Galvin at Windows in Park Lane

Galvin at Windows in Park Lane is the sort of restaurant I never go to. It’s almost intimidatingly posh. From the 28th floor you are, in fact, close to the stars (I was told Mr Clooney would be in later) with a view over the capital and the London Eye winking red in the distance like the eye of Sauron. And with Michelin-starred chef Andre Garrett involved you imagine the prices would be astronomical.

The restaurant has a £58 menu (£48 with a glass of free bubbly and coffee if you are on Twitter) which, for this level of cooking, is a bargain. Proving you don’t have to break the bank on the drink either, we chose the cheapest wine: £16 for a bottle of white Cheverney ’07 from the Loire valley – mildly petillant, with just the right level of acidity. After a complimentary amuse-bouche of tuna, divine little baguettes and a pyramid of butter from Bordier, I picked the blue fin tuna which melted on the tongue like the freshest sashimi.

My sister chose the trio of oysters, presented on tiny sea salt and pink peppercorn plinths, baked on choucroute, grilled and raw with a soy sauce dressing. This was accompanied by lightly toasted sourdough bread. For mains  she had the freshest sea bream with the lightest gnocci in pumpkin foam, and I chose the wild mushroom (trompettes de la mort) risotto; foresty, earthy, each grain of rice sticky and separate, punctuated by aged parmesan wafers.

The front of house staff were precisely trained; we watched one waitress spend five full minutes just laying a table cloth. The cheese trolley winked at us seductively. We were given a selection of eight cheeses, placed clockwise in order of strength. Wafer thin biscuits and grapes expertly complemented.

The dessert wine ‘Manseng’ was made from petit et gros grapes, and was a discovery for me; amber, smoked, honey, pear drops and rosemary syrup. A pear tarte tatin for pudding was meant for two but it could easily have fed four, arriving with three  jugs: cognac crème fraiche, fudge sauce and double cream.

Chocolates were then carefully extracted from a cigar box lined with coffee beans; silvered pralines and Szechuan spice squares. A glass jar of marshmallows, coffee and raspberry – created in-house and light as air – made the perfect finish.

Galvin at Windows
22 Park Lane
Mayfair W1K 1BE

Tel: 020 7208 4021
reservations@galvinatwindows.com
www.galvinatwindows.com