The Square official website
6-10 Bruton Street, Mayfair W1J 6PU 44 (0) 20 7495 7100
£ 35.00 set menu , £ 75.00 a la carte three courses
There is cause for abit of celebration because this is my 100th post. With that, it is only appropriate that I mark this momentous occasion with a write-up on one of London’s pre-eminent restaurants; Philip Howard’s The Square. A two Michelin star establishment, I duly avoided the set menu and blew my load on the a la menu.
The Square is not quite in the world top 50 (yet) – but in London, it’s quite highly revered. The man in the hot seat -a certain Mr Howard- was once a former apprentice of the mighty Roux Empire and he also served under the temperamental genius of Marco Pierre White. As of 2009, Philip has achieved dizzy heights in culinary terms – an artist seasoning his works with shades of French sophistication, everything about Philip and The Square screams glamour. Including the location of the restaurant in Bruton Street, tucked away in Berkerley ( ‘Bar’-ker-ly) Street which is home to luminaries such as Nobu B. and Benares.
Folks, I’m expecting fireworks from this one, you better pull up a chair.
An entry worth a century of posts
You know what the hardest part about writing a review is?
The first couple of paragraphs. I never really know how to strike the right balance between rambling on too long about background versus grabbing your attention against the backdrop of setting the scene. I tell you now, the bigger the reputation of the restaurant, the harder it is to begin. Because it’s so bloody posh, I feel the need to at least pay the chef respect in his attention to detail ( and his massive spending ) in making sure everything looks the part and that gaining entry to the restaurant is almost going to guarantee a silent gasp from guests.
Gasp.
It is the first work-day of the new year as I write this and I’m still feeling my way back into the swing of things. So far I still feel like I’m just getting to know you again and we are both being rather polite to one another, as if we haven’t spoken for a while. So let’s start with:
“How was your break? Did you have a good time away from your nagging co-workers? I bet you were quite glad to see them again today weren’t you?”
Alright, we’re making progress, the restaurant has high ceilings, that’s the first thing I noticed and an open-plan eating area reveals a mess-hall style dining space with glowing marble walls and smooth dark wooden floors, this meant that all eyes could see new guests enter the restaurant, like a debutant making her entrance. I for one am no debutant and I just want all eyes to look the other way.
( Except for the rather beautiful English rose sitting with the gentlemen who looks like Martin Johnson in a shirt, hmm, I really should stop staring. )
Menu nu
The two pages of large format (A1) feature a rather short list of starters and mains ( I counted about 7 ) and the descriptions are decidedly succinct. Sandwiched in between the a la carte, are A4 prints of the £35.00 set lunch. (£30.00 sans pudding)
Very good value considering the number of stars. But today is not a day to be fiddling with child’s play. I went for the jugular with this one. £75.00 for three courses… and a big bottle of sparkling.
Ouch, this better be good.
Pre-starters
Or freebies.
This one came in a tiny shot glass. My waiter was a red-blooded Frenchman with an all too authentic French accent too. Though I couldn’t exactly make out all he was saying (a good thing, this is a French restaurant afterall) , I did get the gist of it, a salted cod veloute (of sorts) with the slimmest slither of potato crisps. Ok, what the hell am I suppose to do with the slanted crisp? Am I suppose to pick it up or dunk it in?
No such thing as a free lunch eh.
I cracked the crisp into the soup and tasted a big spoonful of it. Intense flavours of very salty cod and potato. I can taste the flakes of cod, a good measure of cream, this tasted like fish and potato chowder, heavily salted.
Good, but nothing out of the ordinary, chunky and salty false start. More water please.
Starters
Lasagne of Dorset Crab with a Cappuccino of Shellfish and a Champagne Foam
Finally, my real starter arrives. You’ll notice this is one of the rare occasions where I didn’t get a glass of something something, to go with the food. While all looks well and good on the wine list ( healthy prices from £6.50 to £13.00 per glass ) , I felt I had already dumped my entire life savings into the meal itself. We are in a recession after all.
( What’s that now? Gordy Brown said he’s learnt from recessions of the past?! This from the man who vowed he’d done away with boom and bust. You’re shameful Gordy, that’s 25% of my annual take-home and I’m poorer than ever. )
Sniff, sniff. Oh. Fragrant aromas of creamy crab rising from the dish, very mellow and faint though. The dish is very colourful and seemingly glowed with Elven brilliance.
