Before making my rez for Friday night din-din at the Belgraves hotel’s Pont Street restaurant, I skimmed the web for a few reviews. Ouch! I’m not sure whether what I came across was egregiously snarky or if Pont St subsequently got its act together, but my experience was way better than those I read about online.
Despite the cringe accompanying my perusal about Pont St, I was curious to see if sleb chef Sophie Michell could pull off a successful go in the wake of Mark Hix (who used to have a resto here). I reckon she has.
I very much enjoyed my starter dish of salt and pepper squid with kaffir lime, lemongrass and sweet and saffron aioli (£9.50) – not sure it was necessarily benefited by the saffron though. My main of lobster trofie with a bisque sauce and bone marrow (£25.50) was a treat as well. Dessert – a plate of “doughnut balls” filled with salted caramel and served with a (slightly too melted) small vanilla milkshake on the side (£6.50) – satisfied.
I dined with Kemey (we both found the restaurant a smart choice for a quiet date night) and was impressed with the yummy stuff on her side of the table. A side of truffle mash (£4.50) was particularly moreish. We enjoyed a glass of Cote du Rhone (sorry forget the label but it cost about £8 for a glass) each which went down a charm with most of what we ate (I should have gone with something else for my robustly flavoured main, but that’s my bad and I wasn’t up for more than one glass of wine to be honest).
Portion size was right, service was on the ball, the dining space was pleasant and comfortable (the hotel’s upstairs bar where Kemey and I met up was an especially plush setting to do just that), prices were reasonable considering the address.
Pont Street is located at the Belgraves hotel, 20 Chesham Place, SW1X 8HQ. Find out more at pontst.com.
The food sounds delicious hope you had a nice evening, I want the dessert 😉 xx