The dining room at Sael. From its previous life, there's been a completely new paint-job and seating but the same overall structure is there from before.
What can you tell us about Sael?
If you've been following along, you'll know that Jason Atherton is a very busy man this autumn. He's already transformed Pollen Street Social into the grill restaurant Mary's (and done a pretty good job of that). In addition to that he's opening three brand new restaurants before the end of the year, and Sael is the first of those. The aim here is to showcase British produce and while that's something we've heard before, it turns out they're doing that with an extremely accomplished menu and kitchen.
Head into St James's Market from Haymarket and you'll find Sael on this corner.
Where is it?
It's in the middle of St James's Market, having taken over the site where Aquavit used to be. While the design team hung onto the impressive lighting, the rest of the restaurant has had a thorough refit, with a kitchen which gave us flashbacks to the one at Pollen Street Social.
Where should we go for a drink first?
Sael is less than a five-minute walk from The Devonshire, and that's exactly where we started the night with a pint of Guinness. So that's an easy recommendation.
And if we want to start with a drink at Sael?
Jason Atherton restaurants are known for having separate and notably decent cocktail bars and Sael is no exception. When it was Aquavit, there used to be a private dining space hidden away on the first floor. That's now been transformed into a new bar, Apples and Pears. The immediate area around Sael isn't blessed with great bars, so this is a place that's well worth knowing about, even if you're not dining at the restaurant. The cocktails here are excellent, and it's a pretty great looking bar too.
Apples and Pears - the upstairs bar at Sael.
On the left, the Apples & Pears - Glenmorangie Original Scotch, Seasonal Apples & Pears, lime, bergamot bubble (£14) and on the right, Rhubarb & Sloe Renegade Gin, sloe, amaro santoni, rhubarb, Moet & Chandon Imperial Brut Champagne (£14)
Down in the restaurant, where should we sit?
There's a mix of booth and traditional seating and we'd say the seats by the windows were among the best. It's a good place for groups too, with two central spaces fitting up to eight each comfortably.
Also notable is a taller table that's right in front of the kitchen. If you like a view of the action and some personal service by the chef, that's the place to pick. However do note that the chairs are much higher, so if you're not a fan of that style of seating, choose elsewhere.
The Chef's table at Sael, overseen by Atherton himself when we were in.
So, onto the food, what can we expect?
We've had a few menus this year which have read incredibly well, and Sael fits into that bracket comfortably, with many dishes that we'd strongly recommend. The Head Chef here is Dale Bainbridge, who was most recently Head Chef at Pollen Street Social, so Atherton has picked a strong hand to be in charge of the kitchen and menu. Atherton was at pains to highlight to us that the menu is primarily led by Bainbridge.
Things start off very well with the snacks section (although there are some very large "snacks" on here). We'd suggest going for some or all of the following:
Marmite English custard tart (£6.50) with Umai caviar (£5.50 extra). If you have only one thing from the snacks section, make sure it's this and you should really have the caviar too. Even if you're not a fan of Marmite you'll almost certainly enjoy this with its ever-so-thin pastry and the perfectly just-set consistency of the custard. Phenomenal.
Tempura rock oyster with Sarson's scraps (£5.50 each) - the scraps in this case are vinegar-enhanced potato straws. Also excellent.
Lamb "doner" kebab flatbread (£11) - One of the larger snacks that would easily do as a starter by itself. Belly and shoulder meat from Lake District lamb is marinated in the same spices, garlic and onion as a real doner kebab. It's then roasted, braised and then baked in the flatbread with onion puree. Yoghurt garlic dressing and aged Parmesan is added after. Very, very good.
A special mention for the great laminated brioche which comes with exceptionally good roasted onion butter (£5.50)
That's barely scratching the surface of the snacks, and we've also been hearing good things about the Koffmann potato and black pudding hash (£5) and the oysters baked with XO sauce. We don't see enough baked or fried oysters in London, frankly, so it's great to see both here.
Then it's onto the starters proper - here's what we had:
Orkney scallop, razor clams and smoked leeks (£19.50) - We think that this is one of the largest scallops we've ever seen and regret not putting something beside it to show off the scale. "I have very good suppliers" was the response from Atherton when we remarked on these (they're XL scallops direct from Orkney Island). These are roasted in clarified butter and have cured scallop roe grated on top. Another must-order.
Cornish mackerel, jalapeno, BBQ pineapple and lime (£16.50) - a beautiful-looking dish and very good, if missing some of the fireworks from the rest of the menu.
We also had some excellent woodfire port roasted figs with stracciatella and cobnut hummus (£13) but, er, we dived into that one and completely forgot to take a photo...
You should also have at least one thing from the skewers section, in which we'd steer you to this:
Wagyu and Char Siu skewer (£14.50) - a truly excellent skewer (and easy to share between two).
After this, you're essentially at the "mains" part of dinner and things get a little more complicated. There's the choice of a pie for two, a "mid-plates" section (with more traditional mains) and a "from the embers" section, which is essentially grilled meat and fish.
Normally you'd choose either the pie or something from the other two sections. But we went for a little bit more...
100-layer Hereford snail and ox cheek lasagna (£24.50) - this is probably one of the signature dishes and one we'd highly recommend, the snails adding welcome umami to a great lasagna.
The pie for two - Devon white chicken, New Forest mushroom duxelles, mash and chicken gravy (£27pp) - Simply calling this a pie is underselling it a little, it's almost like a chicken version of a Wellington.
Is there still room for dessert after all that?
Given the riches available in the main menu, it is very easy to get carried away and go crazy on all the myriad sections. We wouldn't necessarily discourage this, but we'd say you need to hold back for at least the first of these:
Strawberry jam ‘Roly Poly’, Jersey custard, smoked butter (£13.50) - the one dessert you must have. A Victoria sponge brioche is proved for 24 hours, then baked in woodfire with homemade strawberry jam, finished with smoked caramel butter and then finally thick English custard is poured on top tableside. A glorious hot pudding.
Bread and butter pudding soft serve, whisky, soaked raisin, toasted brioche (£11.50) - if you want to finish off with something a little less heavy, this soft serve version of bread and butter pudding is the one to go for.
What about drinks?
Aside from the cocktails, there's also a decent alcohol-free cocktail list, with drinks like the Cold Sober (Everleaf Mountain, Cherry Franklin & Sons, rhubarb & hibiscus Tonic, £9).
The wine list has a very large selection of wines by the glass (four pages worth) with glasses starting at £8 and £36 for a bottle, which is pretty good for St James. There are also a couple of pages of wines under £50 a bottle. As for the main list is broken down by taste, with headings like "crisp and dry" or "cream and toast" so if you're looking to try something a bit different, that should help.
Anything else to note?
In common with Atherton's other recent opening Mary's, there's a very good value set menu that's available for lunch or pre-theatre at £28/£32 for two/three courses.
Overall thoughts.
For someone with so many restaurants coming out in a matter of months, Atherton is a strong two-for-two so far, with both Mary's and Sael having strong menus and a clear talent in the kitchen. He says that the approach with these new openings is to showcase the chef in charge, and with that in mind, Dale Bainbridge together with Atherton has created something pretty special here.
The space itself, even under Aquavit, was always rather impressive, but now it feels like it's paired with an excellent menu that's actually pretty well priced. Come for the custard tarts, for sure, but you'll find you also want to have pretty much everything else on the menu too.
More about Sael
Where is it? 1 St James's Market, St. James's, London SW1Y 4QQ
How to book: Book online or call 0207 993 3251.
Find out more: Visit the website or follow them on Instagram @sael_london.
Hot Dinners dined as guests of Sael. Prices correct at time of publication.
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