One Twenty One Two – The Royal Horseguards

2 Reviews on “One Twenty One Two – The Royal Horseguards”

• Sunny In London

  Finally! For weeks I have been anticipating the arrival of February 16th the day I was going to meet 19 other London bloggers at the Royal Horseguards Hotel Afternoon Tea. I decided to venture in to town a few hours early to explore, since it was a truly glorious sunny in London day (Yep not a cloud in the sky!) Its a good thing too, because I wasnt aware my tube line (Northern, booooo!) was partially closed for repairs. One rail replacement bus and two hours later, I finally arrived at the Royal Horseguards Hotel, a truly beautiful, cozy location. I wish you could smell the captivating scent of roses which filled the lobby.The hotel is located steps from Trafalgar Square and overlooks the Thames, with a spectacular view of the London Eye from the terrace.I made it to the luxurious private room, which had been arranged by Selena, and began to introduce myself to a group of bloggers I have admired through my screen but never had met face to face. The room buzzed with conversations about our blogs, our lives and what brought us to London, as nearly all of us are expats. I grabbed my seat and tried my best to enjoy all the conversations around the table while also eating the tasty treats.Chef Ben Purton, (Follow him on Twitter. Hes FAB! @Chefben1975) made an extra special effort not only to prepare a wonderful menu for us, but also to accommodate our gluten and dairy free requests. He met with us to discuss the menu AND we all received a complimentary glass of CHAMPAGNE! (You know thats my favorite, Sunny friends!) Oh and if that wasnt already heavenly enough, we each received gift boxes filled with TRUFFLES!The room buzzed with our excited conversations as we connected over the sandwiches, sweets and tea.The menu featured: Homemade Plain and Raisin Scones with Cornish Clotted Cream and Homemade Strawberry Jam After Eight Shot Glasses- A Dark Chocolate, Cacao Barry Inaya Chocolate, Cremeux with Novus Egyptian Mint Tea Pannacotta and Crme de Menth Gel Pink Peppercorn and Strawberry Ganache Stripy Macaroons Banana Roulade Passion Fruit and Raspberry Swirly Meringue Lollipops Mango Curd Tarts with Coconut Marshmellow and Mango Glaze Lemon Meringue Cupcakes Selection of Homemade Sandwiches: Coronation Chicken, Cream Cheese and Smoke Salmon, Hummus and Cucumber and Roast Beef and HorseradishI made so many new friends and want to thank Selena for creating such a fantastic opportunity. sunnyinlondon.com

  October 28, 2014, 7:02 pm

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• Andy Hayler

  Those of advanced years or fans of old black and white films may recall that the telephone number of Scotland Yard used to be Whitehall 1212 (at least until the 1960s). In the days when telephone numbers were shorter and phone operators put you through manually, a movie star of the vintage of Alec Guinness would ask to be connected to Whitehall 1212. This explains the name of the restaurant, which is in The Royal Horseguards hotel in Whitehall Court, a Grade I listed building dating back to 1884 that housed the original Scotland Yard. Other former residents include H.G. Wells, Stafford Cripps and George Bernard Shaw. Whitehall 1212 was even the title of a weekly crime drama radio show. The building itself was also the original headquarters of the organisation that later became the Secret Intelligence Service MI6, so it does not lack for history. Given that they make a big point of the Scotland Yard connection in the marketing material and even on the menu, it seems bizarre that the display plates in the dining room are labelled one twenty one two rather than 1212, as if the designer had not read the brief. The dining room is on the ground floor of the hotel, with well-spaced large tables and comfortable old-fashioned chairs with high backs. A gentleman called Ryan Mattison is the head chef, and was on service this evening. The wine list included choices such as Howard Park Riesling 2011 at 48 for a wine that you can find in the high street for 14, Domaine Laporte la Comtesse 2012 at 65 for a wine that retails at 25, and Faustino 1 Gran Reserva 1970 at 120 for a wine that will set you back around 87 in a shop. Water was a ludicrous 5.50 a bottle.The bread was from Delice de France, which despite its exotic name comes from a factory in Southall. An amuse-bouche of goat cheese with beetroot was pleasant enough, but then the kitchen had done little other than just serve it (12/20). My starter comprised scallops with fish egg salad, smoked potato puree, chestnuts, quinoa and puffed rice with burnt butter. I quite liked the garnishes with their mix of textures, but although the scallops were cooked properly they were remarkably devoid of sweetness and flavour (12/20, mainly for the garnish). Poached salmon with watercress, celeriac, dill mayonnaise and prawn crackers was rather better, the salmon itself nicely cooked though again not having much flavour, but its accompaniments were good, such as a delicate prawn cracker and well-made mayonnaise (13/20).Dover sole was grilled and served with new potatoes and green beans. The fish was cooked properly though it seemed not to be of very high quality, but the new potatoes were stone cold, and a little pot of Hollandaise was inedible: cold and gloopy (11/20 if I ignore the sauce). By contrast my main course was rather good: rabbit loin was tender and was not dry, which is a common problem with this dish. Rib and leg of the rabbit were also served, with roasted chickpeas, purple sprouting broccoli, braised barley and blueberry jus. The sauce had quite good depth of flavour and the broccoli was lightly cooked (14/20).For dessert, rum baba was seriously dried out, served with mandarin oranges in various forms, which were fine but could not disguise the flaw in the main element of the dish (10/20). Pear tart tatin was better, served with macerated raisins and sultanas, warm butterscotch sauce and tonka bean ice cream. The fruit was not particularly well caramelised but the pastry was reasonable and the ice cream had smooth texture (13/20). Coffee was from Lavazzo, which varies considerably in quality by sub-brand, this seemingly not being one of their higher priced ones.Service was well-intentioned, though topping up was erratic. The bill came to 102 a head with a good bottle of Spanish wine (Rioja Mas La Plana 2006) between us. If you ordered a modest wine then your bill for three courses, water and coffee would come to around 75 a head. This seemed to me far too much given the distinctly uneven standard of the meal. andyhayler.com

  August 14, 2014, 7:41 pm

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