Hotel restaurants have a habit of playing it safe - glossy, anonymous spaces designed more for convenience than character - but Restaurant 45, tucked inside the St Martin’s Lane Hotel, quietly sidesteps that stereotype. Fresh off a menu revamp, it now leans into brasserie territory, offering French classics and a handful of crowd-pleasing snacks to theatregoers and passers-by.
Traces of the classic hotel dining room remain, but art deco artworks, and towering columns with wraparound bookshelves help to usher in the new. A well-stocked bar greets you on entry, flanked by tall tables and stools, while oversized black-and-white, old-Hollywood-style portraits bring a cinematic flourish. It’s slightly mismatched, but it works. The restaurant sits just off the hotel foyer, its open-plan layout feeding off the energy of the hotel’s constant footfall. Even on a quiet Monday evening, there’s a hum to the room, lifted by the outside bustle.
Snacks kick things off. Rosemary-studded focaccia comes with a hefty pour of olive oil, though it could use a firmer hit of salt, whilst sticky-sweet pulled pork sliders served in soft, golden buns, arrive lukewarm. Crispy squid fares better, its breadcrumbed coating lightly spiced with chilli, though the snacks section feels a little less cohesive than the rest of the menu. A grilled octopus tentacle gets us back on track, sitting on a bed of tomatoes, capers and olives, its skin well-charred and finished with peppery nasturtium leaves and a drizzle of herb-infused oil.
Mains show some confident cooking. A butterflied sea bass arrives head-on, skin crisp, flesh so tender it flakes at the slightest touch. It swims in a fennel beurre blanc - the fennel’s aniseed sweetness proving an effective foil for the rich, buttery sauce. Truffle chicken doubles down on the indulgence, its crisp, golden skin concealing a layer of truffle, paired with meaty eyringii mushrooms, all bathed in a rich porcini cream. It’s bold, umami-heavy, and we can’t get enough. Dessert ends on a playful note with a deconstructed creme brulee: a dome of vanilla-speckled cream, topped with a shard of burnt sugar tuile.
Restaurant45 may not completely escape the hotel-dining cliches, but it offers a polished, reliable experience with a couple of standout moments.