The foam is bubbly in my mouth (you can even hear the crackles) and it feels like it was cooked with lots of crab exoskeleton giving it a concentrated and super infused crab taste. The foam slowly morphs into a soup as I move toward the centre of the dish. It carried a milky texture soothingly smooth – like a good cappuccino – even though I could not detect hints of coffee. (not a bad thing)
In the middle sits hearty chucks of mellow crab and claw meat nestled between soft and chewy layers of pasta. The intensity of the crab flavour set my throat burning a little, though not a bad thing, because my mouth is absolutely bursting with flavours of the dorset sea and salt.
This was a lovely start to the meal, I felt a kind of serene calm as I finished the soup.
Look see in between the courses
I counted about twenty tables, smooth dark wood floors in a zigzag pattern. The open space enough had enough spot lights for brightness, the chairs were sturdy and comfy, spotless white table cloths on top of grey woollen sheets which act like a sort of under-dressing to hide your legs and keep your tushy warm.
Most of the walls are of a creamy marble giving a neutral warm feel, though the ‘main’ wall, behind where the kitchen sits (I’m guessing) is a bold claret red, almost dark pink, seemingly indicating something hot is cooking on the other side.
Mains
Fillet and Croustillant of Aged Ayrshire Beef with Cepes, Shallots, Bone Marrow and Red Wine
I love my red meat, I am normally a rib-eye sort of guy, I prefer abit more marbling and flavour in my steak as oppose to a skinny fillet. But on this occasion, I sprung for the most luxurious pick from the menu.
The rising steam carried hints of mushroom, sweet shallots and fragrant red wine. I couldn’t help but cut into the beautifully prepared beef. I asked for it to be medium rare (as per usual) and it was indeed a beautifully medium rare. I should say perfectly medium rare. The beef was not just tender, it was soft (yes, there is a difference). The taste of the beef was not overpowering but instead paired perfectly with the main ingredients of mushroom, red wine and spinach in balletic harmony.
Just the beef and spinach alone was a winner – this was a perfectly cooked steak with classic flavour pairings. In addition to the beef was an interesting axis in the form of these three parcels shaped like a kind of shot-gun shell with a potato & beef hash filling. The outer shell looks as if it is made from fried batter. Inside the shell, is a concoction of shredded beef with carrot and potatoes. I can taste the white pepper and there is abit of smokiness suggesting it was pan-fried.
On top of each of these three parcels are three different toppings. The first, was bone marrow. On it’s own, it tastes abit weird – like oddly flavoured murky water reformed into a kind of gelatin, but with the shotgun shell, it was creamy and dreamy. The next parcel had a light and foamy parsley cream mouse. It added a sort of fresh elegance to the flavour profile. I don’t know, I didn’t quite have enough adjectives to describe this. Finally, the one with a kind of white sauce smothered over it was balanced and brimming with flavours of garlic & vanilla bouncing about threatening my tongue with mini bombs.
Everything tastes as good as it looks. All was very well cooked, all flavours on plate are masterfully matched together, albeit they were classic combinations and were no brainers to pair, but the attention was on it being masterfully prepared.
I can see why The Square is a 2 star establishment. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted something quite so perfectly cooked before.
More look see
Adorned with abstract art, The Square has rectangular paintings. Hm. Makes you think doesn’t it? Staff are lovely, French with French accents and all of them are rather charming, quietly and unintrusive. How do you say in France – formidable?
Pudding!
Praline Mousseline with a Macadamia Sablé, Crushed Banana, Pedro Ximenez Jelly and Steeped Raisins
The banana is refreshingly cold against the crusty shortbread. The flavours marry nicely with the praline, nutty hints of alcohol in there and the jelly is bordering chewy giving it much needed body. The jelly is abit like a dark herby caramel sugar. Those candied macadamias were like jaw breakers and felt rather like I just ate the decoration. Ouch.
Date sauce was a godsend, it’s light and creamy texture took the dessert into the moon. Liftoff! Sweet flavours but not overly sweet, well done, balanced, light and surprisingly good.
My waiter was hesitant to recommend this to me citing that ‘it’s abit different’ , he pushed for safer choices and hinted that their cheesecake is a signature dish. Like Mr Powers, I too, like to live dangerously… and it paid off.
Valedictorian, Class of 2009
I can safely say that this is the best meal I’ve had in the new year. This is the benchmark. Is it going to be beaten? I don’t know, maybe Le café e anglais or St Johns perhaps? This is my 1st experience of a 2-star establishment, and I can see that the cooking is a cut above the rest. There are only 5 of these 2-stars in London. Like a virgin, I can’t say I have anything to compare it against, the closest is probably the 1-star places I’ve eaten at, but L’autre or Hibiscus have got nothing on the high cooking here, the gap between 1 and 2 stars is very wide it seems.
