Angler

Classy British seafood done right

Roast turbot, pumpkin, chestnut cream

Angler, The British seafood restaurant on the top floor of the South Place Hotel in the City, is the only Michelin-starred restaurant within the D&D group. I have been to a good number of D&D-owned venues over the year, from Skylon to Avenue. They are usually overpriced for what they are. Apart from Launceston Place and Angler. In fact, Angler's quality of the cooking is easily Michelin star level for me, and the price seems to be fair considering it us using fresh premium British seafood ingredients, such as hand-dived Scottish scallops and Cornish lobster. The below captured my 3rd visit, tasting menu style.

Sourdough with stout butter

Pig head canapes and walnut tart

Sea Bass Tartare, Oyster cream, green apple, shiso

Hand-picked Devon crab Hass avocado, wasabi, finger lime

The menu kicked off with some seriously good canapes before moving on to dish after dish of fine seafood cooking. The first course of raw Cornish seabass tartare, it was super fresh with a wonderful oily smooth texture from the raw fish. The apple added even more freshness to it and was really lovely. The giant lobster ravioli was another winner, it had the perfect chewy texture and the pasta was done just right. In fact, I would rate it just as good as the infamous version of Gordan Ramsay's 3 stars restaurant on Royal Hospital Road. The turbot was cooked and seasoned perfectly, very buttery and sweet pumpkin and chestnut cream worked in harmony together.

Native Lobster Ravioli Chicory, Japanese citrus, basil

Roast Newlyn Cod Scottish girolles, line caught squid, Alsace bacon

English Blackberries, Amalfi lemon posset, yuzu, white chocolate

William pear, almond, honey

The quality of the food at Angler was really enjoyable, I would rate it as one of the better Michelin-starred restaurants in London. The not-overly formal hotel setting also sits well in its City location. Angler has done a good job of taking good use of local seafood and turning it into something modern and extremely tasty. My only issue was the service, as it appears hiring very inexperienced front-of-house staff and some didn't even know what was served to us. These days are tough to hire good staff but I am shocked a fine dining restaurant inside a 5 stars hotel struggles too.

Food 4/5

What I paid:
£162 with wine

Average cost without drinks and services:
£135 tasting menu

South Place Hotel, 3 South Pl, London EC2M 2AF

https://southplacehotel.com/eat-and-drink/angler/