Galvin @ Windows – Park Lane Hilton - London – 6.5/10

It’s Sunday afternoon, and another opportunity to eat. This time it’s at the much talked about Galvin @ Windows. The restaurant is on the 28th floor of the Park Lane Hilton, and has views across London. It’s an elegant room, with dark browns and mint greens complimenting the view. Which is stunning. The best thing about this restaurant is the amazing panoramic views from each side. From our table we had the backdrop of Hyde Park and St James’ Park. Not bad eh?

There’s a huge gold sculpture hanging from the ceiling along the length of the room which looks like a giant unwrapped Ferrero Rocher. It dominated the room, but I guess was designed to draw your eyes along it and out through the windows to the amazing backdrop.

The view was undeniably fantastic, as you would expect at that height. And thankfully the weather had decided to cheer up a bit so we could see clearly. Although, come to think of it, a storm at that height might have been pretty dramatic too.

We were seated and greeted with two glasses of cool champagne. Our table wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t the worst either. All around the edges of the restaurant there are tables right by the windows with uninterrupted views. In the centre there is a raised rectangular platform with more tables. We were placed here but luckily not right in the centre of the restaurant. I can imagine you'd be pretty disappointed to be sat there, craning your neck over everybody else to admire the view.

We went for the very reasonable summer menu, which included three courses, a glass of champagne and coffee for £25 a head. And as I was working later in the day we didn’t need to worry about astronomical prices for wine. Having been to Artisan at the Westbury recently on a similarly priced menu, we were happily awaiting a few little surprises during the meal. They didn’t appear.

I started with the tomato, mozzarella and basil soup, which was very good. It was elegantly poured into the dish at the table with mozzarella waiting, ready in the bottom of the bowl. The soup had depth of flavour and was seasoned perfectly, but the real highlight of this dish was the accompanying bread. The Lemon and basil foccacia was stupendous. The crust was packed with rock salt and herbs and the dough had shreds of lemon zest running through it. The bread and the soup were the best of friends.

The Bear went for the Fois Gras, of course. It was “the best starter I’ve ever had”. Not something I approve of, but it seemed to rock his boat. A good start so far.

The main course arrived a little quickly after the starter for my liking, but it looked marvellous. I went for salmon with crushed potatoes and watery vinaigrette. It was very pretty, but a little on the tame side. It’s the sort of thing I could manage to cook at home, and frequently do. The only thing that really stood out about the dish was the vinaigrette. It was subtle and delicate, with a lemony and acidic tone that lifted the otherwise fairly average dish. The Bear had pork. Of course he did. He liked it, but wasn’t blown away.

The dishes were taken away by the ten waiters dedicated to our table (a bit of an exaggeration, but that’s what it felt like). I went for the strawberry pannacotta, and the Bear for the gooseberry fool for dessert. Unlike the starter and the main, the dessert took FOREVER to arrive. But it was worth the wait. The strawberry pannacotta was an ocular feast. Set in a large shallow bowl, it was strewn with real strawberries, strawberry jelly, baby basil leaves and honeycomb. You got a different flavour in every mouthful. It was a dream. The gooseberry fool was also good, but lacked texture.

With coffee came some chocolates, which were okay. A bit on the tiny side. With the bill came some homemade marshmallows, which were very good, but far too sweet. There was no way we could polish off the whole jar placed in front of us. But it was a nice touch. These last minute additions made up for the lack of amuse bouche or palate cleansers in the rest of the meal.

All in all the bill came to £62 for three courses, coffee, a glass of champagne each, two bottles of sparkling water, and service. You can’t really argue with that. But there was something missing throughout. That pizazz you expect from this sort of restaurant. Maybe I’ve been spoilt, but I did feel a sense of disappointment. A sense that I had stayed in the hotel to eat whilst on holiday, and not ventured to the more exciting unknown territories outside.

The views are excellent. It’s worth going just for them. The food was good in places but otherwise fairly tame. I don’t think I would go back in a hurry, but I’m very glad I went in the first place.