Another Lovely Gastro: William IV

7 Shepherdess Walk
N1 7QE
Tel: 020 3119 3012

Date of Last Visit: Wednesday May 3, 2006

The Victims: Julie, Feathers, Bastiaan, Renee

The Damage: Thought to be around 20 quid per person

Everyone was in town, so we made plans for dinner. I called the William IV and they had space, and I’d been wanting to try it for ages. We meandered over. It’s a very peaceful place, the William IV. Although it certainly wasn’t empty, it wasn’t crowded either. But they had a good number of people there, so it felt full. If you know what I mean.

We found our way to the table and placed our drink orders at the bar. The problem was, we were STARVING. (It was 8 p.m. and us people from my country, we like eating early and hadn’t eaten since noon.) I tried to ply some nuts or other similar snacks from the bar to no avail. My only option was nuts in foil bags. Uggh. They can certainly come up with something better.

I went for the cod (or was it sea bass?) in the potato stew. Renee had the onion soup, and she shared the meat platter with Feathers. Bastiaan enjoyed the meat platter all by himself. It was a very large meat platter. Very large.

For dessert, we shared a cheese plate which was very disappointing. Just two types of cheese. (Apparently, it was the last cheese plate they had.) I kinda felt ripped-off.

But see, at the same time, I felt perfectly perfect and comfortable at the William IV. The lighting was really good–who doesn’t like a candelabra?–and the seating was cool–two really long tables across the length of the room. Also loved all the white which was white but not in an overly "Don’t you dare spill anything" sort of way. I was reminded somewhat of The Garrison in Bermondsey, but not really. (I think the Garrison is a bit more crowded and country-ish. I can’t explain why.)

The Verdict: The food wasn’t bad. The atmosphere was very nice. I’d go back.