Spotlight
Dish Cult Dines: Seasonality
06 Dec 2024
06 Dec 2024
Exclusive review of 116 at The Athenaeum in London
The Athenaeum Hotel & Residences – an independent, five-star hotel in the heart of Mayfair – exudes spirited luxury with a nod to its Art Deco roots. With the West End, designer-lined Bond Street and Buckingham Palace all just a stroll away, this is an enviable London location to call ‘home’. Rooms and suites come with all of life’s luxuries and views over Green Park or the character-filled streets of Mayfair. Residences are the hotel’s contemporary serviced apartments, located in the Victorian townhouses beside the hotel. If you’re feeling peckish, then you’re in very good hands because dining comes courtesy of the hotel’s restaurant, 116 at The Athenaeum, which offers not just an informal setting for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and an award-winning afternoon tea, but an exciting five course tasting menu that pairs brilliantly with carefully selected beverages from around the world.
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Family-friendly
The Athenaeum is a family-friendly home-from-home. This is most evident in its collaboration with Yoto, which provides children staying at the hotel with audio players, library card content, and accessories. With more than 1,000 stories from authors such as Julia Donaldson, Roald Dahl and Judith Kerr, plus a selection of music and activities, there is plenty of choice for little ones to fend off any boredom, giving parents more peace of mind throughout their stay.
The carefully connected speakers are screen-free, which puts kids in control of their listening, learning and play. Colourful accessories allow children to personalise the players during their stay, organise their card collections, and use child-safe headphones. The partnership also includes a 10% discount offered exclusively to guests of The Athenaeum Hotel & Residences, as well as exciting social media competitions with prizes to be won.
Vegan-friendly
As well as being child-friendly, the hotel is also vegan-friendly, providing one of the best vegan tasting menus in the country.
Veganism and plant-based diets are increasingly on the rise around the world, with Google searches for “vegan food near me” seeing a 5,000% increase in 2021 and in 2023, 706,965 people worldwide signed up for Veganuary, which increased to 1.8 million in January 2024 (according to World Animal Foundation). As a result, many restaurants are adapting their menus to accommodate for the shift in eating habits.
It is becoming increasingly easy to find vegan food in supermarkets and restaurants because the UK has come on in leaps and bounds in response to the rise of vegan and plant-based dining. But what about the very best gourmet vegan food that the country has to offer? And what about when it isn’t Veganuary?
London has been crowned the most vegan-friendly city for a fourth year in a row, and in a recent study of the Top 10 Best Vegan Gourmet Casual Tasting Menus in the UK, 116 at The Athenaeum ranked fourth. The vegan menu here is comprised of five courses at £10 each, including a vegan “brie”. Head Chef Ian Howard offers three tasting menus at 116 at The Athenaeum – one of which is vegetarian and one of which is vegan.
The chef, who was previously Head Chef at one of London’s most celebrated meat-centric restaurants, Roast in the heart of Borough Market, said: “In the last year we’ve noticed more and more diners, who wouldn’t traditionally call themselves vegetarian or vegan, looking for options where they can dine on healthier alternatives and add more fruit and vegetables to their diet. People are cutting back on red meat and dairy and opting for healthier, locally sourced, seasonal produce, such as the beautiful celeriac that we serve as a carpaccio with apple, hazelnut and truffles foraged for us in the UK. We’ve also found a fabulous new plant-based producer who supplies us with a vegan ‘brie’ so that diners don’t feel like they’re missing out on the cheese-course when they’re having dinner with a group of friends.”
Tasting Menu
Of the three tasting menus offered by executive chef, Ian Howard, I visited recently to sample the non-vegan, non-vegetarian one. This began with a wonderful Pumpkin Veloute with sage and croutons. The tasting menu is just £50 per person, which can be upgraded with a wine flight for an additional £45 per person.
The next course is a beautifully cooked Pan Seared Scallop with fennel and Pernod purée, rocket and fennel salad, and maple syrup dressing. This is followed with a Pan Seared Quail, served with leek, celeriac and blood orange purée, and a Grand Marnier red wine jus. Bold, yet delicate, this dish was expertly crafted and beautifully presented.
Onto the dish for the sweet toothed, and it was a good one. A very good one. Black Forest Mousse, brownie and cherry – it brought a sense of nostalgia with every mouthful.
To round off the menu, we ended with a Cornish Yarg complete with Peter’s Yard crackers, chutney, grapes, and celery, leaving us sated and smiling.
Forward thinking
116 at The Athenaeum may be fine dining in a five star setting, but this is a modern restaurant led by a forward-thinking team. Staying true to its ‘British foundations’, its inspiration is international and its ethos is exemplary. Expect inspiring seasonal menus, championing local producers.
The purpose of the renowned building may have evolved, but creativity remains at its core.
