Caxton Grill sits comfortably inside the excellent St Ermin’s Hotel in London. The hotel itself is a great hotel with high standards, so The Caxton Grill has a lot to live up to. Fortunately is seems quite relaxed in doing so.
Our evening began with cocktails in the bar. We had The Big Smoke and The Home Counties. The Big Smoke was a mixture of vodka, passion fruit puree and orange juice. The Home Counties was vodka with seasonal fruits. Both were very well mixed and tasted delicious.
Once we had finished our cocktails, we were seated. The décor is nice and relaxed, the dining room airy and comfortable. The ideal combination for a nice meal. Our server was calm and knowledgeable and talked us through everything, which was a nice touch.
“The Caxton Grill cooked with real care and attention.”
Our starters were grilled Haloumi and home-made gnocchi with walnuts. The grilled Haloumi was served with baby beets, black pepper and chives and was perfectly cooked. The gnocchi was obviously home-made and stuffed with baby spinach and gorgonzola and had walnuts spread over them. Apart from the walnuts, the dish was excellent.
Main course consisted of a sirloin steak and the catch of the day. We also ordered sides of mashed potato, French fries and purple sprouting broccoli. The steak was prime meat. It was thick, juicy and perfectly cooked. A delight to eat.
The catch of the day was sea bass, which was served whole and was stuffed with a delicate parcel of thyme. The fish was also perfectly cooked, flaky and deliciously perfumed from the herb.
Both main courses and the starters were perfectly prepared, were obviously fresh and cooked with real care and attention. Our only criticism is one of fussiness of the sides and the inclusion of crushed hazelnuts with the Sprouting Broccoli. The French fries were covered in garlic oil, the mashed potato had herbs mixed in. None of that was necessary in our opinion and detracted from the overall meal.
Otherwise, each dish was excellent. As was the service, the atmosphere and our experience as a whole. We would definitely return here again.
The Bill: £75 per head
