db Eats: The Strand Dining Rooms

With ambitions to become The Wolseley of Charing Cross, The Strand Dining Rooms waltzed into the arched arcade next to Trafalgar Square this May.

Offering all-day dining, from breakfast and afternoon tea to dinner, while new to London’s burgeoning brasserie scene, the Russell Sage interiors are reassuringly familiar, from the marble table tops and inviting booths to the chocolate brown banquettes and abundance of polished wood, it feels like the restaurant has been around for years, which is no bad thing.

The cavernous, 180-cover site is the baby of Mark Harris, who notched up stints at The Capital Hotel, Green’s Restaurant & Oyster Bar and Searcy’s at the Gherkin before branching out with his own venture.

Guv’nor cocktail

Serving modern British fare that keeps a keen eye on the seasons, even the cocktails have a seasonal twist, with a smoky, Talisker-based concoction having recently been added as an ode to autumn.

Wine meanwhile, is sourced from the likes of Bibendum, Corney & Barrow, Flint Wines and Decorum Vintners.

Beginning my visit with a drinks industry friend at the bar, the rye-based Guv’nor caught my eye, blending Rittenhouse Rye with Martini Rosso, house bitters and a Kirsch-soaked maraschino cherry.

Our Brazilian barman went beyond the call of duty on the presentation front, serving the drink in two acts with half arriving in a cut crystal glass garnished with the boozy cherry and the remainder poured into a tiny glass decanter resting on a bed of ice with a twist of orange peel on the side should I require it.

pork croquettes

The cocktail was wonderfully balanced, sharpening my appetite and easing me into the evening. To nibble on, I ordered the pork croquettes served on pretty pink crockery, which turned out to be mini morsels of joy, their crunchy golden coats of armour housing piping hot pillows of juicy pulled pork.

And so to our booth. Visiting on a Wednesday evening in August, the restaurant was eerily quiet, though it allowed for us to be doted upon by staff falling over themselves to be friendly.

Being a hot summer night, the lure of the goat’s cheese croquettes with summer greens and a raspberry vinaigrette appealed and proved an uplifting ensemble, the salty tang of the soft cheese complementing the tart sweetness of the vinaigrette and both given texture by the crunch of the greens. The only failing was that I wished there was more of it.

goat’s cheese croquettes and summer greens

Having been disappointed by the beef tartare on a previous visit, which was a disconcerting and unappetising grey in colour, I went for warmed up meat instead in the form of an 8oz sirloin of Dedhm Vale beef with vine tomatoes, béarnaise sauce and triple cooked chips.

Glistening expectantly, the charred flesh was smoky, juicy and terrifically tender.

There are few things more satisfying in this world than a well cooked piece of meat. Simplicity here is key. It isn’t rocket science and doesn’t require culinary acrobatics but if hailing from a top supplier and cooked for exactly the right number of seconds, then a medium-rare sirloin is indeed a thing of beauty.

All the accompanying items, from the sweet ruby red tomatoes, to the rich béarnaise were present and correct, while the triple cooked chips were sufficiently crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

treacle tart

To pair with my meat, our sommelier suggested we venture to Barbera d’Alba with a 2011 from small producer Josetta Saffirio, boasting an adorable label featuring a pointy-hatted garden gnome.

Soft, supple, silky and seamless on the palate, the northern Italian drop offered a complex mix of black cherry, warming spices, bitter chocolate, smoky notes and a flinty minerality.

With Ella and Nina’s mellifluous tones oozing like treacle through the speakers, dessert was a double-pronged affair, with my guest and I going halves on the lemon tart with raspberry sorbet and treacle tart with vanilla ice cream.

Both were delightful, the former, with its crème brulée-like burnt top and zingy innards giving Theo Randall’s effort a run for its money, while the treacle tart was warm, gooey and comforting in its sugary sweetness.

With its prime location, classic cocktails, friendly staff and fairly priced, largely well executed food (bar the zombie-grey tartare), The Strand Dining Rooms has all the right ingredients to succeed. All it needs to do now is build up a loyal army of regulars in order to secure its status as The Wolseley of WC2.

The Strand Dining Rooms, Grand Buildings, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN; Tel: +44 (0)20 7983 4750