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St. John offers old menu at old prices
Fergus Henderson’s celebrated Smithfield restaurant St. John has announced that it will be marking its 30th anniversary by offering its 1994 menu at the original prices.
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1994 was a year of beginnings: Jeff Bezos founded Amazon, the Sony PlayStation was released in Japan, and Henderson left The French House and set out on his three decade long nose-to-tail odyssey in what was once an old smokehouse, gaining a Michelin Star 15 years later.
The menu that started it all will be available at the restaurant from 9 to 27 September, and for the same prices as 30 years ago.
So, whereas the signature bone marrow and parsley salad might set you back £16 today, for almost three weeks next month it will be a very reasonable £4.20. Tripe and onions will only be £7.80, and Welsh rarebit a mere £3.50 – today the latter is normally £10.50. If you still have room after capitalising on these low, low prices, an Eccles cake with Lancashire cheese will cost £4, compared to today’s price of £11.
Co-founder Trevor Gulliver, who handles the wine side, said that the idea behind the temporary price reduction was to say “thank you” to loyal patrons: “I hope that we’ve found a good solution — both are our future and may the good ship St John sail on, always the same but never the same.”
“Fergus and I are the lucky ones,” he continued, “and we might just have a little lunch somewhere along with a glass of a very good Burgundy, raising that toast to our many friends across the years.”
Unfortunately for those hoping to dine like it’s the late-20th century, this writer included, it appears that the restaurant is fully-booked for the duration of the time period.
Those lucky enough to have secured a table and hoping to also get a bargain on booze may be disappointed as wine and cocktails will not be sold at 1994 prices, and the current wine list will not be altered to include more old vintages to offer a taste of the 90s, though a spokesperson for the restaurant told db that “many” of the wines “will be from winemakers that the restaurant worked with in 1994”.
At present, a bottle of the 2020 St. John Claret costs £38, and a glass of its own-label Crémant comes in at £9.50.
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