BUILT on the site of a Tudor palace, Somerset House’s commanding position on the banks of the Thames is no longer so obvious. The Strand’s clutter of ill-assorted buildings and constant traffic conspire to diminish the visual presence of one of London’s grandest edifices . But, after stepping through its arched entranceway and standing in the wide open courtyard, its magnificence is inescapable. Movie location scouts love the place. Now home to creative enterprises and myriad artistic events and exhibitions – plus an ice rink in winter – Somerset House is firmly part of London’s cultural landscape.
It also has a place on the culinary scene for inside its dignified buildings, and readily within walking distance, there are places to eat and drink that will satisfy gourmets, fun seekers and connoisseurs of classic restaurants and bars.
Spring gracefully evokes the architectural splendour of Somerset House; if Jane Austen had time-travelled into the future, she would have approved of its tasteful interior. The dining room makes superb use of the width, arches and pillars to create an airy, elegant atmosphere in refined luminous white. This is eighteenth-century chic.
The light-filled interior of Spring restaurant
Spring’s menus are based on seasonal produce from a 16-acre farm in Hertfordshire, including the jostaberries – a cross between the gooseberry and blackberry and completely new to me – that brought some tang to the ice cream dessert. The noted chef and cookbook writer, Skye Gyngell, has devised, in addition to her à la carte offerings, an innovative 3-course Scratch menu that makes use of ingredients that might otherwise be thrown away as unsuitable for a classy restaurant. She has further pushed out the responsible consumerism envelope by making Spring’s kitchen 100% plastic-free.
The other enticing restaurant within Somerset House is Bryn Williams and, given the Welsh connection, if you drop by for a cocktail at the bar, the Brecon Five vodka suggests itself for an appropriate mix.
Bryn Williams helped break down the meat monopoly over gourmet dining and the fruit and vegetable-themed images on the walls of the dining area are testimony to this culinary coup d’état. The menu, though, diplomatically bridges meat and vegetarian loyalties so no one is excluded. Carnivores can enjoy slow cooked lamb or roast chicken; piscetarians have the choice of rainbow chard or monkfish; while vegetarians have the delight of mixing pickled mushrooms with Italian kale (cavolo nero) and orecchiette pasta from the south of that country. Whatever you eat, the setting is a tranquil one and window seats look out to the Embankment and the quietly flowing Thames.
Grilled hispi cabbage, apple, pork chop and cider dressing at Bryn Williams
If 100% vegetarian food or vegan choices are your priority, it’s a pleasant walk across Blackfriars Bridge and along Temple to Tidbits for their new summer menu that has just kicked in
The briefest of journeys – we’re talking three minutes – to a restaurant outside of Somerset House involves crossing the Strand and slipping around the corner onto Aldwych for the roped entrance to Zela. It is part of the ME hotel and, in place of stately Georgian elegance, you step into a low-ceilinged dining area where dimmed lighting helps keep the atmosphere moody. Colour comes in shades of green from foliage springing forth around the place; sound from live music – featuring a harp when I was there – on Thursday and Friday evenings. Zela has its own character and you won’t feel like you’re in the heart of London, especially if you ask for one of the Hikoki drinks and see it arriving in a smoke-filled bell jar.
Zela’s distinctive interior
The cuisine is original, mixing traditional Japanese dishes with Mediterranean produce, resulting in a menu that requires some pondering before you order. One of the starters, for instance, combines rice chips with Iberian ham; a main course could be a ceviche alongside kumquats; and dessert includes a classic French coolant with mandarin yuzu. Suffice to say that Zela is a restaurant where you experiment with novel food ideas without sacrificing the basics of careful preparation in the kitchen. My friend chose the kobe beef and, to my surprise, found the accompanying chopsticks perfectly adequate for breaking into and nibbling the incredibly tender meat.
Footsteps away from Zela’s entrance is access to Radio Rooftop, suitably named because, firstly, it does occupy a rooftop and, in addition, the building next door was the headquarters of the BBC when the first radio broadcast was made from there in 1922. If a window table is in the bag, you can enjoy a superb aerial view of Somerset House across the road and there is a coherence of sorts in gazing across at what was once a Tudor palace given that Radio Rooftop is a 21st-century fun palace. You should also be able to make out The Shard, London Eye, Houses of Parliament, St. Paul’s Cathedral and South Bank.
Looking across at Somerset House from Radio Rooftop
The kind of experience to be enjoyed at Radio Rooftop depends on the time of your visit: contemplative over breakfast or lunch; quietly relaxing as the afternoon draws on; and increasingly sociable as dusk envelops the coming night sky. Most visitors are here in the evenings for liquid concoctions and while the tasty sharing platters on the food menu may detain you longer than planned bear in mind the 90-minute slot for your table.
Finally, mention must be made of one of London’s most historic hotels – The Savoy – only a few minutes up the Strand from Somerset House. It is justly famous for the countless celebrities that have stayed there over its 15-year history and the accumulated glamour this has brought is one good reason for dropping in at The American Bar for an expertly prepared drink from the snazzy menu book. Live piano music early in the evening adds to the charm of the place and so does the gold leaf that came sprinkled over my cocktail. The food choices are sufficient for a light lunch and include a Reuben sandwich: perfectly acceptable, given its American origins, but instead of being packed with corned beef and sauerkraut – which surely must taste dreadful – comes in a vegan version full of tasty plant power.
Perfectly prepared cocktails at The American Bar in The Savoy
The Savoy has more than one restaurant but only Kaspar’s comes with a beguiling tradition originating in the 1920s. The story goes that a sculpture of a cat, Kaspar, was employed to fill an extra chair in order to prevent parties of 13 sitting down for a possibly unlucky meal. The restaurant is blessedly quiet, partly because live music at the adjoining Savoy Grill attracts diners there but the soothing sounds drift into your space so you get the best of both worlds.
The food at Kaspar’s is of the traditional seafood kind but with touches of extravagance; not gold leaf this time but caviar sprinkled over Loch Duart salmon. The décor, reflecting the heyday decades of The Savoy’s fame, is Art Deco by way of a chequered marble floor and an eye-catching circular bar over which large glass pendants hang, like stalactites designed by a fashion-conscious force of nature.
Loch Duart salmon tartare at Kaspar’s at Savoy
With a busy programme of events in store over the coming months, Somerset House is a cultural destination of note and, given the variety of quality restaurants and bars in its vicinity, a place to stay around during the long summer days ahead.
by Sean Sheehan