Kerridge’s Bar and Grill: Luxury Dining in London

If you’ve ever seen The Great British Menu, or even just seen a Marks and Spencers advert recently, you’ll have heard of Tom Kerridge. (If you haven’t - Tom Kerridge is a Michelin-starred chef known for modern British cuisine, and whenever I see him on the TV I just think he seems like a genuinely lovely person.)

Kerridge’s Bar and Grill at the Corinthia Hotel

Tom Kerridge’s restaurant in London, Kerridge’s Bar and Grill, currently located at the Corinthia Hotel, is gorgeous and it was honestly such a treat to visit just before Christmas. The staff were lovely from the moment we entered, and you could see their attention to detail, from replacing fallen napkins to filling up water and just checking in now and again. A massive bonus for me too, was although we made a reservation and technically had the table for a set time, we weren’t pushed out at the time stated on the email… which was lucky because we completely lost track of time catching up and ended up staying for an extra hour.

The food choices:

I genuinely love that there was no judgment on what we ordered. I ended up going with the “A Moon Shaped Pool “ - Great British Menu 2023 | Hand-Dived Orkney Scallop with Thai Green Velouté, Salty Fingers, Marinated Cucumber and Exmoor Caviar (without the Caviar) and Triple Cooked Chips as a main (even though technically the scallops were a starter), whereas the friend I went with ordered the steak. For dessert, I went with the Blackcurrant Soufflé with Parma Violet Ice Cream and Lemon Thyme Sauce.

Trying new things:

I’ll be completely transparent, I am not a seafood person, and I’d never tried scallops before visiting Kerridge’s. I’m still not entirely convinced about the texture of the scallops, but this dish was incredibly tasty, and I wanted to try the dish that made it to the Great British Menu. I was immediately hit with the scent of the Thai sauce when it was poured over the film, and although my brain didn’t compute that it was a Thai-inspired dish until I put it in my mouth, I scooped up all of the sauce without hesitation. Although I may not be a convert to scallops, if I ever have them again, it’d be here.

The triple-cooked chips were also gorgeous. But I would just as happily of eaten a plate of the hash-browns that came for the table before our food arrived. They were little bites of pure joy and I honestly don’t know how they’re not on the main menu.

The dessert was also a new experience for me. I’ve never had a soufflé before but I know that they are notoriously difficult to make considering the number of cooking shows I’ve watched where they’ve failed to rise just when the chef needs them to work the most. I enjoyed it, and the blackcurrant was such a lovely flavour, but it was the Parma Violet ice cream that stole the show. If they made this in a tub I’d be demolishing many buckets full.

Nick Beardshaw’s food is just delicious…

I know that Tom Kerridge’s food is the main draw to this restaurant, but having Nick Beardshaw’s food from the banquet on the menu is genius. Both of his dishes, “A Moon Shaped Pool “ and the dessert “Balloon Girl” are incredibly appealing, and I’d have picked “Balloon Girl” if I hadn’t wanted to try the soufflé that little bit more. I’ll be back to try this dessert at some point, it’s such a gorgeous dish and if you’re looking for Instagram-worthy content this is it.

Overall:

I’d 100% go back. Luxury, five-star dining in London isn’t hard to come by, BUT the level of care, attention and genuinely helpful, lovely staff that work here is. It felt special and we had the loveliest time. It may just be a new favourite!