Langan's Brasserie is something of a London restaurant legend. Now coming up on its 36th year, it opened as a partnership between Irish entrepreneur Peter Langan and the actor Michael Caine which was enough in itself to draw in the celebrity crowd and Langan's was one of the places to eat in the eighties. Langan is now dead and Michael Caine sold up, but Langan's continues on unabashed, its website still claiming that it 'remains one of London's top eateries to be seen in for Celebrities, business people and Joe public alike'.
An almost stubborn unwillingness on the part of Langan's to change will either endear this restaurant to your heart or ensure a hasty retreat in the other direction. It has not for example been embraced by the blogger community, where Urbanspoon shows just a single blog post dated 2008, (so all those people who want to avoid bloggers when you eat, this is a good a bet as any). The menu is broadly unchanged since opening and one imagines that staff are similarly long serving. The result is however that Langan's has a traditional English feel to it and it put us in mind of the much older Rules, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that.
The menu is described as Anglo-French and is quite extensive, running to a choice of something like 16 starters and close to 20 mains. There's a lot of 'old familiars' on there, nothing too challenging and starters include the likes of smoked salmon, parma ham with melon, duck liver pate etc. Don't expect any molecular craziness here, it's not that kind of place. We chose the Spinach soufflé & anchovy sauce, and the Smoked haddock and poached eggs, incongruously, the only thing on the menu written in French.
The soufflé seemed to have gained its perkiness through a liberal dose of corn starch, but getting over that factor (and the impact on texture), it actually tasted pretty good. The haddock and eggs dish let itself down with the poached eggs being overcooked so no longer having a runny yolk, but it seemed determined to make up for that fact with quantity, there being two eggs on toasted muffin with generous amounts of haddock generously topped with a very creamy sauce. Just a shame about the overcooked eggs though as this again was an otherwise decent starter (though left me so full I was ready to move to dessert).
An almost stubborn unwillingness on the part of Langan's to change will either endear this restaurant to your heart or ensure a hasty retreat in the other direction. It has not for example been embraced by the blogger community, where Urbanspoon shows just a single blog post dated 2008, (so all those people who want to avoid bloggers when you eat, this is a good a bet as any). The menu is broadly unchanged since opening and one imagines that staff are similarly long serving. The result is however that Langan's has a traditional English feel to it and it put us in mind of the much older Rules, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that.
The menu is described as Anglo-French and is quite extensive, running to a choice of something like 16 starters and close to 20 mains. There's a lot of 'old familiars' on there, nothing too challenging and starters include the likes of smoked salmon, parma ham with melon, duck liver pate etc. Don't expect any molecular craziness here, it's not that kind of place. We chose the Spinach soufflé & anchovy sauce, and the Smoked haddock and poached eggs, incongruously, the only thing on the menu written in French.
The soufflé seemed to have gained its perkiness through a liberal dose of corn starch, but getting over that factor (and the impact on texture), it actually tasted pretty good. The haddock and eggs dish let itself down with the poached eggs being overcooked so no longer having a runny yolk, but it seemed determined to make up for that fact with quantity, there being two eggs on toasted muffin with generous amounts of haddock generously topped with a very creamy sauce. Just a shame about the overcooked eggs though as this again was an otherwise decent starter (though left me so full I was ready to move to dessert).
ground floor dining room
Spinach soufflé & anchovy sauce
Smoked haddock and poached eggs
Amongst the mains, they offer a veal chop for one which appeals. A dish that could so easily have gone wrong, it was a delight that they got it so right and it was probably the highlight of the meal. The other order was bangers and mash but this is such a tradition at Langan's that they have named it after themselves: Langan's bangers and mash. I remember hearing a story a long time back, perhaps apocryphal, that East Endender Michael Caine himself insisted that it should be on the menu. How then can you not order that eh? Topped with white onion sauce, it was indeed a pretty good bangers and mash, driven by a quality sausage, and cooked properly, not overcooked or burnt. It was as much as you could hope for when you order, well, bangers and mash.
We're too full for desserts.
We're too full for desserts.
veal chop
bangers and mash, white onion sauce
During our visit, and we suspect always, Langan's enjoyed an older clientèle: we're guessing many people have many happy memories stretching back over a period of decades and they're happy to return here again and again. But Langan's is not just about yesterday, it's only themed that way, and there is without doubt many a new good time to be had here by a younger generation when they want somewhere with a touch of old school class in an interesting dining environment where the food is good enough and where the restaurant takes bookings. Put another way, some of the old grandeur may have faded, but there's still room for Langan's in the London dining scene.
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Langan's Brasserie website
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Langan's Brasserie website
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