We were a little intrigued by 108 Marylebone Lane. With its own facade and front door on Marylebone Lane, you might not suspect that this busy little bistro is actually a hotel restaurant, the hotel in question being The Marylebone Hotel that has its own front door on the other side of the block, Welbeck Street. Hotel restaurants are usually to be avoided unless a big name chef is present but looking at the website for 108 (www.108marylebonelane.com) they talk of using ‘the best ingredients to create simple classic dishes'. Now before you think, ‘that’s what they all say, how much of a sucker are you’ they list their meat supplier as The Ginger Pig, their cheese supplier as La Fromagerie and sausages from Biggles, all local suppliers, all renowned. Indeed, for the most part, if ever we’re eating a steak on a weekend at home it was bought at The Ginger Pig in Borough and we’ve never been let down yet. If they are indeed sourcing top quality ingredients, they must care about the food enough to make it worth a visit.
While mostly empty when we first enter in the early evening, the place filled up steadily over the course of the following hour giving a certain buzz to the venue. The buzz however can never quite escape the hotel restaurant feel given that enough tables are occupied by business colleagues/guests of the hotel who are talking shop rather than the relaxed easy chat of friends on a night out. The decor too is functional and a little corporate but offers some art and vases sprinkled around the place to soften the view.
On food, a specials menu with a fair range of choice of still attractive dishes is offered at under £20 for two courses and £22 for three which has to be considered good value while an a la carte offers of course a wider choice of premium plates.
For the starter I chose from the a la carte menu the John Ross Scottish Smoked Salmon, wild rocket, caper and red onion dressing. Must admit, don’t really know who John Ross is though back home a Google search reveals that John Ross has been producing smoked salmon in Aberdeen since 1857 and is a holder of a Royal Warrant for supplying the Royal Kitchen for the past 20 years. Priced on the menu as a starter at £13.50 this is not a cheap option and I wonder what can justify the price but I have to say, it was absolutely first class salmon. With a delicate smoke and a wonderfully smooth texture to the salmon, I really did enjoy this dish and was sad to finish. Smoked salmon as a starter can often be so insipid but here it was a star, I was quite surprised. Fresh (hot) wholegrain toast was served alongside and the salad was fresh, crisp and nicely dressed providing a very favourable start to the meal.
While mostly empty when we first enter in the early evening, the place filled up steadily over the course of the following hour giving a certain buzz to the venue. The buzz however can never quite escape the hotel restaurant feel given that enough tables are occupied by business colleagues/guests of the hotel who are talking shop rather than the relaxed easy chat of friends on a night out. The decor too is functional and a little corporate but offers some art and vases sprinkled around the place to soften the view.
On food, a specials menu with a fair range of choice of still attractive dishes is offered at under £20 for two courses and £22 for three which has to be considered good value while an a la carte offers of course a wider choice of premium plates.
For the starter I chose from the a la carte menu the John Ross Scottish Smoked Salmon, wild rocket, caper and red onion dressing. Must admit, don’t really know who John Ross is though back home a Google search reveals that John Ross has been producing smoked salmon in Aberdeen since 1857 and is a holder of a Royal Warrant for supplying the Royal Kitchen for the past 20 years. Priced on the menu as a starter at £13.50 this is not a cheap option and I wonder what can justify the price but I have to say, it was absolutely first class salmon. With a delicate smoke and a wonderfully smooth texture to the salmon, I really did enjoy this dish and was sad to finish. Smoked salmon as a starter can often be so insipid but here it was a star, I was quite surprised. Fresh (hot) wholegrain toast was served alongside and the salad was fresh, crisp and nicely dressed providing a very favourable start to the meal.
John Ross Scottish Smoked Salmon, wild rocket, caper and red onion dressing
Ginger Pig meat was the obvious choice for the main so we decided to not to go there, let’s see what else they can do. With some confidence of ordering something a little more risqué instilled from the idea that they do in fact care about quality of supply, I chose the Roast breast of pheasant, comfit [sic] leg of pheasant and savoy cabbage, sweet potato puree. Mrs CC who was only doing the one course today chose the wild mushroom risotto.
The pheasant was cooked well, not tough or chewy and had good gamey earthy flavours that made me want to wash it down with a youngish Haut Brion (which I sadly didn’t). The leg is advertised as comfit where I assume they meant confit though I’m not sure it was either, rather, it seemed roasted with the rest of the bird which was fine as it was still cooked adequately. The veg was okay, the puree well prepared though sweet potatoes are not totally my thing (can’t blame them for that) while the addition of sultanas in the cabbage also added some juicy sweetness. I can’t claim to have had extensive experience with pheasant but this was not a bad offering.
The other main, the wild mushroom risotto was done reasonably well and came with a bundle of unannounced extras like roast chestnuts and some serious veg on top. Tasty but presentationally could have been a little better offered.
The pheasant was cooked well, not tough or chewy and had good gamey earthy flavours that made me want to wash it down with a youngish Haut Brion (which I sadly didn’t). The leg is advertised as comfit where I assume they meant confit though I’m not sure it was either, rather, it seemed roasted with the rest of the bird which was fine as it was still cooked adequately. The veg was okay, the puree well prepared though sweet potatoes are not totally my thing (can’t blame them for that) while the addition of sultanas in the cabbage also added some juicy sweetness. I can’t claim to have had extensive experience with pheasant but this was not a bad offering.
The other main, the wild mushroom risotto was done reasonably well and came with a bundle of unannounced extras like roast chestnuts and some serious veg on top. Tasty but presentationally could have been a little better offered.
Roast breast of pheasant, leg of pheasant and savoy cabbage, sweet potato puree
wild mushroom risotto
For dessert, I took a pear and thyme tart tatin. This was not bad though not special either with a sweetness to the pears but a pastry base offering little by way of its own contribution, a touch soft too for texture. They did though with the bill bring a couple of really delicious chocolate truffles which was a nice little extra on their part.
pear and thyme tart tatin
108 clearly wants to be more than just a hotel restaurant and in many ways succeeds but it can never fully escape from its gene pool which is a shame. The use of quality ingredients really helps the food and to be fair to them, they didn’t really do much wrong. Against the backdrop of a restaurant that doesn’t seek to be a Michelin star contender, they deliver a reasonably decent proposition and very good value. The service is straightforward and they’re clearly making a strong effort to deliver good food to a mix of residents and locals. That said, if it were free of the hotel, I wonder what they could achieve; alas, I think we’ll never know.
Overall verdict: would be happy returning as it offers as good a balance of quality and value as anywhere in the immediate area.
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Overall verdict: would be happy returning as it offers as good a balance of quality and value as anywhere in the immediate area.
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