REVIEW: The Dining Room at The Goring Hotel, Beeston Place, Belgravia

Michelin stars are a funny thing. I remember the first time I visited a Michelin starred restaurant and it surprisingly wasn’t that long ago. October 2012 was my first Michelin starred experience at Dabbous in Fitzrovia. Back then the whole London dining scene was exploding to the point where restaurants like Dabbous, with a big chef name behind it had long, long waiting lists. I had to wait four months for my booking and at that time of dining the waitress told me it was a whole year till they next had open-tables, it was crazy. Now however it’s calmed down, London is still flooded with restaurants but actually the Michelin star side of it things is well-balanced.

With the Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland 2016 just recently released it was lovely to see so many new restaurants receiving their first accolade – including The Dining Room at The Goring. This iconic London family owned hotel recently stepped into the limelight when Kate & Will spent their time here before getting married in 2011. The bar at this lavish Belgravia hotel is for me the best bit. Classic, British and with canapés making their way around the room while you’re sipping on cocktails – which are sublime. The menu here at The Dining Room is rather expensive but we managed to bag a great deal from the guys over at Bookatable as part of the London Restaurant Festival.

Food wise here at The Goring it was very good. Not mind-blowing so, but a nice meal, in a nice setting. Décor in the restaurant is a little unusual, especially the waiters outfits – which matched the dining table chairs. A sort of colonial cean stone colour, with a thick stripe down the back. The staff wore exactly the same jackets – camouflaging them into the tables. That in mind the food wasn’t strange. It was classic, very rich and with some real stand-out dishes created by head chef, Shay Cooper. Starters were lovely plates of food. The Cornish fish broth was by far the highlight for me, packed with squid, plaice, succulent red prawns, roasted garlic and bundles of saffron. A real taste of the sea. My dining companions pressed rabbit terrine with pickled carrots and a side of Welsh rarebit was just as good, gleaming in flavour and pristine to look at.

Main courses for us were a bit of a mixed bag. With some elements being great and others lacking precision. Our salt marsh lamb with fried sweetbreads, courgette, cauliflower and stichelton purée certainly looked the part. The lamb itself couldn’t be faulted, cooked the perfect side of medium-rare, with well rendered down fat and the heavenly sweetbreads. Personally I didn’t get as much flavour from that stichelton purée as I’d have hoped for, but overall it was a nice dish – just lacking that “wow” factor. A similar feeling was felt with the Iberico corn-fed pork chop, lemon purée, minced pork stuffed cabbage ball and truffle sauce. This time however it was the meat that was disappointing. I’m a frequent visitor to Jerez in the south of Spain and Iberico pork is all the rage. It’s full of so much flavour and it cuts through like butter. The example here at The Goring was surprisingly bland and even had a squeak to it when cutting through – it was ever so slightly overcooked. The minced pork stuffed cabbage ball on the other hand was one of the finest things I’ve eaten for a good while, it’s just a shame that truffle sauce wasn’t quite truffly enough.

The spectacle of our visit here at The Goring was the cheese trolley – it was nothing short of spectacular. A fantastic selection of all British cheese and our young waiter was incredibly knowledgeable about everything he was offering. In fact service here was remarkable and is easily some of the best you’ll find in London. It’s proper, classy and unobtrusive. The team here could teach the whole of London a lesson or two. My lemon meringue parfait with pink grapefruit sorbet and cashew nut praline was a very well made dessert and while enjoyable, it again didn’t get me overly excited.

So what did I think of my meal here at The Goring? I liked it. I may not have fallen head over heals with the food here but there’s no denying talent in the kitchen and with a recently awarded Michelin star, perhaps its given the kitchen a reason to get even more creative with the food. Personally I didn’t find the meal we ate here of a Michelin standard, but I’ve no doubt if you choose the right dishes on your visit, it probably could be. I’m not entirely sure I’d come back again anytime soon, given the high prices, but the cocktail bar is top of my list to return – it truly is a fabulous place to spend an evening.

7/10