Editor’s Review – The London Edition

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Stylish, Sophisticated & Elegant with a Wow Factor

You simply cannot help but gaze around in awe upon arrival at The London Edition. Entering through the hotels original doors and a glass-walled vestibule you arrive in the dazzling space of the lobby and lobby bar. There’s plenty to take in, high stuccoed ceilings with a huge custom Ingo Mauer polished silver sphere light, Christian Liaigre black metal furniture and lighting, 24-karat gold Salvador Dali inspired floor lamps, an antique billiard table and mustard velvet slipper chairs. It goes on and on, there is a meticulous attention to detail. After gawping for a few minutes we head over to the lobby and check in. The reception staff are young, chic and extremely welcoming.

We were swiftly shown to our room, a 22 sqm guest room, a fabulous space with oak floors and wood-panelled walls in dark walnut. The room is open and minimalistic with a cabin-like feel. With the attention to detail into the guest rooms continuing, it is easy to be impressed with Ian Schrager’s faultless design. Furnished with oatmeal-upholstered George Smith tufted lounge chairs, luxurious linen-and-silk drapery, silk area rugs, and a gold-leaf Baroque-framed Hendrik Kerstens photograph all add a further feeling of warmth. The housekeeping’s of a good standard, we requested tea making facilities and promptly a full selection were brought to our room, with various herbal teas and a nespresso machine. On arrival back to the hotel after a brief walk around the fabulous location of London’s Fitzrovia, we arrived back in our room to find the most mouth-watering delightful almond cakes topped with almond cream had been left for us, an extremely welcome and well received treat!

That evening we had dinner reservations at Berner’s Tavern, found beside the lobby bar. The dining area is stunning, triple height ceilings, walls covered in various sized gold framed art, impressive chandeliers, a huge backlit cocktail bar, mohair-covered banquettes and a central row of booths, everything has glamour and style in abundance.

Our table, nestled in the corner by the kitchen, gave a fantastic view of the stunning room. The staff were faultless, helpful, friendly and extremely professional. The atmosphere is great, lively but not too loud. There was not a spare table in sight for more than a few minutes, the exclusive central booths being the place to be seen.

Jason Atherton’s menu is varied and bold. My starter of quail on toast was packed with flavour, it came with chicken liver and foie gras parfait, potato crumble, sherry caramel and a mustard leaf. The flavour was bold and rich. My companion’s starter of a braised rabbit, ham hock and foie gras terrine had a wonderful texture and was accompanied with a delicious apple and cider puree. Both of our main were superb, mine a fillet steak which was cooked to mouth-watering perfection with a rich creamy béarnaise sauce and my companions, whole dover sole was expertly executed and rather delicious. Desserts were quirky and tasty. The rhubarb trifle came in a jar along with a fine lemon-thyme ice-cream and my warm apple and pear rice pudding was comforting, delicious with the fruit soft but rich.

I could not fault Berners Tavern in any way, it would struggle to disappoint. Full of glitz, glamour and tasty food it should be way up on anyone’s list for a great night in London.