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St John (∗∗)

Address:26 St John Street, London EC1M 4AY
Tel:020 7251 0848
Email:
Website: Visit St John website
Price: £50.00Wine: £19.60 Champagne: £41.00
Opening Hours:Mon-Fri 12N-3pm Mon-Sat 6-11pm Sun 1-3pm

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Regularly touted by chefs as one of the world’s best restaurants, St John can baffle the uninitiated. Its austere look, bare-bones menu & defiant lack of posh trappings seem at odds with its status, but this hot spot has never been about peripherals; it’s a ‘no-frills, blood & guts place’ that celebrates great ingredients – especially those that are undervalued & overlooked. Duck hearts are served with watercress & pickled walnuts, while rich ox heart gets an earthy kick from lentils. An unaffected dish of rabbit saddle offers a trademark layering of flavours, matching the slight gaminess of the meat with sweet carrots & pungent garlicky aïoli. Given its obsessive respect for ingredients, the kitchen can sometimes go astray with the extras, with one reader complaining of ‘scabby boiled-in-the skin potatoes & boiled cabbage’, but normal service is resumed with that classic North Country partnership, Eccles cake & Lancashire cheese. Staff are praised for their friendliness & knowledge, while the largely French wine list puts its faith in iconoclastic, provenance-driven producers.

St John Location:

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Reader reviews of St John:

Garlic Confit
Silver Reviewer

Garlic Confit ( 30s, Male, United Kingdom )

Editor's pick

The food at St John is always great. Simple, Authentic and Tasty.

I always have a great meal here. There are some Items I go back for (Bone Marrow, Snails, Suckling Pig), but generally I love to go to see what there will be.

I can't really fault anything, the decor is not to some peoples taste, but neither is the food. To those people I say ‘ptscchh’

The wine could be a little more than an encyclopedia of France for my palate, but what it does have is outstanding.

The eccles cakes are great and whenever I drive past I always try and pick up a couple.

The bar is a great place for a drink and a snack. If you have not been, you must go. If you have been, why are you reading this, surely you should be there now…or are you reading this on twitter?

11 January 2010
Overall:8
Food and Drink:9
Service:9
Atmosphere:8
Value for Money:8
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Alain C.
Reviews: 1

Alain C. ( Over 60, Male, United Kingdom )

This is the surprise place to bring your French and continental visitors that are riding on the belief and impression that english cuisine does not exist. Play it down, be english and self depracating, sort of i take you to a gastro pub and let the magic of the St John do the hard work.
If you friends are architects, you can mention the following urban myth – what is known – Fergus originally studied architecture before his thoughts turned to cooking. He studied at the Architectural Association – the myth – during his stint there, all his physical architectural models where made up of food stuff – perhaps somebody at the AA told him, go and get cooking – I wonder if this did happen and who was it that say so. A great loss to architecture but such a fine chef.

24 November 2009
Overall:9
Food and Drink:8
Service:8
Atmosphere:9
Value for Money:8
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Mark M.

Mark M. ( 20s, Male )

Still one of the best places in Clerkenwell. Lovely airy and bright out in the bar, and serving excellent food and wine for a wide range of tastes. A joy whether just a quick glass of wine, or sitting down for dinner.

28 October 2009
Overall:9
Food and Drink:9
Service:9
Atmosphere:9
Value for Money:9
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Richard E.
Silver Reviewer

Richard E. ( 40s, Male, United Kingdom )

No matter how good the starters on the menu are (and there are always some tempting offerings), nothing can compare to the bone marrow on toast, and it gets me every time. There is nothing fancy on offer here (even if it does now boast a Michelin star); if the menu says Old Spot, that is what you get: one perfectly cooked pork chop, perhaps accompanied by its cooking juices.

There are some niggles; even since the revamp, it is basically an austere, white on white decor, which isn't to everyone's taste (the bar is a more buzzy place to be, without being brash and overbearing), but worst of all, the service can be extremely slow. These are, however, mere niggles for what remains, after more than a decade, one of London's finest restaurants.

8 October 2009
Overall:10
Food and Drink:10
Service:6
Atmosphere:7
Value for Money:10
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Gmbklm
Silver Reviewer

Gmbklm ( 40s, Male, United Kingdom )

Our most recent visit was with a small group of friends at end Aug 09, having not eaten at St John for a couple of years. Its pretty much unchanged, and every bit as good, with its focus on simple high quality English dishes.

The main white walled dining room is rather stark and cold, especially with its warehouse style lighting – but perfect abattoir décor ! OK when busy, but it must be very “cold” when the restaurant is quieter.

The waitress and serving staff were very professional, friendly and knowledgeable, and were able to properly answer questions about the menu, and were also very willing to ask the kitchen where they were not sure. They coped very well with the very busy restaurant.

We loved the simple high quality very earthy style of meat, unusual off-cut and offal dishes (eg chitterlings). Compared to nearby HIx, St John menu seemed to have a slightly greater bias to the really gutsy stronger tasting cuts and dishes; but both restaurants are really very good.

All our courses were very tasty, although it would have been difficult for my grouse dish to have been any more “red”, which might not be to everyone’s… More

4 September 2009
Overall:9
Food and Drink:10
Service:10
Atmosphere:7
Value for Money:10
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Robert W.

Robert W. ( Over 60, Male, United Kingdom )

Terrific food and the eccles cakes with lancashire cheese for dessert were the best eccles cakes we have ever tasted.
The service is intellegent and adult and nothing was too much trouble for the most obliging waiter.
every restrateur in london should be made to go to this restaurant which in our book is one of the best restaurants in london.
British food at its best

Robin Weir.

13 August 2009
Overall:10
Food and Drink:10
Service:9
Atmosphere:9
Value for Money:9
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Bistro Phil

Bistro Phil ( 30s, Male )

Editor's pick

Fergus Henderson truly is one of the Gods of what I consider to be the Good Food renaissance along with Tony Bourdain, Anthony Demetre et al. As someone that was brought up on the cheaper offal ‘off’ cuts of meat I find it staggering that many people today refuse to go near them. St. John's was for me a trip down memory lane spliced with a toe dip into some slightly more left field offerings. What you can be assured of at St. John's is complete honesty. Food that is well thought out and lovingly prepared. Cured Sea Trout, Cucumber & Dill, Smoked Pork Chop with Spring Greens and the best ever Welsh Rarebit – Oh yes! Washed down with a very well priced Cotes De Provence. Highly reccomended. One of my favourite ever restaurants.

16 June 2009
Overall:10
Food and Drink:10
Service:9
Atmosphere:9
Value for Money:9
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Kevin D.
Reviews: 1

Kevin D. ( 50s, Male, London )

Ate here on the evening of Friday the 17th of April and the food was excellent. Sadly the somewhat chilly reception by an over officious maitre'd got the evening off to a cool start but the approach of the rest of the waiting staff was very good indeed.

Between us we had the roast beef, the best piece of beef I have tasted in a long time and the saddle of rabbit which was also beautifully cooked. this was followed by eccles cake and lancashire cheese, a combination which worked better than expected,

All in all a very pleasant dining expernence and if somebody could warm up the maitre'd before he starts work of an evening, it would have received 10 out of 10.

20 April 2009
Overall:8
Food and Drink:8
Service:6
Atmosphere:5
Value for Money:8
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Rachel C.

Rachel C. ( Female, United Kingdom )

Excellent British food, good service despite lunchtime rush. Lighting in the dining room was harsh, but didn't detract from the excellent food.

February 2009
Overall:8
Food and Drink:9
Service:8
Atmosphere:6
Value for Money:7
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