It's had so much press and blogger interest that it would be impossible to pass this restaurant by. Given that it is owned by SHG and the irrepressible Richard Caring, owner of the Ivy and Caprice, in fact pick a famous restaurant and he probably has something to do with it. What's clever about all of his restaurants is that the food, and I mean this in the nicest possible way, is secondary to the experience. That's not to say that the food isn't good, it is it's just that you can have better quality food (at a much cheaper price) elsewhere. What you can't get elsewhere is the feeling that you are really amongst it, rubbing shoulders with the great and the good (well not necessarily good). You can't help scouring the room to see who you recognise -'Oh don't look now it's so and so off the telly'.
The Dean Street Townhouse is no exception. Right in the heart of Soho, juxtaposed advertising and film companies, it is a stunning dining room through it's simplicity. One thing that all the SHG locations have is brilliant design, nothing over the top, just that it all works, from plain but interesting tiling to well thought through furniture and a real stand out bar. Just through the design alone you can see why this is a very successful and talked about restaurant.
We started off with Bloody Mary's at the bar waiting for our table to become free. We were in no hurry and we had arrived early and a perfectly seasoned Bloody Mary kicked off proceedings. The Maître D showed us to our table (earlier than expected) and we were promptly given menus and presented with the wine list.
We decided on main course only, I went for the skate and my lunch partner opted for the steak. My dish came with nothing, just a piece of a skate wing and same capers. I ordered sides of chips and peas. The sides were £4 each and the skate was £19.95 so you were looking at a £30 dish with service with what was basically posh fish and chips. Also there were no frills with the peas - none of your creamed peas cooked in stock with onion and lettuce - these were, unless I am very much mistaken, out of a packet. However it was a good piece of fresh fish and I did enjoy it. The steak was cooked well, having been asked for rare, that's how it came - nothing more to say about that.
All in all the experience was a good one. Like a lot of lunch or dinners, the company tends to be a big factor in whether you are going to enjoy yourself. Dean Street Townhouse, and mine was good. DST is definitely about the experience, like I said no complaints about the food and the cost of it - and it's priced accordingly - if you want to hang out and get noticed that's what you pay!
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