TOM PARKER BOWLES: A French-inspired London spot that I will return to again and again
EATING OUT
Sometimes, you know that a restaurant’s going to be a good ’un way before you’ve had your first bite. And 64 Goodge Street is most definitely one of those places.
OK, so anything that comes from the Woodhead Restaurant Group – those people behind the reliably excellent Portland, Clipstone and The Quality Chop House – is bound to impress.
Will Lander and Daniel Morgenthau are proper restaurateurs. Their art lies not just in opening sites where people want to go, but ensuring that we’ll come back, time after time.
And 64 Goodge Street, with its soft, sexy, mellow light, immediately charms and seduces, an alluring room in which you want to linger.
The service, too, is sublime; sharp, but never pushy, friendly, rather than cloyingly over-chummy. Certainly not the sort of establishment where waiters instruct you to, urgh, ‘enjoy’.
Kintyre smoked salmon with blinis and crème crue at 64 Goodge Street, which serves ‘French cooking from an outsider’s perspective’
The sommelier is every bit the equal to their typically impressive wine list.
As for the food… ‘French cooking from an outsider’s perspective’, according to head chef Stuart Andrew. Charmingly modest, perhaps, but this is a modern bistro that would make even the most cynique of Parisians crack a smile of pure greedy delight.
The menu reads like a French romance: Bonjour Tristesse by way of Marylebone, featuring rabbit niçoise and snail bon bons, one of the year’s great dishes – breaded, deep-fried balls of mollusc and bacon that gush torrents of garlic butter as you crack through the crust.
One is certainly not enough. Scallops, beautifully caramelised and immaculately cooked, perch atop a pile of lentils, surrounded by a moat of silken beurre blanc. There’s a precision to the cooking here, and balance, of both taste and texture.
Mains are every bit as fine: a saddle of lamb with crisp skin, soft fat and just the right amount of chew; hewn from a superior beast.
Lobster vol-au-vent with sauce americaine is pure, unashamed old-school deluxe, the whole lavished with a slick of buttery, boozy sauce. Add in a side order of aligot, as light as cheesy mashed potato can get, and we’re done. No room for pudding.
Which just means we’ll have to come back. This is a place for dates, family dinners, long lunches and solo sojourns. I’m already planning my return.
- About £50 per head. 64 Goodge Street, London W1; 64goodgestreet.co.uk
DRINKS: Charlotte’s low- and zero-ABV beers
This drinks category is thriving, with an abundance of appetising non-boozy tipples that don’t compromise on flavour.
Be it a stout, an IPA or a lager, you’ll find my picks below widely available at supermarkets, pubs, bars and restaurants. So cheers – to a clear head!
L-R: Guinness 0.0 (0%), £5 (4 x 440ml), Tesco; Big Drop Brewing Co Paradiso Citra IPA (0.5%), £1.55, Waitrose; and LOAH Peach Lager (0.5%), £12.50 (6 x 330ml), loah.beer
Guinness 0.0 (0%), £5 (4 x 440ml), Tesco.
Bringing those classic malty flavours with a hint of coffee beans and dark chocolate – crack open this smooth stout as you watch the tense rugby quarter-finals today!
Big Drop Brewing Co Paradiso Citra IPA (0.5%), £1.55, Waitrose.
I’m a big fan of this accessible IPA from a market-leading low alcohol brewer, with its zesty citrus streak delivering a thirst-quenching edge.
LOAH Peach Lager (0.5%), £12.50 (6 x 330ml), loah.beer.
This peachy lager exudes fun – it was launched in 2020 by an entrepreneur who loves experimentation and creativity, as well as the community that’s at the core of Loah.
Lucky Saint Unfiltered Lager (0.5%), £1.80, Sainsbury’s and Beavertown Lazer Crush IPA (0.3%), £1.75, ocado.com
Lucky Saint Unfiltered Lager (0.5%), £1.80, Sainsbury’s.
Here’s a dependable and crowd-pleasing lager – my go-to low-ABV when I’m out and about, it is gently fruity, crisp and refreshing.
Beavertown Lazer Crush IPA (0.3%), £1.75, ocado.com.
Impress your friends with this trendy IPA – bursting with citrus and tropical fruit notes, balanced by hoppy bitterness. It’s big on flavour yet has only the faintest trace of alcohol.