I’m still abit miffed as to whether these salt and pepper shakers actually contain anything or if it’s just table decoration, because you need none of that here, food is perfect.
I’m curious to see how something like the Fat Duck –only one of the most highly regarded in the world- compares against this one. My birthday is in July, do you think a seven month advance booking is enough time for a July three-star dinner?
Let’s hope so.
The Gist of it
The Square official website
6-10 Bruton Street, Mayfair W1J 6PU 44 (0) 20 7495 7100
£ 35.00 set menu , £ 75.00 a la carte three courses
Verdict: If your pockets are still that deep in 2009, then you can do no wrong here, otherwise set menu is £35pp.
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Tags: two michelin stars
Great review… I really want to go. But the main thing I want to know is what camera do you use? And do you use the flash? Your pictures are fantastically sharp and well lit. Very unusual for food blogs.
I went to the fat duck in October and didnt really feel it was worth it. It was good. It was brilliant. It wasnt however the mind blowingly orgasmic experience it should have been for the price. I suspect it works better if you dont know the tricks Heston does. For instance I’ve made liquid nitrogen ice cream before let alone eat it. The expensive matched wines may have been worth it though. I think one day i might go back and try the a la carte menu though.
You can only book 2 months advance. I got the last available table at 10:30 after lines had opened at 10:00 . So your booking needs planning
Jonathan – thanks, yes do go and check it out and let me know if you like it too. Thanks for the comment on the pictures, glad to know they are appreciated! I use a nikon d40 (the cheapest model) – no flash at all , only natural light – and also not to disturb diners. I do however spend a considerable amount of time taking shots of the dish before I dive in, so no flash is a must.
Bob – I am really curious to go to the fat duck, just for the experience alone, I really wonder if it’s justified to pay so much of a premium for a meal ( is it like £125 pp? ) . I’m told that Gordon Ramsay’s is abit gimmicky too , but it does have three stars, and I think it’s just one of those things I have to do – especially if I run a food blog.
In any case, there are only three 3 star restaurants in UK , so based on michelin ratings, those are supposed to be ‘three of the best in UK’ . Would make for a great trio of review comparing all three of them agaisnt each other I feel.
I’ll get on the lines and do abit of planning with regards to booking (thanks for the tip) and see if I can squeeze out £500 for visits to all three in the next few months.
Is that the handle of a Laguiole knife?
I know what you write about is food porn, but to know that you “blew your load on lunch” was to much information. LOL.
I love your blog (I subscribe) and I am from Sydney, but have emailed it to the people that I do know in London to check it out. By the way where do you get good coffee in London?
Hi Reality Raver, hahahaha.. I didnt think anyone would pick up that one, was trying to be cheeky.. in a subtle way!!! Your comment actually made me crack up!
Thank you so much for subscribing! I am always very happy when people do so, it really gives me a real lift and definitely spurs me on to better my stuff one post at a time, and thank you so much for spreading the word, I appreciate all support
This blog is nothing if not for it’s readers and I write for you!
Right coffee – Tartine in slone square does these huge bruschettas with a variety of toppings, its a small french style cafe and their coffee is silky smooth, I was surprised by it actually. I’m in the midst of writing that up, so will release sometime tomorrow.
Other places include the critically acclaimed Flat White in soho, it’s really tiny but coffee is really amazing. Otherwise, I hear good things about monmouth company in borough market – but I’ve yet to visit myself, so I will reserve judgement on that one till I do. There is also this very nice all day cafe in Gloucester road, I think it is brazillian, the walls used to be adorned with hand written jokes about different countries “do as the romans do..” sort of thing, and they do fresh food and juices. Food is so-so, but its a great place to grab a cuppa and just chilllll…
Thanks Kang L.
That explains it. I might well start using my Canon EOS 400 sans flash as well. Like you, I am very anti flash in restaurants as it is intrusive.
I am desperately trying to find a compact camera that copes in the low light conditions of restaurants… but they are very hard to find… if not impossible. If anyone has any suggestions I’d appreciate the help.
John – rather than spend hundreds on a good compact camera, you should instead invest in a 50mm f/1.8 Prime Lens for your 400D – that is an awesome camera, much more capable than my D40.
The low f stop and wide aperture lens lets more light in and it means that you can shoot sharper images in ridiculously low light and bump your iso up to 400 ( dont go higher, otherwise your images will get very grainy) . 800 is the max you should go.
Set the lens at wide apertures at either f/1.8 or 2.2 – the lens is sharpest around f2.2 to f4 and you will be good to go.
