dean street townhouse

on our first night out in london, we were after something that was delicious and gave us a true feel for what the city had to offer. a few different people had recommended dean streettownhouseand was perfect as it was so close to our hotel. it was a thursday evening, and were quite surprised at how busy it was, only being able to get a table at 8:30pm. when we walked in, the restaurant and bar area were both full. we did have to wait for our table to be cleared, so decided to order a few drinks at the bar while we waited.

part of the soho house group, dean sttownhouseis the only rep in the area now old compton st's soho hse and cafe boheme is now closed for refurbishment. the bar and brasserie has a great vibe. we sat at the bar with biggest clunkiest chairs which i must say is a design flaw in such a small space. the could have fit more people and made comfort a priority if they had normal stools. that was the only negative. loved the guests, all down to earth, no pretentiousness. staff are on point. pricing is as you would expect in soho. really nice for a girls night out. eastern standard (gin, cucumber, lime and mint) and a french 75.

a place fit for many occasions, deanstreettownhouseis one of a kind in its soho location. the 39 bedroomtownhouseat numbers 69 and 70 dean street has restaurant on the ground floor that is renown across london. the georgian residences built by carpenter, john meard, in 1735 are busy day and night hosting a range of different dining experiences from a relaxed brunch to an intimate dinner. from the outside, the eatery looks like any other townhouse, but as you walk in you see the living room style restaurant. a couple of work colleagues (both named laura) and i decided to visit on a lazy sunday afternoon to try the recommended sunday lunch.

afternoon tea in london is showing no signs of disappearing, new twists are added all the time. there’s one for men (up our street), themed ones, route master ones, burger ones (surprised that took so long).

in case you’re wondering, the top 10 in london named by opentable are:

1) fortnum & mason diamond jubilee tea salon
2) the savoy, thames foyer
3) the orangery at kensington palace
4) palm court at the langham hotel
5) the delaunay
6) the criterion
7) fortnum & mason fountain restaurant
8) the wolseley
9) berners tavern
10) dean street townhouse

we popped down to dean streettownhouseto try theirs, mainly because it’s somewhere that i’ve wanted to go for years and haven’t got round to it. plus we like an underdog (they came in at number ten on the above list). the option of mixing and matching with their high tea menu which sounded ideal to us too. on a lazy sunny sunday afternoon the place was packed, seems a spot inside the georgiantownhouseis more appealing than a spot outside in the sunshine.

decor is rather ‘establishment’ or old school private members club mixed with the vibe of joe allen’s in covent garden. table setting is fairly formal, crisp white linen and sparkling glassware, but the atmosphere is relaxed. loved all the painting and artwork on display, if you run out of conversation (like the couple opposite) you can always admire what’s hanging on the wall. we perched at the bar sipping cocktails whilst waiting for our table (we were 15 minutes early – but any excuse for a cocktail). a fiery long soho mule (£10) for me and a griffin sidecar (£10) for him.

you gotta roll with it (this is the second time today i’ve written this caption)

we decided to share onetownhousetea (£19.50) between the two of us as – finger sandwiches (salmon & cream cheese, egg mayonnaise and ham and mustard) scones with jam and clotted cream, a selection of fancy cakes and tea of our choice. first up was the items chosen from the high tea menu – a magnificent sausage roll (£6) served with a dollop of ketchup on the side of the plate and perfect scotch duck egg (£7.50) sat atop a creamy chive mayonnaise.

then the afternoon tea arrived, i was already worried about how we were going to get through it all, we’d popped into smoking goat earlier (another place on our list). we saw on instagram that they were testing a new dish and giving it away for free, we went along ended up ordering too many other dishes, great marketing, very clever.

anyway back to my bloated belly, i hate wasted food so hatched a plan to save a couple of slices of sausage roll for a homeless woman we saw just up the street, sadly she was no longer there by the time we got out.

often there can be restrictions on afternoon tea, it has to be for a minimum of two people etc etc. thetownhousetea is flexible, we liked that. although as everything comes in threes these days (apparently it’s proven to look better aesthetically) we had to split sandwiches and cakes.

the only disappointment was the macaron which was hard and hollow. the waiter swapped it for a couple of fresh ones which were marginally better but still not quite right. the choice of tea is more than enough, all the old favourites are on there, my soothing jasmine tea and ade’s fave lapsang souchong, served in pretty navy ditsy floral tea cups.

service was impeccable, our waitress was so efficient and kept a smile on her face, even after a few stroppy requests – yes, from the couple opposite! we were here to test the afternoon tea but i must admit that we had a chronic case of food envy every time a roast dinner with all the trimmings went by.

ade very nearly ordered a mac and cheese because they looked and smelt so good, but even his expandable belly was full to bursting. as well as the fab main menu and expertly made cocktails, dean streettownhousehas 39 stunning bedrooms in which to stay, ideal after all that food. so off we went to try to find somewhere to sit and have another little cheeky cocktail in the sunshine – which is a lot harder than you would expect!

