When I reviewed the Restaurant at St Paul's....

MY SWEET LORD

Helen Baron takes a trip to the Restaurant at St Paul’s – and finds that sustenance here isn’t all spiritual in nature. Tastebud = Scott

If you fancy going somewhere delightfully festive this month, why not try the restaurant at none other than (drum roll please) St Paul’s Cathedral? Though rather humble-looking – in the manner of museum cafes and the like – the toned down approach makes immediate sense. This is a place of worship after all, and the main attraction is the splendiferous cathedral itself, the architectural wonder that has become one of the capital’s most recognisable (and best loved) monuments.

Here, out of sight is most definitely not out of mind, and it remains something very special to dine in the vaulted space below the famous landmark, imagining Wren’s celebrated dome arching high above your head. It was this combination of the culinary with the historical that first saw me add the Restaurant at St Paul’s to my list of things to do this year – and indeed, which saw it march grandly into the Top Ten.

Quite a lot of expectation now rested on the shoulders of the restaurant’s proprietors Harbour and Jones, who launched the establishment in 2009 with the aim of creating a dining experience that would live up to the unique location – as well as catering for the hordes of hungry tourists (not to mention in-the-know local businesspeople) who throng the area every day. Specialising in working at distinguished venues including RADA, The Hoops Inn at Perry Green, Chicheley Hall, Portland Place and Carlton Gardens, Harbour and Jones are no strangers to an important address – but would fine dining beneath St Paul’s be biting off more than even they could chew? I was curious to find out…

As I mentioned earlier, the décor is undeniably simple, the main feature being the whitewashed brick, the curved finish of the brickwork offering a subtle suggestion of the cathedral’s famous dome. Clean lines dominate, so that rather than trying to outdo its host venue for grandeur, the restaurant is possessed instead of an almost ‘Ikea’ simplicity. If one does hanker after something more grandiose (no, unfortunately you can’t eat in the cathedral itself), there are private dining rooms available to hire which will take you at least some of the way there, but it’s best to dispel images of you and your pals eating in the Sistine Chapel before you arrive. Besides, the restaurant doesn’t even open for dinner – its servings are limited to café hours, so it’s lunch or afternoon tea only.   

Christmas lunches, brunches and parties are available, however, priced at a very reasonable £55 for three courses, with menu highlights including the St Paul’s fruitcake, plum pudding and Chestnut Delice. A handy tip though: it’s probably best not to quaff too much champagne; the cathedral is not the appropriate venue for the usual office party high-jinks. Is it possible to imagine a less enticing scene: an eyesore of drunken colleagues staggering out from beneath this great spiritual landmark… next stop: Slug and Lettuce.

If you’re prepared to behave yourself though, and can get down there early enough, you’ll find St Paul’s is no slouch when it comes to the crunch: serving great food. On my recent visit, a very appealing menu expounded the values of seasonality and local provenance, offering an interesting take on traditional British cuisine. My dining partner and I plumped for a merlot from a healthily-sized wine-list to accompany our heritage pumpkin soup and treacle-cured salmon with kohlrabi and apple salad on Hoxton rye; followed by grey mullet with celeriac, pine nut and purple broccoli, and West Sussex pork belly with Aspall’s cider red cabbage and apple sauce. Perfectly-sized plate of deliciousness. The mullet was light and fluffy, the celeriac beautifully blended; the pork belly, too, was exquisitely tender and flavoursome. Our charming waiter took obvious pride in the food and its British origins, to the extent of offering us an aperitif made with Carter’s sparkling wine (from Essex) and Chegworth Valley apple and rhubarb juice. This offering - dubbed ‘Britain in a Glass’ – was so sweetly lappable and refreshing, I found myself feeling rather Britishly merry by the end of it.

Another real surprise came with the desserts. We tried various options on the menu whixh was clever thinking on our part as otherwise I may have overlooked the Bakewell tart, thinking it to be a rather staid and dreary choice in the face of the more excitingly named Regent’s Park honey ice and gingerbread sandwich. I’m a BIG fan of the ice-cream sandwich, let alone one made with honey from the bees of Regent’s Park. But I have to say, the tart was the smoothest, most flavour-rich thing of its kind I have ever had the pleasure to try. Who knew a Bakewell could taste so exciting? Mr Kipling has sold his almond charges short by some distance. Added to that was further taste sensation with a little pot of vanilla pod custard – its consistency perfectly judged: thick, creamy but somehow also light. Our sweet odyssey didn’t end there, however: a Victoria plum compote served with set yoghurt and melt-in-the-mouth orange shortbread thins was not to be outdone – to the extent that I think a tasting board featuring all three desserts should be made a regular menu option. Either that or we’ll all just have to go back frequently and devise some kind of pudding rotation (while hoping that that Bakewell tart works its way onto the Afternoon Tea selection).

By now, my conclusions must be clear. I entered with grand expectations and the Restaurant at St Paul’s provided. Superb food and great value for money (at £20 for two courses and £24 for three) make it well worth a visit if you’re in the area. After coffee and gorgeously fluffy lavender shortbreads, my companion and I strolled over to the tombs of Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Christopher Wren himself before wending our way to the exit and gazing up at one of the finest examples of artistic achievement the world has to offer; little had we known the culinary achievements that we would find below. The perfect destination, then, for hungry souls. In a word: divine.