By the way a 50mm will only set you back about £80. Great investment and actually ‘shrinks’ your 400D becos the size of the lens is about half that of the kit lens.
Just one of my tricks to getting tack sharp images without spending too much, go try it!
D – You noticed! Yeah it is.
That’s the steak knife they provided me with. That knife was really hefty and it’s weight gave it alot of ompph when I used it to cut into my meat.
” can safely say that this is the best meal I’ve had in the new year”
Given we’re only 6 days in I’d hope so too! Great pictures.
I used to live with one of the chef’s from the Square and although its not necessarily one of the trendiest restuarants it is a foodie heaven. The level of detail that goes into creating the menu and preparing the food absolutely blew my mind, its as near to science as Heston and the Fat Duck crew get. Unfortunately after spending 22 hours a day preparing exquisite dishes at work it turned out that his favourite dish to prepare at home was curried mince on toast (I kid you not!).
Excellent pictures by the way!
You make me so wish I lived overseas to try these places!
Beautiful pictures, the meal looked to die for! That desert looked out of this world.
I have heard very mixed reviews for the Fat Duck, Some good and some frankly awful. I will be really interested to see what you think, and I think I might drag Paul out for a little Visit.
Hello – Fab pictures. Both the decor and the food look a lot like Hibiscus. I must admit I found Hibiscus a little weird. Perhaps we’ll try this next.
[...] have been to a few one stars ( Hibiscus , Maze ) but only one two star ( Square ) and it seems like the Square is way better than the rest in terms of cooking, service, ambiance, [...]
kang,
I ate here at the square quite recently but was too lazy to post my review of it until today. In my opinion the food here was definitely 2 star standard but only just. I’ve probably been blessed that I have been able to eat in a few 2 star establishments and in my opinion, the square is deserving of its 2 star status. I think that you should give the dinner menu of Hibiscus a try as it is only fair to judge the standard of restaurants based on two ‘equal’ meal (restaurants use cheaper/less ingredients for their lunch menu). That said, I suspect that Ambassade de l’ile might also join the 2* group soon and in my opinion is probably the best of the lot.
g
Lizzie, that would be my first howler of the year too
Candice, sounds like molecular gastronomy to me
it’s nice to know that they put so much heart and attention into their food, definitely deserves the stars for the hard work 
HoneyB, a depressed pound and cheap BA tickets might mean an affordable holiday across the pond for you
Jorden, Mixed reviews really? I would have to try and see for myself I think, I still think very highly of Heston
G, good to see you agree that the Square rocks – so at the low end of 2 stars you reckon? I will give the L’ile a shot. Perhaps it was misleading comparing my meal at hibiscus ( at least the one that I wrote about ) especially considering that cheap/lesser ingredients were used. ( yes thanks G, I think I can tell that a rump cut of mutton costs significantly less than a dry aged hereford fillet. ) I’ll retract that comparison and do a proper one with a full on dinner at hibiscus in that case. Perhaps I should do it before Claude regains his 2nd star in a couple of weeks.
I haven’t eaten in all the 2 stars to pass judgement as to whereabouts the square would rank but it certainly isn’t as good or the service as refined as Le Gavroche. It was definitely better than my experience at Pied-a-Terre. Im finding it difficult to get a table at both Marcus Wareing and the Capital atm.
I don’t think Hibiscus is at the 2 star level yet although it is very very close. The thing I found was that while all 3 courses were very well cooked (doversole was exceptionally well executed) there were things that I simply didn’t enjoy (the hibiscus soda amuse and the apple and celeriac pre-dessert).
On the subject on cheaper ingredients, I think its the true test of a chef’s skill if they can make something mind-blowing out of it. It is because of that, that I rate Ambassade very highly – even on their dinner menu, they place equal emphasis on luxury ingredients (caviar, foie gras, truffles) as well as cheap ingredients (sardines, blood pudding, offal)
G, is that your way of retracting your comment about Phil being ‘only just’ worthy of 2 stars? As i’ve said before in my Hibiscus review and let me reiterate that here, “if you’re a great chef, you will be able to put together a mind blowing £25 menu” and glad to see you feel the same way about it as well.
Don’t get me wrong, the square is fully deserving of its 2*s but its the place I would least likely return to simply because the food is at a predictably good and consistent level (ie 2 * level). This is different from somewhere like Ambassade or Le Gavroche where there are 1 or 2 dishes which exceeds 2* level.. you know the kind of dish which is so mind blowingly good you can literally taste it just thinking of it.
g, I will get round to trying the rest of the starred establishments in the coming year … and also consequently write about them too
There’s still alot I havent got round to eating yet in London ( a good thing ) and I’m sure I’ll come round to them in good time.
