Brompton Bar and Grill

Snails on toast with smoked bacon, garlic, girolles and bone marrow

which I have to say is on its way to winning my dish of the year, its that good.

On the site of what used to be Brasserie St Quentin there now stands a truly  deserving successor to that legendary restaurant. Brompton Bar and Grill (BB&G). Still very much a neighbourhood favourite by the look of some of the people that were there yesterday lunchtime. A very grand lady who would put Debo Devonshire to shame, lunching silently with her husband, a sixties supermodel with her toyboy sitting pride of place in the window and then a rash of young blood who have obviously fallen for the charms of Justina who runs the floor with a velvet glove. It was lovely watching her while she was talking a younger manager through the finer points of service, such as folding the customers napkin when the go to the loo. It was with that attention to detail that the whole of lunch progressed. BB&G is famous for its absinthe and we tried a couple of the cocktails infused with the stuff and very good they were too and not a green fairy was to be seen, thankfully.

The kitchen it would seem is run with the same slickness as front of house as the brigade of chefs didn't waist much time in getting our food to the table and the plates blisteringly hot meaning each mouthful was hot right up to the last one. I had the snails on toast which I must admit I was having again today and really everyday from now on. The combination of garlic, butter, snail, smoked bacon, bone marrow and girolles is one I will remember for a very, very long time. The rest of the food was all very well executed and was a great reflection to the chef who had nearly a full restaurant to cook for and whom all seated more or less at the same time. Ian who I was having lunch with had the set menu of Lobster Bisque followed by the fishcakes. I rather greedily had the steak after the snails with asides of fries and creamed spinach. With this we had a fantastic bottle of white Bordeaux Chateau Beaumont les Pierriers at the suggestion of the sommellier and really was a very good choice. There didn't seem to be any aspect of the service that needed to be improved on and more importantly they seemed to be having fun whilst doing it, which I find makes a huge difference to your own enjoyment. The General Manager  is doing sterling work and long may it continue.

The location of the restaurant is great for shopping and culture as its with walking distance from all the monolithic museums so beloved of children and culturally for the grown ups you have the V and A. BB&G are very keen on bringing entertainment onto the premises and are carving a rather good niche for themselves and promote all sorts of evenings in their downstairs room including Jazz nights and the grill club when Allens of Mayfair demonstrate the finer points of butchery and the next one is on the 5th December, Michael Gale of Allens twill  host the opening of the evening with demonstrations on the butchery and preparation of game birds, venison, rabbit and hare. Gary Durrant, BBG head chef, will then give a cooking demonstration on how to make a game terrine. 
Hosting the wine matching for the evening will be Patrick Sandeman of award winning wine dealers. They have Jazz nights so all going to make for a whole package and keeping everyone sweet.

I really do recommend BB&G a lot and the feel of the place would make an ideal setting for any celebration and with Christmas around the corner one to be kept in mind when booking. Their website is full of all sorts of things that you are far better off looking at your self, but it is worth having a look. www.bromptonbarandgrill.com