now dean streettownhouseis a funny one. it's a beautiful building inside and out, always busy and the staff are all good at what they do, but i feel that there's always a slight mismatch with the food. the menu is classically british, but don't go expecting any contemporary cuisine, as you're more likely to find 'mince and potatoes' and 'chicken and mushroom pie' over any foams and flambes. we went for a work lunch with a client and dove straight into the warm homemade bread and salted butter, before i went for the roasted cod with monk's beard and chanterelles. it was divine, with the fish perfectly flaking to melt in the mouth. the salty sauce, monk's beard and chanterelles added some different textures and i even resisted my boss's fat chips to go for the sprouting broccoli. it was an understated but great dish, i just can't help but wish there was more life to the menu as this place is right up my street.

in the midst of all the soho fun in london, is the dean street townhouse. it’s a 39 bedroom hotel which features an all day dining room. recently, i met up with two bloggers you often see on sunny in london. that’s mina from king’s road rocks and angie from silverspoon london.

the three of us have not been together since late spring, so this lunch was extra special. of course, it also lasted nearly three hours because there was loads for us to share. weddings, new jobs, baby birthdays, it was non-stop chatter!

i thoroughly enjoyed the food and service at dean street townhouse, aside from enjoying listening to my two blogger buds. they started with champagne cocktails.

unfortunately, i couldn’t participate in that part of the celebration because i am experiencing some seasonal allergies. my lunch drink was simply a giant pot of english breakfast tea.

a freshly baked bread and ginormous sunny slab of butter arrived as our centerpiece to tempt us as we chose our food items from the menu. although it looked really fabulous, i didn’t actually try any.

all three of the starters we picked were scrumptious! angie stayed healthy with the home-cured salmon, pickled cucumber. mina selected the girolles on toast, duck egg. and, i picked the twice-baked smoked haddock souffle, which i really loved. the flavours blended together perfectly. it wasn’t too rich, and the consistency was beautiful.

next, we each ordered a main. i experienced a bit of turmoil because i was very tempted by the afternoon tea. however, i decided to be healthy and chose the chicken, bacon, avocado salad. i don’t know that it turned out being too healthy, but it sure was delicious. the only hesitation i would have about ordering it again was every so often i had a big bite of rock salt. i’m not sure why that is a food trend right now, but if i ordered again, i’d pass on the salt.

also ordering a salad, mina enjoyed her dorset crabs, prawns and fennel. finally, angie ate the sea bass, clams and fennel.

we debated dessert for several minutes, but then opted to just say no. however, a little truffle teaser landed in front of us just as we requested the bill. ohhhhhh yummy! i just love a chocolate truffle, or two, or three. come to think of it, i may have eaten four ;-)

the dean streettownhousedining room offers a menu for breakfast, brunch, a la carte, afternoon tea, theatre, vegetarian and sunday roast. the cocktail menu is extensive. maybe if you just have a few minutes and are in the soho area of london, you can pop in and try a few? i really would like to visit again to enjoy the afternoon tea. the several that passed me during lunch looked divine!

the restaurant / hotel is part of the soho house group, but unlike some of the other venues, you don't have to be a member to eat there. and with it's cosy velvet sofas, comfortable red banquettes and menu of british comfort food (potatoes and mince, fish and chips and even crumpets and jam!!), dean streettownhouseis a home away from home. also despite its luxe roots and location, dean street isn't super spendy and the sunday roast is great value for money at three

ack in february i started soho lunch club; the intention was a regular monthly feature on my blog where i visit a reasonably priced soho eatery for lunch at the weekend. with my wedding and honeymoon, 'getting in the way' the feature some what petered out in may. but when myself, melanie from sunny in london and mina from king's road rocks decided to reunite for a weekend lunch, it seemed the perfect opportunity to revive my forgotten feature.

i suggested one of my favourite restaurants in soho, dean street townhouse. 

the restaurant / hotel is part of the soho house group, but unlike some of the other venues, you don't have to be a member to eat there. and with it's cosy velvet sofas, comfortable red banquettes and menu of british comfort food (potatoes and mince, fish and chips and even crumpets and jam!!), dean streettownhouseis a home away from home. also despite its luxe roots and location, dean street isn't super spendy and the sunday roast is great value for money at three courses for £28. even better, the afternoon tea, which i'm still yet to try, is a bargain at £19.50.

the restaurant is even more special to me because mr silver and i had our third ever date there so i have happy memories of our early days shyly glancing across the table at each other and sharing a bottle of wine...

but today was a ladies lunch day and as usual we had so much to catch up on it took about an hour before we even looked at the menu! but vitally we hadn't ordered any drinks...i had 'the usual'...

served in a gorgeously elegant coupe glass. 

mina sampled one of dean street's delicious cocktails. 

