I’ve got a bit of a thing for decadent design, and even before we had looked over the menu, the lounge at 100 Wardour St had me drooling over their 1930s style chairs nestled amongst a cocktail-parlour-deco ambience.
CREDIT: 100 Wardour Street
The content of all the menus is seriously enticing. The cocktail menu has such clever composition that even the most healthiest of people will be wanting to try a cup of their liquor. Laced with trendy ingredients like agave, maple syrup, activated charcoal, various nuts and lots of different herbs and fresh fruits. Savvy, fun & innovative.
To start, the Cauliflower tabbouleh (£6) made a wonderfully refreshing, cleansing opening to the meal. Lemon laden and plump golden raisins run through the dish along side bee’s pollen and an abundance of fresh herbs. Totally my kind of food, full of flavour and so nourishing.
The steak tartare, provencal style (£7) – was perfection in its balance between sharp citrus, pungent parsley, silky steak, a creamy golden egg yolk and a nice hit of chilli heat that sat comfortably at the roof of your mouth.
What seemed to be a popular dish amongst other tables in our view was the baked chilli crab (£17), thus in FOMO, that’s what we ordered. Served in the shell with a crispy and cheesy top. A creamy dish that could have turned out to be quite heavy, but it was ultimately light, being lifted by use of more fresh herbs and a slight warmth from chilli pepper.
Clearly feeling fishy, we also got the seared cod (£16). Heavenly. Perfectly pearly flesh with a crispy skin. In orbit around the godly cod on the plate were artichoke hearts, dried tomatoes and an intense hit of homemade pesto. I actually wrote a cuss word in my notes for this dish on the night. It was f**k.
Unfortunately I didn’t get on with the crushed josper potatoes as a side dish, the potatoes didn’t taste right, almost off, but the wilted greens with garlic and lemon were beautiful and went really well with both our mains. All sides are priced @ £3.50.
Feeling suitably nourished and full of goodness, we nearly justify ordering three desserts between both of us, but decide to be sensible. Izu’s French toast (£5.50)- I ordered this for the accompanying tonka bean ice cream but the actual winner was the french toast. The toast was creamy yet crunchy with a heavy vanilla flavour (sugary as sin but it was so good i didn’t even care). The ice cream was full of caramelly sweet, nutty and salty notes. There was also a hint of honeycomb. Magical.
Chocolate ganache (£5.95) – Deep, dark and rich, almost mousse-like. Crunchy nuts and a milk ice cream come with it too, the presentation was slightly underwhelming and the dessert itself was nothing to sing about but still a good dessert.
The service was flawless, one kind soul even taking my hand to lead us to our table. Which was welcomed as I was a little disorientated by the busy and buzzy atmosphere that makes itself known as soon you enter. I also feel everything is extremely reasonably priced for the quality and execution of each dish.
The lounge at 100 Wardour St has a great energy and stunning food, hence why they are five stars from me. If i hadn’t had a train to catch we would have slinked our way downstairs to where they often have live entertainment, check their website for further details. They also have set and pre/post theatre menu options available.
Reviewed by : @Lohanjordan
ADDRESS: 100 Wardour Street, Soho, London, W1F 0TN
TELEPHONE: 0207 314 4000
PRICE: £££ (explained)
STAR: ***** (explained)
TIPPING POLICY: http://www.100wardourst.com/about/
