Galvin at Windows

Park Lane sky dining

Views from Galvin at Windows

I first encountered Galvin at Windows back in 2012 before I even started blogging and when Andre Garrett was the head chef, 1 year later, Andre has moved on to work at the Cliveden House Hotel in Berkshire while his then sous chef Joo Won was promoted to be the new head chef. Joo, of Korean heritage, has managed to retain the Michelin star status every year so far and that is a massive achievement in itself. This year, he has injected some Korean food culture in his cooking, with the launch of a Korean tasting menu and the pay what you like menu in the summer, I headed back to the restaurant 3 years after my first visit to experience the luxury sky high dining once again and went for the 5 course "pay what you like" menu, which did exactly what it said: Once you've finished the meal, it is up to you to decide how much it was worth, unheard of in fine dining levels for me before. 

The Charioteer ‘Auriga’

Beef steak tartare, confit egg yolk,
mustard mayonnaise & pickled vegetables

San Marzano tomato gazpacho, peach compote & basil

The beef steak tartare was finely seasoned, the texture was spot and it worked wonders with the nicely pickled vegetables and mustard. The tomato gazpacho for me was the star dish in the menu, the powerful but fresh taste really lifted up my taste buds, the tiny hint of peppery and spicy tones gave my palate such a sweet and spicy sensation, it was really a top notch gazpacho. Korean BBQ pork was perhaps the weakest dish on the other hand, the flavours were great as was the texture of the pork belly with mild spiciness and sourness, but that kind of quality is something that is quite common in most decent Korean restaurants so I was expecting a little more from a fine dining level prospective. Chocolate fondant was a simple but comforting dessert, a warm creamy taste with the light and freshness of the dill sorbet gave the dish a great contrast in both flavours and temperature.

Korean BBQ pork belly, summer vegetable & sea cabbage

Brie de Meaux, walnuts & celery salad

Warm chocolate fondant, praline, yoghurt & dill sorbet

The "pay what you like" menu was an interesting encounter, very different to the usual menu so I guess it was more of a experimental project for the restaurant to get an idea of what  the dishes are truly worth to the consumers. I ended up paying £40 for the menu as I think there are other restaurants serving similar quality food in that price bracket at the pre-theatre time slot, such as its sister restaurant, Galvin la Chapelle. But don't forget you are dining at one of the most prestigious restaurants in London, with a stunning view of the city (28th floor inside The Hilton Park Lane Hotel) and top notch services to match.

Food 3.5/5

Head chef: 
Joo Won

What I paid: 
£75 pp with a cocktail

Average cost without drinks and services: 
£70 pp 3 courses
£110 pp tasting menu

London Hilton on Park Lane, 22 Park Lane, London W1K 1BE

http://www.galvinatwindows.com/