Island Grill is the flagship restaurant of the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London and has been serving up steaks and hearty British classics to the city of London for over 7 years now, having become a bit of an institution in the Paddington/Bayswater abyss of an area in London. Head chef here at Island Grill is Adam Woolven who began his career in Royal Lancaster London’s apprentice scheme, before being promoted to sous chef in 2013 and then the role of Head Chef. Since then he’s acquired the restaurant 2 AA rosettes and a wealth of positive reviews across the internet.
We started our evening here with what turned out to be my favourite dish. A rather large starter, but given how good it was I was very happy indeed. A golden crumb coated Devonshire crab cake served on a bed of guacamole and sweet chilli jam. The crab tasted so fresh and so did the guacamole, with that sweet jam binding everything together nicely. A simple dish, but incredibly satisfying.
This restaurant is all about seasonal recipes and fresh ingredients and no more representative of that was our other starter of home-smoked salmon. The smoked element was of just the right amount and everything was perfectly seasoned – with a little salt, pepper, shallots, dill, capers and drizzle of lemon. Served with some slices of chargrilled sourdough and a punchy horseradish cream. Delicious.
For our main courses we couldn’t resist both of our all time favourites – steak! A succulent chunk of rib-eye was the best, with well rendered down chunks of juicy fat and marbled meat which cut through like butter. The sirloin on comparison wasn’t quite as good, but still satisfying. It was very well-seasoned and the accompanying side of cheesy coated baked aubergine was excellent. Each steak is served with a choice of side order and sauce – the salsa verde winning that department for me.
Perhaps the biggest revelation of this meal was the dessert. A beautiful passionfruit cheesecake which really was my cheesecake heaven of 2017. Rich, creamy, indulgent and it quite literally got me salivating. Better still when drizzled with the pot of white chocolate sauce and It went perfectly with the glass of Sauternes wine.
We finished up on a selection of cheeses which had all been sourced from within 40 miles of the hotel. A rich blue, washed goats cheese, a type of brie and a hard washed cheese. All were very nice but perhaps just a little too cold. I do love my cheeses a soft and runny. The accompanying chutney was fantastic and instead of biscuits I opted for more of that sourdough as it was too good to resist.
We had a really enjoyable evening at Island Grill and left feeling full and very satisfied. This isn’t avant-garde cooking or Michelin starred perfection but good quality home-style cooking at affordable prices. Exactly the type of casual restaurant you’d want when staying at a hotel. For steak lovers it’s the perfect retreat – washed down with a few too many glasses of good wine.
