QUINTESSENTIALLY | Insider | london gourmet

Once a run down youth hostel – now a sleek boutique hotel in the heart of Marylebone. Such is the fate of the address now known to discerning gourmands as No. Ten Manchester Street.

Quiet, private and elegant, the décor is contemporary but warm, the real highlight being the giant Christopher Guy chair that compliments the guests as they step into the reception area. Slinky corridors wind between the 45 bedrooms, and flow out into an intimate, wooden-floored cigar terrace which houses a custom made Hunters & Frankau humidor. Around the corner you’ll find the lounge bar and restaurant. If cigar smoke makes your nose crinkle, then opt for a table nearer the windows. The heady scent does stick around and doesn’t suit everybody hankering for food as well as wine.

Large windows look out into the neat Georgian architecture of Marylebone, but the restaurant is extremely peaceful and it’s easy to forget you’re in the heart of London. I ate there on a very quiet Tuesday but it was easy to imagine the bar buzzing with an injection of post-work cocktail drinkers and cigar smokers next door. It lends itself perfectly to an intimate lunch or an evening with friends for catch up away from the neighboring bedlam of Soho.

The Amuse-bouche were delectable little tasters but the real highlight, for me, was the Mint Pea Soup with Cornish Crab that comes served either hot or cold. Being a muggy summer’s day, I opted for the cold option which was both refreshing and perfect in flavour: a generous mound of flaky crab meat centered itself amongst a delicate mint and pea soup. Next, the King Prawn salad appeared and then reappeared, first coming too early, then too late. When I finally settled down to it, the prawns had been sadly overcooked. The sizzling mango chutney and rocket dressing was excellent and I knew that, in a perfect world, it would have made for a magnificent, if simple, salad.

The staff were extremely attentive and the wine a perfect match for their summer menu – a medley of tantalizing dishes that make another visit a must: chicken liver parfait with spiced apple chutney and a pan roasted duck breast will be hard to bypass for too long. My stamp of approval also falls on their incredible desserts; though I certainly didn’t need more food at this stage in the meal, I couldn’t resist the selection of mini homemade ice creams, including the surprisingly tasty green tea version.

The caring nature of the staff and the very new feel of No. Ten Manchester Street gives it huge heart. The effort was faultless and with 45 sumptuous bedrooms above me, I wished I could have stayed on for dinner and then on into the next day…

For more information, go to www.tenmanchesterstreethotel.com.

10 Manchester Street,
Marylebone, W1U 4DG