Rhodes W1 Restaurant

RHODES RESTAURANT W1

Situated close to the bustling Marble Arch area is the Cumberland Hotel and within is a place of tranquility and opulence for the diner seeking an oasis of calm in a stressful,vibrant city.
Launched by award winning chef Gary Rhodes-
Rhodes W1 at the Cumberland-provides such and is a place where dining can be enjoyed at a relaxed pace and with superb service.
Arriving slightly early,we spent a while in the brasserie bar section of the restaurant to wind down with a Peach Bellini and a Passion Fruit Cocktail with Grenadine.
The well-stocked and well-staffed bar is intimate and homely with sedate lighting and candlelight
Set on two levels with a more casual
lounge feel to the upper-level and a modern furnished yet traditionally set out layout of tables.
Soon it was time to savour the gastronomic delights of Gary Rhodes-a person I had long admired since that launch of his series on BBC2 in the 90's “Rhodes Around Britain” We were looked after by a team of excellent,courteous and attentive staff
and our wines expertly chosen to match the sumptuous fayre by Fabrice our somellierfor the evening.

For our pre-starter Pumpkin Veloute with Goats Cheese this was superb
Nicely flavoured,delicate and creamy,the cheese did not over-power the dish and was most complementary to the overall flavour.
Also a lovely selection of butters were presented with the breads,Buerre Noisette a nutty textured butter was most pleasant with the gently warmed breads.

For the Starter my guest chose
Pork Belly with Steamed Langoustines,Spiced Chickpeas,Coriander and Cumin and for myself Red Legged Partridge with Jerusalem Artichoke Veloute Chestnuts and Truffled Brioche.
All were well presented and tasted fantastic.The Pork Belly was virtually totally free of any fat,very tender and the delicious fragrance of the lightly spiced accompaniments were most pleasing to the senses. The Partridge was absolutely delicious and tender.

With the starter the wines served was a very pleasant and delicately fruity white Reserve D'Gassac 2009
My guest chose the Red Bourgogne Cornu 2005
This was superbly full-bodied but not overpoweringly heavy.The bouquet was most pleasant and both wines fitted well with the Starter course.

For our Main choices my guest had the Rabbit and I chose the Pigeon both with Seasonal Vegetables
I found the Pigeon very enjoyable and tender,pleasant to the taste and with a good texture.
My guest enjoyed the rabbit but found it just slightly lacking in any strong taste,Usually expecting rabbit as with most game to have been hung for a short time to gain more flavour.

With the Main Courses,Fabrice recommended again two well-matched wines The Rully “Maizieres” Vincent Dureil Janthial 2004 the red and a Barbera D'Alba Saffirio 2008 for the white.
Both were superb,the red again had a pleasant bouquet,rich,yet delicate but full-bodied enough to accompany the meat.
The white again was slightly sweet,which I liked very much and fitted the course splendidly.

After resting awhile to let the preceding courses digest we were offered a miniature Pina-Colada pre-dessert served in a shot glass which was very refreshing,almost like a sorbet course between the main meal and the dessert.
Moving onto Dessert
and from a pretty rich menu of choices after much debating we
plumped for Pecan and Maple Parfait,Poached Pear and Muscovado Sponge with Parkin Gel as my choice and Armagnac and Prune Souffle for my guest. Both were heavenly.It is not often one hears of Parkin outside Yorkshire
(For the benefit of those unaware of northern things it is an oatmeal type sponge with ginger and nutmeg as a tray bake traditionally served around Hallowe'en and Bonfire Night)
The Pecan and Maple was superb,again not over the top with too much heavy flavour,to me Maple usually has a burnt sugar taste but in this dessert it tastedvery light indeed and the Poached Pear and Sponge went well together.
The Prune Souffle equally was very enjoyable,nice and fruity with a good fresh flavour.

Our evening was superb,the staff extremelyhelpful and attentive,almost a personal service
to the Diner.We enjoyed every bit of the evening and the ambience of the glamourous surroundings.
The good thing here is that couples or business people can have quite comfortable and private conversations as the tables are well spaced apart and it is a joy not to be dining in cramped conditions or trying to hold a conversation with ones guest with the next diner about 9 inches away.
The restaurant is superbly bright and modern,very comfortable and I recommend its qualities in terms of service,food and ambience.

Terence Jolley

5/5 Splendid.An enchanted evening!

Make “IN-ROADS” to RHODES W1 if you enjoy fantastic dining!

THE RHODES PATRON BAR and BRASSERIE aat the CUMBERLAND HOTEL

The Rhodes Patron Bar situated at the front of the Cumberland Hotel is the sister-dining offer at the same venue.Having given a fantastic rating for the Private Dining side of the Rhodes collection and scoring it a mind blowing “11 out of 10!” I was equally blown away by the “lighter side” to dining in the Patron Bar and Brasserie.

