Wild Honey St James are currently offering a price fixe pre theatre menu at £45 per diner between 5-6.30pm.
The dining room is light and airy. The wine list is extensive, although there does not appear to be any bargains to be had. However, the bodegas Terras Gauda Albariño was fairly priced at £55 and drank very nicely.
Starters- Cornish mussels were of a decent size and full of flavour. The fried rice noodle topping added an interesting texture and showed a level of innovation from the kitchen. The pig’s head terrine was tremendous, full of flavour and expertly cooked. Unfortunately, the side dishes of tropea onion and a wild garlic purée did little to elevate the dish.
Bread was provided by local baker Rye by the water- this was delicious.
Mains- Cornish gurnard was very well cooked and worked great with the other elements of the dish- the kumquat in particular was very novel. The rabbit was, regrettably, lacking in flavour, served with a completely forgettable asparagus and macaroni side.
Desserts- the choux aux craquelin bun was delicious; very well baked and not overly sweet, with the strawberries (of a great quality for this time of year) providing a nice counterpoint. The gypsy tart was a overly sickly and did not feature the same level of intervention from the kitchen.
Espressos, courtesy of local roaster Rorschach, was served at an eye watering £9- although this did come with a selection of wonderful petits fours, featuring a canelé of fantastic quality and a very pleasant lemon tart.
Service was impeccable all evening, and we were well looked after by our gregarious French waiter. The final bill came to £220 for 2 diners- a way away from the £45, but this did include a bottle of wine, two pre dinner cocktails, coffees, and a service charge of 15%. It would be possible to eat here for significantly cheaper if you skipped the additional drinks and had one glass of wine. Wild Honey’s pre theatre menu is fantastic value for money with some great work from the kitchen on display.
N.b. I also ate at planque for lunch, if anyone would like me to write that up too.
by w1gglepvppy
2 Comments
Went here for dinner for my wife’s birthday a few weeks ago as a party of four. The head chef came out and explained the dishes to us personally as they just had a menu change, which I enjoyed. Fun fact: they have bee hives on the roof! Amazing that the bees find enough pollen in London. The chef explained that the bee hives each face a different direction, and since bees fly in a somewhat straight line to look for pollen, each hive’s honey tastes a little different. They use a honeycomb (probably not from their own hives, depending on the season) that they cut table side for the iced cream dessert.
On the topic of dessert, I found them all perhaps too sweet, with the exception of the chef’s signature dessert, a sort of nut flan. For our three course, the portions were all generous. By the time the petit fours came out we were all struggling to fit another bite, but I agree they were very good. I had the pigeon, which was a first for me, and it was fun watching my wife side eye the drumstick with attached talon apprehensively from time to time 😂
Awesome writeup! In my research I have come across the pre-theatre menu before at Wild Honey St. James so it’s nice to see someone’s opinion on the execution of the menu