London Gastro: Great Queen Street

32 Great Queen St
WC2B 5AA
Tel: 020 7242 0622

Date of Last Visit: 13 July 2007

The Victim: K

The Damage: £45 each. Plus drinks at the Covent Garden Hotel afterwards.

The Background: K has been traveling like crazy lately and I have been running around (literally) a lot lately, so it’s been too long. I’m also lucky in that smoking is now illegal in London, which means K&A are more likely to be tempted out. (They do not, most obviously, have the affinity for Febreeze and Clear Eyes that I do.)

The Tap Water Test: PASSED. A whole jug.

The Service: Friendly. Informative. Interesting. They know the food and the menu. The wine recommendation we got was one of the most enthusiastic I’ve ever received. (It would help if I could remember what it was…it was French, fruit-forward, and it started with a G.) I hope they don’t ever lose this enthusiasm thing. Also, I liked the fact that they didn’t automatically tack on 12.5%. They asked when they charged my card whether I wanted to add a gratuity.

The Bread: FANTASTIC.

The Starter: I go for crab on toast. It’s very meaty. It’s more than just crab and mayo. There’s something else in there. Worcestchire sauce? I don’t know, but it’s delicious. The toast is a little too crunchy though–it’s hard to work with. K has the onions and although served differently than expected (we almost expected a latke), she was very happy.

The Mains: K says her steak is the best steak she’s had in England. This is HIGH PRAISE. K&A have been ordering beef from an American butcher (John someone) somewhere out in the countryside because they are so not fans of British beef. They talk to butchers about beef all the time. They talk about the deplorable state of British beef fairly regularly. The fact that she likes this steak…well, this is good. I am pleased.

I have the rabbit. Because I am obsessed with rabbit these days. Here, it tastes like chicken, as it often does. It it served with little onions and little pieces of bacon. It’s all very nice. I am happy.

The best part? The alioli we had to beg for. We got a side of chips, and they don’t do ketchup. K looks imploringly at the server with her best puppy dog eyes…some alioli, certainly? Please? And he returns with some. And it was fantastic. So wonderfully garlic-y. And the mayo had to have been home made.

The Desserts: We don’t really feel like anything on the menu, but we did see that the large party at the front of the restaurant had some nice American pudding-like creations served in shot glasses. We ask about these–which are not on the menu–and they bring us one chocolate and one lemon. They charge us £3.60 each, which I think it a tad dear, but that’s okay. (Well, not really. I’d suggest £2.80.) They are just the right amount of dessert.

The Verdict: Good food. Loud. Fun. Excellent service. Clean. Neat. Not cheap. You should try it. And you should convince them to always offer the alioli.