A very chic and modern bar and relaxation space with tables for two or couches sets off the prelude to dining in a well stocked and very comprehensive bar,which is lit beautifully in pastel shades alternating from cool blue to passionate pink.A very relaxed atmosphere is the order of the day and a most attentive staff are on board to advise on a vast range of cocktails priced around £9 or so.

My guest chose a Peach Bellini-which although not featured on the menu was recognised and made immediately by the cocktail waiter and I chose a Passion Fruit and very Caribbean styled cocktail as my aperitif.

After enjoying the calm and soothing ambience of the Bar my guest and I were led to the Brasserie.Where a veritable feast awaited.The menu is quite Modern-European in style and offer.

A choice of about 8 starters are available and all seem delicious,having debated what to choose my guest settled for Duck Rilette wrapped in Parma Ham with a “Reform” salad of beetroot,gherkin,pickled mushrooms and diced Ox tongue which is served with a port and redcurrant mustard dressing.(£8.80)

It was splendid,a great mixture of colour and flavour,savoury,sweet and piquant withlots of delicious texture of duck and vegetables.

I chose the Scallops with white onions,caramelised shallots,parmesan,parsley and Jerusalem artichoke risotto with a red wine jus.At a very reasonable £10.75

Moving onto a vast main course selection,we again took “an age” to decide what to have.Eventually settling for -in my case-Whole Roast Trout stuffed with Pine Nuts,Semi-dried Tomatoes,Spinach and Bacon wrapped in Parma Ham in a Red wine and Port Syrup

(£15.90).The fish was perfect,not a bone in sight to mar the proceedings and the flavours of the syrup complemented the tomato and spinach in a pleasant and unexpected way.

My guest plumped for Loin of Rabbit “Welington” (think of Rabbit like Beef Wellington and you are on the right lines!)which was braised,and formed of two of the more “meat-plentiful” parts of the Rabbit,the Leg and Shoulder joints which had been braised.This was served with Parisienne Potatoes in a White wine,Tarragon and Tomato Jus.(£16.90)

For Sides Creamed Garlic Spinach and Buttered French Beans at a reasonable £3-£4 were chosen.

It should be said that a range of Steaks are available as part of a Grill course of the Brasserie Menu.

Feeling quite full and after allowing or digestion a short rest we had to move onto dessert-It was either that or stay the night till we had slept off our feast!- I settled for a light Sorbet constructed of several varied flavours which was delicious.
My guest chose Warm apple and Hazlenut Cake with Honey Caramel and SourCream Ice Cream.

Both coming in at £6 each.

Again delicious,light and ideal to finish off a filling meal.The other choices are Sticky Toffee Pudding,a Cheese Selection,various Ice Creams and Raspberry Souffle to name but a few-All between £6-£8.

For the wine we chose Red- the recommended Barolo,by the Somellier and it went incredibly well with all courses.(Including the fish,as I myself am generally a “white” wine person!)

A splendid evening,the Brasserie and Patron Bar is ideal to wind down and have a business meal,an end of day relax and treat great company in.

5/5 Excellent food,wine,ambience and service.

Head to Rhodes's Brasserie- “en-masse-rie!”

Terry Jolley

I never felt any desire to visit a Gary Rhodes restaurant. The main reason for this is that, as an avid food programme enthusiast, I have always switched the channel whenever his out-of-date coiffure invaded my living room. Not so much his hair, as his condescending tone irritated me. I never liked watching him degrading international star chefs in their own countries, to mere sous-chefs while he talked non stop about their dishes. Or speak to us viewers as if we were slightly moronic. And then I was invited to a birthday party at RhodesW1. The entire dining room was booked and the venue was quite pleasant. It boasts great chandeliers and very luxurious furniture.The light design was particularly nice.
When we arrived we had champagne and unmemorable canapes in the foyer until finally the dining room opened. Generally the service was good: attentive and unfuzzy. But it is very difficult to judge the service of a restaurant when the entire dining room is supposed to be served at the same time. That night they could have done with a few more waiters.
As for the food, it was not bad, but it was not great. For starters we were served foie gras with duck which was cold, although I am pretty sure it was supposed to be warm. It was fine. As main course the chosen dish was an unspectacular smallish cod with lentils which unfortunately was embellished with needless bits of bacon – as a result only half of our table ate it – they did not miss out on much. It is a dish I have eaten many times before in other London restaurants without the bacon bits at, much higher executed standard. The dessert, a chocolate and hazelnut concoction, was a little too sweet for my taste.
To be honest our menu was boring, the food was indifferent and on the small-portioned side, but I recognize that it was pre chosen for us. It still did not change my mind. Gary Rhodes might be the complete opposite of what he comes across like on television, but now that I have eaten at one of his restaurants, there lies no futher interest in trying more of his food.