If you haven't yet visited the new St
Pancras Renaissance Hotel in what was formerly part of the St Pancras station
building then I would suggest you get down there quick smart before the secret
gets out. Whilst Londoners might
write this place off as a transient location for those coming through, to and
from the city, thanks to the unique site and distinctive internal structure, the 207 rooms and three restaurants/lounges here have a lot more going for them than your average journey hotel. My specific experience was with the
Booking Office Bar, a loftily ceilinged room lined on one side with a smart 29m long marble bar top and on the other with enormous windows looking out into the
station. This was the station's former booking office for trains to the north but the atmosphere in here is
of a grandiose New York hotel, with bucket deep leather chairs that could have
come straight from a gentleman's club, dark walnut wood and the original
19th century brickwork. No too shabby at all.
I went to the Booking Office for Sunday brunch
with a friend and to be honest it was not a great start when I arrived for the
table I had specially booked for brunch at 11 and was told that breakfast
finished at 11. However, my friend has a bona
fide gift of the gab and we managed to get them to accept our order despite the fact that it was 11.07. For me, it was corned beef hash with a specifically requested non-runny egg (I know it's not
the done thing but sometimes I can't stomach a liquid yolk) and for him eggs Florentine.
(Top: Corned beef hash Bottom: Eggs Florentine)
We chatted our way through quickly served
coffees and a watermelon smoothie, watching the Eurostar hustle and bustle through
the enormous Booking Office windows and feeling pleasantly secluded. When the food came,
my hash was minuscule - served on an enormous plate! - but when I tasted it I could
see why it was dished up small, as it was very rich. It was also utterly
delicious, with a punchy hollandaise and meaty hash (complete with that
specifically requested hard yolk) and some iron rich spinach that was well
drained. My only criticism would be that the hash lacked the crunch that I was
expecting. I wonder if this was the bowl nature of the plate (see above), which would have encouraged
moistness…
(Top: Apple and rhubarb crumble Bottom: Sticky toffee pudding)
This brunch took place with the friend of
mine who always has to do desert with brunch, and so despite feeling pretty
full we perused the puddings. I allowed myself to be steamrollered into a
sticky toffee pudding, rich with an unctuous sugary sauce and spongy, moist
cakey consistency and an enormous bowl of clotted cream. For my friend, an apple and rhubarb
crumble. It was all delicious but too much - but that was our own fault.
The Booking Office is a good spot for
brunch – not amazing as it’s more of a hotel breakfast feel place than a real
brunch spot – but good food, unhurried service and a fantastic setting. At £25 ish each for the food it did
fall on the expensive side, but it wasn’t ludicrous for what we had and I didn't feel stung. Having also spent a few very pleasurable hours drinking cocktails there a few weeks before – the kind that make you flush up and giggle lots and are served with a napkin and a little ornate tin of snacks – I’d say that if you want to be bowled over by the Booking Office then go at a time you can work your
way through the cocktail list. And then maybe do breakfast the next morning.
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