a french 75 with bombay sapphire, lemon, sugar and champagne. 

and what's more homely and comforting than freshly baked bread...

the waiter presented with a warm crusty loaf and a side of creamy butter, it had that gorgeous fresh baked aroma that makes bread irresistible. i mentioned in my wedding blog that smoked salmon is my comfort food so my choice of starter was clear...



i also have a penchant for pickled cucumber and this particular side dish reminded me of kosher or jewish pickle which have the addition of dill. the flavour of the salmon was fab but you can see from the picture that it was a little dry though that didn't affect my enjoyment.

mina went for another favourite british dish, a posh egg on toast! her duck egg had the perfect soft, runny yolk and was accompanied by girolle mushrooms and peas. 

but the star of the show was clearly melanie's twice-baked haddock souffle topped with a decadent, creamy sauce. 

my main course was another favourite of mine: 

a butterflied seabass served with fennel and clams. the skin was perfectly crisp and the flesh flaked perfectly with just the right amount of oil. 

mina also went for a fish option with a crab, prawn and fennel salad that was deliciously light but filling due to the perfect combination of protein and delicate dressing.

melanie stuck to her roots for a more american classic dish, a chicken, bacon and avocado salad, kind of a hybrid of a cobb and caesar salad. the light, summery dish was just what she needed to remind her of her hometown of daytona in florida while the clouds gathered outside reminding us that british summertime was well and truly at an end.



we were definitely suitably satisfied with our light yet comforting options and a round a coffees and chocolate truffles was the perfect way to finish things off. 

when i meet melanie and mina, the day could easily stretch into afternoon tea, more cocktails and a late night taxi back. but with family at home to see at the weekend, we bid farewell with plans to see each other soon! 

dean street townhouse 
69 - 71 dean street
london 
w1d 4se

dean streettownhouseis part of the soho house group. i’m not sure i knew how big that group was, before i looked it up. i feel like i’m the last person in london to have worked it out. foodbloggerfail. i first went during suicide for for a sensible meal time, the few days before christmas, with my very good friend r. we knew we were pushing our luck, hoping to get anything decent, away from the christmas drunks, but we thought we’d chance it. she wanted to go to burger & lobster, but we’d both felt that a 3-hour wait was a little too much to ask, even for lovely lobster and i knew that if we waited in the bar and had the inevitable cocktails, that there was no chance of my being able to hold out without having to be helped out. into a taxi. at my age, that isn’t a good look. and so we walked across the road and they were charming and welcoming from the off, notwithstanding that they were packed to the gills and we didn’t have a reservation.

even on a monday night, dean streettownhousewas rammed, can't imagine the chaos of the place on a friday or saturday. the greeting on the door, for a place already full up was nevertheless charming and helpful, not a touch of arrogance which really set a good tone for the rest of the meal (first impressions!). we did get lucky though for while we didn't have a booking, we barely had enough time to order a gin and tonic at the bar before we were led to a very good table in the back half of the restaurant where, staring out on to dean street itself, we could watch the world go by. there are however also a limited number of outside tables where if you really want to get close... the menu reads well, nothing overly inventive but food that sounds enticing to eat. from the starters we chose marinated scallops, cucumber and borage, together with a twice baked smoked haddock souffle. we were also enticed by the pheasant eggs with celery salt which came listed as 3/5. when we asked if we coul

dean streettownhouseis one of those classy joints which are all low lighting and plush furnishings. dead posh, like. the food is very british and uppa class, with seasonal dishes cooked to perfection. part of the soho house group, this restaurant and hotel has long been a favourite of soho-dwellers, and though it is a bit pricier than other joints, the food and drink is of a really high standard. we had; haddock souffle so good. just get it and stop fussing. prawn & crab chicory leaf salad really delicious and salty, this fresh salad is packed full of sweet crab meat, succulent prawns and bitter chicory. it works really well with the simple drizzle of lemon and salt on top and is a really delicious starter or side dish. winter salad of lentils, beetroot and wood pigeon this was a really good seasonal salad, and the sweetness of the beetroot went really well with the gamey pigeon and woody lentils. absolutely delish and very weather appropriate!

highly-rated, hugely popular, all-day british dining venue dean streettownhousein soho was the scene of sunday lunch recently. sunday roast here is £24 for two, and £28 for three courses - definitely on the high side - but many a review suggested that the quality of food here was worth it.

not a bad effort overall, but thetownhousewill have to try harder to make me come back again. three stars – my breakfast quest continues.

we staggered our way through the screaming hoardes of soho to the dean streettownhouseand to some delicious food and a couple more jeraboams of champagne. epic twice baked haddock souffle and lobster bisque.

aside from the impressive menu in the all day restaurant, thetownhousealso upholds the quintessentially british tradition of afternoon tea. served between 3pm and 5.30pm everyday, the menu consists of a selection of scones, cakes, pastries and finger sa