Just so I know, which dish would you recommend at Le Gavroche ? Speaking of Marcus Wareing, I was actually there for a quick lunch on friday just gone… and had that legendary egg custard tart which he cooked for the Queen a few years ago on Great British menu, gosh it was as good as it looked on tv. Will prepare that write-up for Monday.
By the way, if you hadn’t noticed, I’m running this competition (deadline 14th feb) for submissions and the one with the highest vote wins £50 – I would love for you to join,it is also an unofficial invitation to guest blog over at mine. I’ve extended this it other foodies too, so I’m doing the same for you. I am willing to reciprocate the favour and provide you with a guest article at your blog too if you wish (when I get back from holiday
) .
Please do have a look at the competition: http://londoneater.com/2009/01/06/would-you-like-to-write-a-restaurant-review-and-win-50/
At Le Gavroche their signature dishes include of course their Souffle Suissesse (Cheese Souffle) and Omelette Souffle Rothschild (dessert). I tried the former but was too full to try the later. Also their Hot Foie Gras with Raisins and Duck Pancake is worth a mention for great technical execution with the foie (you don’t know how often I get disappointed eating foie gras).
Surprisingly enough, it might actually be cheaper to go for the Tasting menu rather than ALC as their dinner menu is very ambitiously priced (there is a starter which costs £58 – Lobster in caviar and champagne sauce)
I will definitely write a guest article for you – I have a recent 2nd visit to Ambassade which I will be happy to feature on your blog.
[...] The Square review at Post 100. Monday would have been the first official day of work for many of us and I duly went back to my eating habits and started the new work year with a bang of a review at 2 star The Square and also incidentally, this was my 100th post. Mad pictures and a great meal, check it out. [...]
What a great way to celebrate! The dishes look really amazing. I shall put this in my must-have list.
Went to the Fat Duck in Oct 2008. Made the reservation exactly 2 months before and glad that I got the date I wanted. It was an amazing experience I would say. A real pleasure to all senses. I would blog about it if I had better pictures. I only had my crappy camera with me then and they were kinda blurry. You should try the Hinds Head which is one of my favourites. It’s just next to the Fat Duck!
WOW! What a meal – your pictures really are gorgeous, and a great write up too!
[...] though, I actually just live about 15 minutes down the road. Following my pocket busting meal at The Square and even more cussing from Paxman on Newsnight (have you noticed how Gavin Esler replaces Jeremy [...]
[...] 1. The Square “Fillet and Croustillant of Aged Ayrshire Beef with Cepes, Shallots, Bone Marrow and Red Wine” This review was post 100 and I went for the jugular with the £75 ala carte. The beef fillet was really good, served with three different kinds of toppings for the beef marrow. Amazing stuff. Full review here. [...]
[...] though, I actually just live about 15 minutes down the road. Following my pocket busting meal at The Square and even more cussing from Paxman on Newsnight (have you noticed how Gavin Esler replaces Jeremy [...]
[...] all the positive publicity that’s been directed this way, and after an awesome visit to the Square earlier this year, well, I’m expecting [...]
[...] The Square (French) £75pp a la carte, £35pp set lunch (Down [...]
[...] 2009) including Alain Ducasse, Hibiscus, Le Gavroche, Marcus Wareing, Pied a Terre, the Capital and the Square. Not all will produce a stunning meal, most will hit a certain standard (as you’d expect) and all [...]
Hey Kang, loving the blog.
After posting my own (overwhelmingly negative) post on The Square, I thought I’d re-read your post and compare. Looks like you caught this place on a good night, unlike me…
Would love to hear your comments if you get a chance.
http://www.toastedspecial.com/2009/11/03/the-square-london/
Keep up the great work, love your blog,
TS.
[...] I said, this was definitely the best lobster based soup I had had all year round, and that includes The Square, La Trompette and even Pierre [...]
[...] Philip Howard holds two Michelin stars at the Square. I find that his French cooking not only has a certain air of flair, but that the concepts are innovative. I am a proponent of balanced flavours and good old fashioned ‘signature’ flavours, and I feel that this is the driving philosophy behind the technical accuracy of Howard’s cuisine. Expensive of course, I have heard that their set menu is laughable, but I tried their a la carte and it was eye opening to say the least. He has had a hand in newer establishments including Kitchen W8 and the Ledbury.Read more. [...]
[...] The Square, Mayfair [...]
Great review. Correction: Benares is located in Berkeley Square rather than Berkeley Street. Tiny error but trust as fellow foodie you will appreciate the importance of attention to detail.