Weekly Review: Brooklands
A soaring experience from take-off to touch down, you won't go wrong whether you've got an hour or the whole afternoon.
Quick Hit: Fine dining with altitude. Great food to equal great views. A space-age experience that will have you looking for your long-promised flying car.
Details: Booking essential. Belgravia. ££££.
Restaurant website.
More on Instagram and from the Michelin Guide.
Find it on Google Maps. The Peninsula, 1 Grosvenor Pl, London SW1X 7HJ
Author’s Note: I promise to branch out beyond Michelin starred, fine-dining places starting with next week’s review, and, over time, I’ll cover a properly diverse range of options, I swear. I just need to be better about taking photos.
The full picture: A cynic might suggest that Brooklands was designed with Instagram in mind. The guy two tables over whose only companion was his gigantic DSLR would enthusiastically agree.
But I’m not cynical, so my take is more generous: Brooklands is photogenic because everything about it is beautiful.
It sits on the 8th floor of the new Peninsula Hotel. From the bar, the view looks over Wellington Arch and across Green Park and St. James Park. The restaurant has its own terrace overlooking Hyde Park.
Brooklands is an historic centre of British auto racing and aerospace where Concorde was developed and partially manufactured. The dining room is decorated with a Concorde theme, right down to speed and altitude read-outs by the door.
But Brooklands is a lot more than its decor. The food is excellent.
The restaurant opened in September and leapt straight to two Michelin stars just weeks later. It’s easy to see why.
Everything kicked off with a selection of playful British classics. Other highlights included the Asparagus Benedict, Dorset Snail, and Lake District lamb. Dessert was a bonkers combination of a Scottish cep mushroom with banana and Créme Fraiche. It was amazing. A real discovery.
It’s all the brainchild of Claude Bosi, who has been running two-star Bibendum for years, and head chef Francesco Dibenedetto.
Bosi is on a roll. He has also just opened Josephine Bouchon in Fulham, which is attracting a lot of attention, and he is said to have a third new opening in the works.
If you have chosen Brooklands for lunch, the a la carte menu allows you to get back to the office for an afternoon meeting. There’s also an express set-menu option which is reasonably priced (for a two-star) and guaranteed to get you in and out in an hour. And there’s the full tasting menu if you’re able to settle in for the afternoon.
After lunch, if you’re interested in such things, there’s a humidor room next door to the restaurant where you can enjoy a cigar. Or you can return to the bar and enjoy the view.
The Brooklands experience can sound a little ‘boys and their toys.’ Planes, cars, cigars, etc. The cynic I mentioned earlier might suggest that the whole restaurant was designed for the Mayfair / Belgravia private equity and hedge fund set. But for me, the decor, food, and service all strike the right balance.
Brooklands gets just about everything right. And you never feel like you’re travelling at Mach 2.0. But 50,000 feet? Yeah. The whole time.
