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St John
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St John closed for a spring clean in summer 2008, but apart from a good scrub behind the ears, it’s business as usual at this leading light of the British revival movement. Considering the heaps of praise it receives, the restaurant is a remarkably austere-looking and modest place, opened in the shell of a former Smithfield smokehouse by architect and chef-patron Fergus Henderson. Its spirit hasn’t changed since the start in 2004. The focus is entirely on seasonal and unusual British ingredients, simply cooked and presented. Some dishes, such as roast bone marrow with parsley, have become classics; the eccles cake with lancashire cheese also has a cult following. Others, such as pig’s head and radishes, or chitterlings and carrots, are more challenging. Despite St John’s reputation for offal, there are usually some interesting meat-free dishes, even if they’re simple pairings such as fennel and berkswell cheese, or a starter simply named ‘kohl rabi’. Puddings are terribly old-fashioned English: treacle toffee and ice-cream, or bread pudding and butterscotch sauce. If you find the dining room too formal (or expensive), try eating in the no-reservations bar, which pares down the menu and is more convivial (aka noisier). In January 2009 the UK Michelin Guide awarded St John a Michelin star - something of a puzzle, and we've detected very little change in the restaurant over the last decade - standards were high then, and remain high now.
Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009
Time Out reviews restaurants anonymously and pays for meals. Of course, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or independence of user reviews.
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Details
- 26 St John Street, Farringdon, EC1M 4AY
- Area: Farringdon
- Tel: 020 7251 0848/4998
- www.stjohnrestaurant.com
- Category: British
- Travel: Barbican tube/Farringdon tube/rail
- Times: Lunch served noon-5pm Mon-Fri. Dinner served 6pm-midnight Mon-Sat
- Price: Main courses £13.50-£22.50
- Credit cards: AmEx, DC, MC, V
- Services:
- Available for hire: Separate room for parties, seats 18
- Child facilities: Babies and children welcome: high chairs
- Disabled: toilet (bar)
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Eddette
I'm a lawyer working in the City. I'm very keen on music and play several musical instruments, including playing sax and singing in a band which...
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I've been to St.Johns several times over the last ten years and whilst the food has been consistently good, the service has slowly deteriated to the point where I would probably not return.
We were greeted by a surly Matre'D who insisted we take are table rather than waiting at the bar for one of our party who was running late. Once seated, the plentiful waiting staff seemed to disappear through the ordering process.
Several of the items on the menu that we wanted were sold out (8.15pm booking and ordering by 8.45). However, we were not served the starters - all cold plates for 30 minutes, and the mains did not arrive until 10! To make matters worse, comparable items suddenly appeared on the white board post ordering - I struggle to see how the waitress did not manage to recommend the substitute. We spent the rest of the meal watching the "whiteboard of disappointment" to make sure our deserts were still going to be available.
Several of the wines on the list were sold out before we found one that we settled on. Of course, it was only when odering the second bottle were we informed that that this had been the last bottle, although admittedly the waitress did a great job of finding a suitable matching bottle.
Overall, the food was fantastic, just a shame that they didn’t have the dishes we were looking forward to and the service was so poor! A sad reflection to the high standards one expects of a michelin starred dining!
22.50 for a main course. Are we serious?