are less notes from this meal as this would have detracted from the occasion.  Also, no sharing for safety so I didn’t experience the other dishes.  However, I have included all photos taken to give the fullest pictorial idea of the menu and the details of the meal I had.  Opening bread was homemade focaccia and tomato sourdough, both served warm.  The canape bite for everyone was a Comte cheese gougere made with parmesan truffle and béchamel sauce and was very received by absolutely everyone and for good reason.  

To start, I opted for The Goring’s signature eggs Drumkilbo, lobster, caviar and Granny Smith apple. The dish was reportedly born at Drumkilbo House in Perthshire, for some late-arriving guests who had the audacity to miss dinner and is a form of crustacean cocktail using quails eggs for the emulsion with finely chopped quails eggs as well.  Mine was a lobster with a form of quail egg espuma on top with small pieces of apple gel on the bottom which worked very well to provide the sweet and acidity to help with the mound of pleasantly creamy topping. It is a fresh and decent dish but as with all lobster dishes, the price tag for the starter is always higher. Pastry shards with a spicy, paprika emulsion is also provided for this dish to scoop up the starter as is traditionally served with toast.

For my main was Roast Sirloin of Longhorn beef, duck fat potatoes, buttered cabbage and Yorkshire pudding.  As one would expect at an establishment like this, you would have expected the roast main to be good quality and this was.  The beef with good flavour, the duck fat potatoes a dream, the horseradish sauce toned down very nicely and creamy at the same time with a quality Yorkshire pudding – all very important to be done well and thankfully these surely were.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the dessert which was the Yorkshire rhubarb and custard trifle, elderflower and blood orange which was absolutely a hit.  The air-light custard in its mousse form was still rich,  the compote of elderflower was a welcome uplift to strawberry and the biscuit ‘croutons’ on top gave a lovely texture to the pudding.  This was probably the knock-out element of the whole meal.

So, the restaurant is in new(ish) hands, but is as steady as a rock in conclusion.  It is a very safe bet location and a lovely place where you will be very well looked after for a special occasion.

Now that The Goring is fait accompli with a brand new Michelin star, it was especially nice for three of us to drop in for the pre-theatre menu following a tour of Buckingham Palace.  At £55 for 3 courses and two glasses of wine, it is a reasonable menu but I do think it would benefit from having the option of not having the wine as mandatory as well and just being the 3 courses of food for around the £30-£35 mark (for the quality of this menu) which would make the set option easier on the eye.  The food itself on this menu was however, easily in the upper bracket of set menus I have experienced.  Most pre/post-theatre menus or set lunches traditionally have smaller portions and less expensive/sizeable cuts of meat, but this pre-theatre menu really didn’t actually feel like this with a wonderfully smooth foie gras terrine with superb brioche mini bun with slivers of ham and shavings of truffle on top – this was not your average set menu starter.

The fish broth was very clean in its flavour and I would also like to make a special mention that the children’s menu was a lovely touch – all the right options for kids and cleverly done and this is another example of how well the establishment gives that extra bit to look after its guests which I think goes a long way.

I thought the mains looked as if they had come from the a la carte as a first impression with beautiful cuts of lamb and sweetbreads in breadcrumbs.  The pork main was elegantly presented, but rather unfortunately there was still netting left in the slices of meat that were served which was not the best to bite into or see after removing.  Although this is not the end of the world, it was genuinely quite a surprise (and have hence had to adjust my overall grade), so I asked if the dish could simply be replaced by the lamb as it seemed a safer bet and this was done as quickly as possible with apologies.

A selection of British cheeses was offered to the table with the restaurant’s compliments for the inconvenience which was warmly received.  The wines that were selected as the two choices worked well as well – a subtle Sauvignon Blanc for my starter and a rather smooth Cotes du Rhône to go with my main and both were perfectly pleasant as the choices for the set menu.  The desserts were light, interesting and pleasant to finish the experience off – the kid’s banana split being pretty splendid as well!

The things I loved about this was the warmth and the unobtrusive nature of the service combined with the lovely dining room (and yes I do like the modern chandeliers) with very elegant food which, all in all, was lovely to experience.  I’ve had to reduce my food-grade based on the little episode on this visit, but overall, if the set menu is anything to go on, then I very much look forward to trying the a la carte as this experience has confirmed that the latter will have some superb elements and design.   It’s a lovely option to have for Michelin dining and I look forward to mark another occasion with a lovely meal here in the future.