This was published 9 years ago
London museums offer old-fashioned classics, seasonal British produce, sushi and other fare at new restaurants
London's museum restaurants have finally come of age, with fare as exotic and enticing as their exhibits. By Rob McFarland.
Great Court Restaurant in the British Museum.
For a long time, the most boring part of visiting a London museum was lunch. A lacklustre tuna sandwich was the best you could expect from many of the capital's cultural institutions. But over the past few years there's been a culinary revolution: new restaurants have opened, old ones have been refurbished and many are now destinations in their own right. Here are some of the best.
Rex Whistler, Tate Britain
Rex Whistler was just 23 when he painted the mural in the Tate Britain restaurant that bears his name. An extravagant work entitled The Expedition in Pursuit of Rare Meats, it depicts a group's search for exotic meats through strange and wondrous lands. The painting took 18 months to complete and when the restaurant was unveiled in 1927, it was declared "the most amusing room in Europe".
Keeper's House restaurant.
The mural underwent an eight-week restoration last year before the restaurant reopened in November under new head chef Nathan Brewster. Brewster updates the menu every few months but regularly seeks inspiration from the restaurant's archives so you can expect modern versions of old-fashioned classics such as devilled lambs' kidneys, pigeon terrine and rabbit turnover.
To kick off proceedings I order a gin and elderflower fizz, a refreshing combination of English sparkling wine and Tate Sacred Gin, which is made especially for the restaurant.
My marinated mackerel starter is appropriately tangy and comes artfully arranged on a bed of gooseberries and garnished with watercress. For main, I try the sea bass, which is light and delicious, and is served with a rich crab, tarragon and samphire sauce. Service throughout is top notch. When I sheepishly confess I haven't the faintest idea what samphire is, my waitress enthusiastically explains that it's an asparagus-like vegetable that grows in coastal marshes.
Rex Whistler Restaurant in the Tate.
An unexpected surprise is the wine list, which has won four UK wine awards and stretches to an impressive 42 pages. A knowledgeable sommelier suggests a riesling from the Rhine region of Germany and it complements my sea bass perfectly.
Open daily for lunch and afternoon tea. Lunch from $30, see tate.org.uk.
The Magazine, Serpentine Sackler Gallery
Magazine restaurant char-grilled cod with smoked clam sauce.
Just a five-minute stroll from the original Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens, the new Serpentine Sackler Gallery opened in September last year. It specialises in contemporary art and after three minutes of watching Ed Atkins' video exhibit of decapitated heads bouncing down stairs, I'm ready for a drink.
Thankfully, right next door is The Magazine, a stunning glass-fronted structure with a curved membrane roof that looks like a space-age sunhat. Inside, three hollow columns act as skylights, funnelling light into a clean, minimalist space filled with white plastic tables and chairs. A long, sleek bar lines the exposed brick wall of the neighbouring gallery while the standalone kitchen looks like something out of The Jetsons.
Spectacular settings create high expectations and the man responsible for meeting them is Oliver Lange, a German-born chef who has created an intriguing menu of Japanese dishes using British produce.
We start with the sushi platter, which comes beautifully arranged on a grey stone dish and is accompanied by a serving of wasabi that's mashed from the plant at our table (a first). The highlight is the Volcano Roll, a juicy morsel of spicy tuna wrapped in rice and seaweed that's been deep-fried.
Next is a selection of share plates – ceviche-style hamachi sashimi with a tangy mango and scallop crisp and a serving of pillowy pork and shrimp dumplings so scrumptious I could eat them all night.
Lange's BritJap fusion approach is most evident in the mains, which include chargrilled cod with smoked clam sauce and Yorkshire lamb with miso potato risotto (another first).
The biggest surprise is dessert. I'd normally give anything containing tofu a wide berth but the Eton mess-style poached summer fruit, tofu and orange is a revelation.
Open Tuesday to Saturday 8am-6pm, Sunday 9am-6pm. Mains from $33, see magazine-restaurant.co.uk.
Keeper's House, The Royal Academy
You could easily visit The Royal Academy 10 times and not notice Keeper's House, a 19th-century townhouse tucked away in the corner of the museum's impressive courtyard. Look for a small green neon sign above a wooden door that flickers "Keep me safe". The sign is, in fact, an artwork by notorious Britart wild child Tracey Emin. During the day it's a members club for Royal Academicians and their friends, but from 4pm it opens to the public.
We start in the Shenkman bar, a surprisingly contemporary space with black leather seats and a glowing red countertop. After a cocktail in the intimate walled garden (I highly recommend the Keepers 1914), we retire to the restaurant, which is spread across two small rooms.
There are no misfires with the menu, which features a solid selection of seasonal British produce. I start with the terrine of confit jumbo quail and chicken, which is superb, before moving on to a perfectly-cooked pot-roasted saddle of lamb with a tasty cherry tomato ragu. The waiter persuades my dining companion to try the duck, enthusing that it's so good he makes it at home. The verdict? Tres bien.
Open for dinner Monday to Saturday 5.30pm-10.30pm. Mains from $31, see keepershouse.org.uk.
Great Court restaurant, British Museum
Enter the museum from Great Russell Street and you'll be plunged into the spectacular Norman Foster-designed Great Court, the largest covered public square in Europe. In the centre of this soaring glass-ceilinged atrium is the museum's cylindrical reading room and on top of this, as if raised on a giant pedestal, is the restaurant.
Access is via a pair of dramatic sweeping stone staircases – a grand entrance to what turns out to be a surprisingly informal space. The elliptical room has a mixture of standalone tables, communal high benches and curved banquettes. There's a new open kitchen and a charcuterie station laden with meats and salads.
There's certainly no lack of choice. The a la carte menu features six starters, seven mains and five desserts. There are the stalwarts (salmon fillet and steak and chips) alongside more exotic fare such as crayfish, Iberico pork and silver mullet. Alternatively, you can choose from several freshly made salads, like marinated Cornish mackerel with saffron roasted cauliflower, toasted almonds and cipollini onions.
Despite these myriad options, by far the most popular choice is a fixed-price set menu that's themed around the museum's major exhibition. When I visit, this is Ancient Lives, a presentation about eight people who lived in the Nile Valley from prehistoric Egypt through to Christian Sudan. The menu draws inspiration from the region, so my seared tuna starter comes seasoned with chermoula (a North African marinade) and sits on a bed of quinoa. Mains include lamb with fava beans and freekeh (an ancient Arabian cereal dish) and there's an apricot and sultana baklava for dessert. It's an inspired idea – a chance to taste history as well as read about it – and I'd be surprised if other institutions don't follow suit.
Open daily for lunch and afternoon tea and dinner Fridays-only. Two-course lunch from $42, see britishmuseum.org.
The writer travelled as a guest of British Airways and the four restaurants.
TRIP NOTES
MORE INFORMATION
visitlondon.com.
GETTING THERE
British Airways flies from Sydney and Melbourne to London via Singapore. Phone 1300 767 177, britishairways.com.
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