Set in the crypt of St John’s Church in Smith Square, Westminster, the Footstool restaurant is a Tate Catering eatery serving British cuisine in heritage settings.

With a backdrop of vaulted ceilings and exposed brickwork embellished by unintrusive prints and photographs, the Footstool serves elegantly presented, non-fussy lunchtime fare at reasonable, but not budget, prices.

The clientele features the usual Westminster suspects: suits and well-dressed ladies of leisure. The service we had was courteous and swift, and the proprietors haven’t gone too over the top with the furnishings, which might have compromised this novel underground space.

We ordered from the a la carte menu, but there is also a lunchtime buffet for those in a hurry. For starters we tried the grilled Vacherin cheese with endive, roasted fig and truffle honey, and the oak-smoked salmon. The sliced fig, together with the endives and Vacherin, makes a delicious savoury-sweet combination, whereas the thick slices of fresh smoked salmon served with lemon and a watercress salad is a more understated dish.

In between courses we sampled a mussel soup infused with saffron, curry powder, white wine and cream. Rich in flavour and generously laden with mussels, this is highly recommended for seafood fans.

The main course of lamb shank was accompanied by mustard mash and a sweet rosemary gravy. The lamb was fairly well done, but with a good touch of pink to it, set atop smooth mashed potato. The flavoursome haddock and salmon fishcake, cooked in dripping, was served with a light pea purée and stronger tartare sauce, which worked well.

There was a range of traditional desserts on offer, from apple crumble to cheeses, but as it’s almost Christmas, the spiced poached pear with cream seemed appropriate. Moist and delicately spiced, the pear was favourably undercut with a sugary biscuit underneath. The chocolate and orange honeycomb parfait with white chocolate fudge was fairly light in texture, made inevitably heavier by the fudge, but the portion size was sensible and the chocolate and orange combination stayed on just the right side of sweet.

The Footstool does what it sets out to do: British food, really well. Without contest, the Vacherin starter was the most successful dish, with its careful composition of complementary tastes; definitely a superior way of enjoying endives, if you’re not currently a fan.

The setting is probably best suited to a business lunch, rather than a family get-together or raucous party. For the slightly strait-laced area of Westminster however, this is a nice little find in quirky and tastefully renovated heritage environs, and will satisfy many tastes.

The Footstool Restaurant
St John’s
Smith Square
SW1P 3HA

Tel: 020 7222 2779