The Cadogan and the Great Taste Awards have created a showcase restaurant highlighting award-winning British producers from across the UK. For nearly two decades, the Great Taste Awards have been regarded as the ultimate food industry accolade. Find out what the discerning diner thought of the restaurant.
The Look, The Feel
The Great Taste is perfectly situated on Sloane Street in Knightsbridge, it is in the heart of the city’s most affluent district and shares the surrounding streets with some of the finest retail and designer names. Chanel, Hermes, Cartier, Harrods and Harvey Nichols, to name a few, are all within walking distance. This charming luxury London hotel offers a choice of 65 sophisticated bedrooms and suites, decorated in rich velvets and traditionally English tweeds.
The dining room is extremely welcoming as we’re the staff. Despite arriving early our table was ready and waiting – perfectly situated by the window. The dining room matches the traditional feel of the luxury hotel; a very English affair; very Elysium. With the look and feel every discerning gent could only wish for, we were very hopeful that the food would impress. The bar had been set very, very high.
The Main Event
The menu varies and changes regularly. The menu at the time we visited was primarily designed by Wahaca’s Thomasina Miers and The Sunday Times’ Lucas Hollweg. The menu is extra flexible giving you a choice between one, two or three courses, costing £18, £23 and £28 respectively. The variety is great; plenty on offer for the hungry and the leaf eaters.
The starter recommended was the courgette flower on the cusp of bursting with goat’s cheese, adorned with wild honey, cucumber & hazelnuts. It looked beautiful and was busting with flavour. The actual starter was put together with great thought and craft. It was clear this was not created on the spare of the moment. We were impressed.
The main course was the extremely flavoursome lamb sweetbreads and neck fillet with smoked garlic mash, broad beans, sweet beetroot and tarragon. The lamb was cooked to perfection and the cuts were of fine quality. Not easily impressed with mash; we had obviously been missing out!
The Steak Tartare with a sauce gribbiche and Wagyu beef dripping crumbs as well as the poached pheasant egg were just as gorgeous! We couldn’t help but take a sneak peek at the dishes of other diners. Everyone with us was equally impressed with their mains. We had clearly been missing out – diners were local and could give enough praise to the staff and of course the food.
The desserts were superb! The Great Tastes take on the Strawberry & Cream was beautiful but the show stopper was the chocolate and chilli cake with Cornish Clotted Cream. The chilli was beautifully blended into the cake, making it a fantastic and unlikely combination. The three courses were enough to satisfy even the most hungry gent.
Verdict
The talented Head Chef of the Knightsbridge restaurant, Oliver Lesnik, has been part of the success story at The Cadogan since January 2008. Oliver has worked with some of the best in the business at a range of well-known establishments such as Petrus, Gordon Ramsay at Hospital Road, and Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s. The fine dining element was evident – with those credentials we know why!
The menu is inspiring and all the ingredients are UK sourced and scored – the menu provides a great breakdown for anyone new to the Great Taste.
Elysium Magazine was extremely pleased with the visit to the Great Taste at The Cadogan, a beautiful setting and quaint location provides the perfect atmosphere to wine and dine. The food is wonderful and the prices are very reasonable. A great venue for a romantic meal to impress any lady.
VENUE INFORMATION:
75 Sloane Street,
London, SW1X 9SG
Open for lunch Tuesday to Sunday Noon – 2.30pm; and dinner Tuesday to Saturday 6pm – 10pm.
To make a reservation call 0800 023 5445.