Anyone taking on The Midland Grand would have big shoes to fill. Most recently, those stompers belonged to Patrick Powell, with Marcus Wareing’s The Gilbert Scott having been and gone before him. Now, slipping into this glorious dining room is Michelin-starred SO:LA chef Victor Garvey.
Few places measure up to the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel’s signature brand of opulence and sophistication, but The Midland Grand’s neck-breaking triple-height ceilings, gilt cornicing, and mammoth stained glass chandeliers are more than a match for the venerable gothic hotel. Stately though it is, warmth and comfort live here too, thanks to plush seating and glowing cabaret-style table lamps.
‘Grand’ is right, but few things in life (tasting menus included) are remarkable at every level. The Midland Grand is one of those rarities. The canape course sets the tone; what Garvey calls ‘Le Jardin Mediterranee’ is a triptych founded on fun and trickery. An awakening crystal clear gazpacho consomme is followed swiftly by a rich Cevennes onion confit in a brik pastry tartlet. The latter, shrouded in black praline, mimics an olive, arriving alongside imitation pointed peppers formed with mackerel mousseline and cloaked in a heady, paprika-laden piquillo pepper gelee.
More than a garden, this is an entire continent distilled into three impeccably judged, glistening morsels. It’s a staggering affirmation of what Garvey’s no-effort-spared approach can do.
Sticking to sunnier shores, ‘La Seriole’ offers king yellowtail sashimi with a quenelle of whipped avocado and a crisp pastry parcel of fatty fish belly. Charred scallion spears and a bright shimeji mushroom consomme balance that richness with enviable finesse. ‘Le Homard’ presents native lobster with a sweet knuckle meat boudin sausage and a powerful pressed lobster jus, ladled tableside. Quite sensibly, we’re cleansed by ‘Le Pamplemousse’: a pre-dessert with fresh pink flesh, and grapefruit sorbet spiked with a whisper of kaffir lime. You’d be hard-pressed to find seven courses of full-throttle, purposeful cooking like this anywhere else, especially for £129 a pop - just another reason to admire Victor Garvey at The Midland Grand.
Just like that, the show is nearly over, but not before a closing flourish - ‘L’Opera’. Glossy spheres of impossibly dark Tuna yellow chocolate cremeux are paired with astonishingly expensive Geisha coffee diplomat, and a Marcona almond bavarois. Now, the fat lady is singing, and the verdict is in: Victor Garvey at The Midland Grand is a belter.