The Game Bird

 Still the game champion

The Game Bird pithivier, truffle bordelaise sauce

Located inside The Stafford Hotel, The Game Bird is not your typical hotel restaurant. The elegant yet cozy space offers British fine dining with a focus on cured fishes and game dishes. In game season, you will find many game dishes on offer, all done in a refined, classical manner. This is actually my second visit, I was really surprised by the fine quality of its cooking quality. Thanks to COVID 19, the menu is not as big as it was and all the magic of tableside service has been removed, and I was a little gutted as those classic tableside deliveries are part of the overall dining experience which are rare these days.

Split peas soup, crispy bacon, mascarpone

Dressed Devon crab

H. Forman & Son smoked salmon

For my starter, I had the dressed Devon crab which also came with some créme fraîche in the middle of the crab shell. The crab was fresh and the dressing had a great balance of sourness which really lifted up the sweetness of the crab to another level, it was solid. My main of whole roasted grouse landed in a spectacular fashion. It came with game chips, legs, bread sauce, and a killer meat jus that had such a rich, inviting aroma. The grouse was cooked perfectly, medium rare with a rather robust earthy tone, but that was beautifully balanced off with the pickled onions and the creaminess of the bread sauce. The dessert was also strong from The Game Bird, the pistachio souffle was perfect, so flurry and light, the pistachio taste, along with the bitterness of the dark chocolate sorbet delivered such a powerful yet satisficing finish. 

Roasted grouse, pâté en croûte, game chips, bread sauce, watercress

Lemon tart, mascarpone ice-cream

Pistachio souffle, dark chocolate sorbet

My second visit was just as good as my first. It totally delivered the game dishes in such a refined manner, but other dishes were just as good. A meal at Game Bird is never going to be cheap as it is located inside a 5 stars hotel after all, but it does use top quality British ingredients and you are getting slick service for your money. The restaurant might not be a hipster haven or a celebrity hotspot, but that does not matter as it lets its food and charming service do the talking. If you are a fan of game dishes, well worth a visit.

Food 4/5



Average cost without drinks and services:
£60


The Stafford London, 16-18 St James's Place, London SW1A 1NJ

https://thestaffordlondon.com/the-game-bird/