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Our table at Indigo looking out over the hotel's lobby bar
What can you tell us about One Aldwych?
This imposing luxury hotel in the heart of London was one of the city's first modern boutique hotels when it opened back in the late nineties. The building was originally the HQ of the Morning Post newspaper when it was first built at the turn of the last century, before becoming a bank. The architects behind this imposing building also built The Ritz and the RAC Club.
Presumably, they have a restaurant?
They do - Indigo is on the mezzanine floor of the hotel and looks down over the double-height bar. It may be in the heart of London, but the restaurant places a strong focus on sourcing as much of their produce as possible locally and from sustainable sources.
Right now, they've gone a little further afield as the restaurant's summer offering is all about Cornwall. It's a brand new tasting menu by executive chef Dominic Teague (ex-Sandy Lane and L'Escargot). Over six courses with matched wines, it celebrates amazing Cornish produce from St Austell mussels to a matching wine flight from Trevibban Mill Vineyard.
We were invited down to try it out and, as we didn't have plans to head down to the South West anytime soon, it seemed like a nice way to get a taste of the seaside while being stuck in the city.
So what's on the menu?
We began with cocktails from the hotel's Lobby Bar. The USP here is that the menu has been inspired by a partnership with Floral Street Fragrances. That theme extends to the physical menu which has scratch and sniff dots by each drink so you can smell the perfume behind each drink.
Black Lotus (£18) - a potent mix of Hibiki Japanese Harmony whisky with plum liqueur, cherry and Yka Leaf syrup.
Something you probably didn't know...
One thing to note - and we honestly had no idea until we'd done some research afterwards - the Cornish tasting menu is both gluten and dairy free as is everything in Indigo restaurant. We didn't have a clue until afterwards making this a great place to take anyone with those dietary restrictions. They also have a vegan-tasting menu (also gluten-free) which has been given a Cornish makeover for the season.
Sourdough with wild garlic butter - a lovely start of warm, seeded rolls with that sunflower, miso and seaweed spread so good we were literally using the bread as a shovelling device to eat as much as we could.
Miniature Cornish savouries served with chef Dominic's ketchup - amazingly flaky Cornish pasties.
St Ewe slow poached egg with potato salad and preserved truffle - we'll confess, the whole hot egg/cold potato combo caught us a little by surprise but the overall effect meant it worked.
Monkfish baked in seaweed with Cornish sea salt, St Austell mussels, peas and broad beans - could there be a more English summery combo on offer in London right now?
Slow-cooked Cornish lamb breast with grilled cutlet, tomato jam and fennel pollen - a perfectly cooked piece of lamb.
'Cream Tea' - a fresh from the oven scone served with strawberries and the hotel's own jam, then topped off with an unseemly amount of what we thought was a very light dairy cream but turned out to be an inventive whipped lentil vegan cream with vanilla and icing sugar.
Chocolate cheesecake - served with pistachio ice cream and macerated raspberries.
So the wine pairing is all Cornish too?
It is, from the Trevibban Mill Vineyard (which, incidentally, is where the Prawn on the Lawn summer pop-up is this year). The vineyard's wide range of wines and styles allowed the restaurant to pair everything from the Blanc de Blanc with the pasties to Black Rose with the cream tea.
How much?
The Cornish Tasting Menu at Indigo is £95 for six courses and £150 if you opt for the wine pairing.
Overall thoughts:
The idea of sourcing everything for a menu, down to the paired wines, from a single county of England is a neat conceit and it's done well. Staff were really well informed on both the provenance of the food and wines so we felt we were learning loads about Cornwall without having to leave central London. Add to that the fact that the whole menu wore its gluten and dairy free nature with the lightest of touches and that makes this Cornish tasting menu one well worth trying out.
More about Indigo
Where is it? 1 Aldwych, London WC2B 4BZ
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @onealdwychhotel
Hot Dinners dined as guests of One Aldwych. Prices correct at time of publication.
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