Recs for St. John

[emn76]

Hi everyone....We are in London for one day/night before we fly into Italy and will be having lunch at St. John this afternoon, was wondering about any recent real stand outs that shouldn't be missed...Thanks

[peelmeagrape]

My vote is breakfast at St. John Bread and Wine (Spitalfields). The bacon sandwich is the stuff dreams are made of, and the poached rhubarb is a lovely start to the day too. I didn't try the custard-filled donuts (no room left!) but they looked extremely appetizing.

FWIW, I don't like lunch/dinner at St. John proper at all - to my palate the food is dull and un(der)seasoned and the service has been appalling.

[batfink23]

broadly speaking I agree with what you have said. bread & wine is preferable for me too, and the main restaurant in smithfield is not really that interesting. But that said, it is easy to say once you've been - i can well imagine there is a curiousity factor involved too.

the quality of ingredient is however high, they byo and if you order simply a good meal can be expected.

[mrs bacon]

I'm also planning a trip to London, and St. John is on the agenda. My question, for those that have been there for lunch, is whether the lunch menu is significantly different from dinner. Trying to fit in as many memorable meals as possible!

[PhilD]

IIRC it s very similar if not the same - but a few years since I had lunch there.

[MMRuth]

I'm stopping in for a quick lunch at the bar today - I'll take a look at the lunch menu for you, though I do think it is on line as well. I believe it's the bar menu that changes daily.

[batfink23]

lunch and dinner menu are essentially the same

[mrs bacon]

Ah, thank you all. I guess lunch it is then!

[MMRuth]

I'll post my full report when I get back to NYC, but I enjoyed the bone marrow and the crispy pork skin salad for lunch, and my vegetarian friend had a lovely lentil dish with goat cheese and a salad. Today I had lunch at Heresford Road, and I have to say that if I had to choose one, I'd choose the latter - potted crab, marinated smoked haddock with potatoes and leeks, and a pigeon salad. For dessert, Rhubarb Eton Mess (pieces of meringue, lots of whipped cream, and stewed pieces of rhubarb). Also highly recommend L'Autre Pied, where we had dinner last night. Off to La Petite Maison for dinner.

[batfink23]

the menu isn't that long, just go with you fancy. and don't have unrealistic expectations, its not going to change your life. its a perfectly ok place.

[mr_gimlet]

It all depends what's on the board.... the only regular item is the bone marrow and parsley. Native oysters are in season and are excellent at the moment so should be on the list, and it's tail end of the game season so pheasant will probably be on in some form. There's normally an eccles cake with lancashire on for dessert which I always have because I am northern :-)

[Gourmet Chick]

I agree that the bone marrow is unmissable as their signature dish. Other than that I would recommend trying something a little out of your comfort zone as a main - if you are going to have offal or an unusual cut of meat anywhere St John's would have to be one of the best places in the world to have it. Enjoy!

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