Weekly Review: Dining Room at The Goring

Following refurbishment, the place favoured by royals continues hitting the heights.

Quick hit: Eat royally and experience classical excellence at this refreshed London institution.

Details: Booking essential. Victoria. ££££.
Restaurant website. More on Instagram and from Michelin.
Find it on Google Maps. 15 Beeston Pl, SW1W 0JW.

Classical, fine dining is out of fashion these days. National critics like Tim Hayward, William Sitwell, and Marina O’Loughlin have all turned from it. And although I disagree with them, I can understand their point. Too many “fine dining” experiences can be snooty, unimaginative, and unjustifiably expensive.

So, when the Goring Hotel re-opened its Michelin starred dining room last April after a major renovation, none of the national papers ran reviews.

The Goring offers a reflection of Britishness that many Londoners find uncomfortable and even embarrassing. For them, its status as a favourite of the late Queen and her mother is a not selling point. That it remains a favourite of the Princess of Wales and her family, even less so.

And yet.

The Goring is a faithful representation of how many foreign visitors see Britain. And, indeed, how a substantial number of Britains see their own country.

On a personal level, The Goring has been a recurring setting for key life moments. I’ve gotten to know potential clients and interviewed new colleagues there. I accepted a job in the bar. And my sister and her kids turned the Goring slightly upside down during summer visit a few years ago.

Unlike most hotels, the Goring remains owned by the same family who establish it more than 100 years ago. It offers a window into Edwardian London — a time full of flapper dresses and bombastic cocktails. And it provides a stellar experience with attentive, throw-back service in everything it does.

So, unlike the national critics, I was happy to hear that owners had invested in a total overhaul of the kitchen and a complete refurbishment of the restaurant, and I added it to my list of places to try. It took longer than I’d hoped, but on a recent Friday, my wife and I visited for dinner.

The experience began in the lobby. As I walked in, a doorman and a host each greeted me, and I mentioned that I had a reservation in the restaurant but wanted to have a drink in the bar first. No problem. The host whisked my coat away while a colleague planted me in a soft leather chair with a great view. A glass of champagne and bar nibbles soon arrived.

I sat scribbling for a while about the decline of great hotels in the U.S., and reflected on cities like London, Paris, Dubai, and Singapore where having a great restaurant is a prerequisite for any great hotel.

When my wife arrived, we were shown into the dining room and seated together on an old-fashioned curved banquette at a corner table with a great view of the whole dining room.

Over the course of the evening, we considered our fellow diners. There were at least three birthdays. Two were family celebrations, and one was a pair of couples. There was one table of evident tourists, and a table of gentlemen who I imagined were formed colleagues, now all retired, catching up over dinner. The Goring: A place for occasions.

The new dining room was designed by Russel Sage Studio, the team behind places as wide ranging as the Zetter Townhouse and The Savoy Grill. It boasts hand painted wallpaper and a rich carpet decorated in reds and creams that would seem opulent even to royal feet. There are white table cloths and monogrammed chargers and lots of space. A conversation in The Goring will certainly remain private.

The Goring Dining Room, viewed from my table.

The wine list was thick and dominated by classical French selections. We wound up choosing a lovely chablis and a fantastic 2008 red Burgundy.

Food started with a half dozen Cumbrae oysters. From the west coast of Scotland, they were big and sweet. The Goring served them with a sauce made from champagne and shallots — a first experience for me, and I loved it. The shallots slightly muted the champagne, and the fizz took some of the bite out of the shallots. The result was a lovely flavour that balanced but didn’t overpower the oysters.

My starter was “Goring Eggs Drumkilbo,” a speciality of the house. It combines something like an egg mayonnaise with crab and lobster for a decadent treat. My wife went for “Sharpham cheese agnolotti” which was served with chestnut soup, and it was a real highlight. The cheese flavour was big and wonderful while the soup provided luscious balance.

Eggs Drumkilbo, a house specialty, managed to be both pretty and yummy.

For main, I went for Aylesbury duck, which was served with a hazelnut pain perdu. The duck and its accompanying sauce were perfectly cooked, the fat rendered, and the skin crisp. The pain perdu was a bit too sweet for me, and I was glad to have ordered the hispi cabbage side. My wife’s chicken was excellent, and the accompanying confit egg yolk was a highlight.

Dessert was baked Alaska, and for me, this was the one failure of the evening. It was a single portion, and it had been finished in the kitchen rather than flamed table side. I mention that only because the front-of-house team was busily flambéing rum baba at a nearby table, so the facilities were at the ready. Sadly, the underside of my Alaska was burned, and the whole meringue layer was over cooked. The ice cream was delicious, but on my second bite, I realised that it hadn’t been flamed with brandy at all. That diminished the dish, removing the acidic balance to the super-rich ice cream.

Baked Alaska was a little overcooked was diminished by lack of brandy.

There were one or two tiny service issues, as well. An accompaniment to the eggs still had a pastry chef’s separating paper on the bottom. The wait staff was a minutely disorganised at times. But it was far better than my experience at the Ritz, where the staff were simply rude.

Notwithstanding those small imperfections, I thoroughly enjoyed my evening at the Goring. It was pleasant to have eaten royally. Indeed, it was tempting to fantasise about enjoying a similar meal down the street with the late Queen. And as we wandered up Beeston Place towards the palace, it was easy to imagine swapping my sport coat for a dinner jacket, and making the same walk in 1925, 1955, or 1985.

We’ve come to describe places that conjure this feeling as, “timeless,” but I’m not sure that’s right. For me, the Goring is transportive. It offers a way of seeing London as it has been through the years. And in a city where change is constant — where buildings come down, and new ones go up; where today’s hot spot is just tomorrow’s memory — it’s reassuring to have a few things that ground us, where change comes very slowly, where the old ways are preserved, and traditional excellence remains front and centre.

To finish, we must consider whether the Goring is a good venue for a professional lunch (or something else), and I believe it is. That said, you’ll want to consider your guest’s preferences carefully. The Goring won’t be comfortable for everyone. But for an overseas visitor or someone who likes classics, the Goring is a great choice.

To be more specific, the Goring’s bar is a fabulous place for a professional cocktail; the Dining Room offers a superb breakfast experience; and it is excellent for dinner. It’s a la carte menu would be good for a long lunch, but plan on spending the afternoon.

Thanks for reading the week’s review. Have you been to the Goring? What did you think? And what are your other go-to classic London spots? Let me know in the Comments. And please subscribe if you haven’t already.