Wild Honey St James

With Arbutus and Wild Honey Mayfair, Anthony Demetre was once at the forefront of London’s casual fine dining movement. It was all about creative food at fair prices, so there’s a touch of irony that 15 years later, Michelin-starred Wild Honey finds itself on the opposite end of the spectrum, settled inside the swanky Sofitel St James Hotel.

Black cabs and red buses bustle up and down outside, but beyond the restaurant's revolving door you’ll find nothing but a gentle murmur of conversation. The interiors are smart, if a little staid - marble table tops, chestnut leather and dark, polished wood all play into the refined and slightly serious feel of the space.

We kick things off with a Negroni - a cocktail Demetre takes very seriously. The restaurant makes its own vermouth in-house and it is without doubt one of the best negroni’s we’ve ever had - one ice cube to limit dilution and a little hit of orange zest.

If Demetre’s cooking must exist in a hotel to exist in London at all, we’ll take it, because it remains just as thrilling as it ever has been. A wafer-thin tartlet of wild mushrooms arrives under a blanket of hazelnut sabayon. There’s an Orkney scallop - crowned with a golden maillard crust - alongside a silky Jerusalem artichoke puree and the fruity kick of sansho pepper. Mains continue the theme of expert cookery and smart flavour combinations - rare fallow venison, walnut, cocoa and kumquat sounds an ingredient too far but it really works, with clean citrus cutting through all the richness. We finish with a tarte tatin - a dessert that only reaches its majestic peak when the caramel is taken right to the precipice. It’s superb, but by this point we’re not surprised.

Here’s the kicker though. Mains are pushing £40, starters are up to £25. That tarte tatin? £24 - admittedly, for two to four people. Dining here is no drop in the ocean but there’s no questioning the faultless food.

Following huge success with Arbutus and the original Wild Honey, Anthony Demetre has taken his acclaimed restaurant from Mayfair to St James's, where it now resides in the Sofitel St James Hotel. The restaurant received rave reviews during its time in Mayfair, and the St James's iteration has been similarly well received, being awarded a Michelin star in 2022.

Demetre is a chef with a wealth of experience alongside luminaries like Gary Rhodes, Pierre Koffmann and Bruno Loubet, and at Wild Honey St James his menu combines classic French techniques with the finest British seasonal produce. As well as sticking with seasonal British produce whenever possible, The restaurant has a sustainable mentality - the kitchen operates in a nose to tail fashion, making sure to use every part of an ingredient to lower wastage. 

There are a number of menus available at the restaurant, catering to a variety of crowds, with menus for lunch as well as an evening tasting menu. If you make it in the early evening you'll find a very reasonable early supper menu on offer too. Dishes on the menu include grilled Hereford beef with slow cooked shin cottage pie and Roscoff onion, and Shetland halibut with mussels, Manitou potatoes, young leeks and white miso.

As per the name, Wild Honey also has its own wild honey, courtesy of a few hives on the roof of the hotel, as well as local providers Bermondsey Street Bees. Honey features in a number of dishes, including a Welsh lamb, roast sand carrot, January king cabbage and honey dish, and the wild honey ice cream with honeycomb and lemon madeleines.

As you'd expect for this sort of hotel establishment, the wine list is also extensive and varied, with a huge range of wines by bottle and by the glass.