IN theory, it is a combination that should be able to muster the perfect dining experience - a know-it-all food writer joins forces with a top chef to create a seasonal menu using ingredients from champion British producers.
And while the food at the Cadogan Hotel's new open-to-all restaurant is sumptuous, it is just a shame that, seemingly, not enough people are eating it - on the night I visited, just two other tables were in use.
The concept is a truly interesting and worthy one. For my visit, Telegraph food writer Xanthe Clay and television chef Nigel Barden were the bastions of the menu, which changes every six to eight weeks when a new combination of experts takes charge.
The restaurant has entered into partnership with the Great Taste Awards, a judging panel whose stars of quality are aspired to by all British artisan producers,
Only produce that has garnered three GTA stars is allowed in the Cadogan's kitchen, and the quality is unmistakable. After the barman's recommended whiskey sour, which truly lived up to its name and woke me from my post-work stupor, we enjoyed some bread with interesting oils, including a walnut and a lemon number, which made for a pleasant change.
The dining room is everything you would expect from a five-star London hotel, all high ceilings, large windows, pressed shirts and...hush. Well, the wine had registered and the cured meats board was too good to render the silence a problem, for me at least. Delicacies - all British - included sloe gin salami, corned beef, and smoked organic chicken.
Potted shrimp pleasantly surprised my father by being warm and, while the pool of melted butter rendered it dreadfully unhealthy, the nutty and sweet flavours made the cholesterol boost just about worth it.
I was torn between the three ages of sheep - comprising cannon of lamb, grilled hogget and braised shoulder of mutton - and the humble sounding beef pie with mash and greens.
I plumped for the latter - and there was nothing humble about it. Superb, melting beef, very rich gravy and creamy mash made it moreish to the extreme and, with the refreshingly large portion, dangerously so. It was a fantastic dish.
Father went for the lamb and, out of the three cuts, marginally preferred the mutton, which was the most flavoursome and tender. That such honest offerings were being served in such grandiose surroundings was a refreshing surprise, which made it even more puzzling that more weren't sharing the dining room with us.
It can't have been because of the price, because at £23 a two course meal of such quality represents outstanding value. No, a quiet word with the waitress suggested that simply not enough people realise the hotel's restaurant is open to non-guests, a common problem. The venue's imposing reputation - and all the connotations of stuffiness that brings - likely puts some off, but I would suggest it folly in the extreme not to take advantage of such a fabulous deal, not only for yourself, but for the Great British producers you would be supporting.
Great Taste at the Cadogan
75 Sloane Street
Knightsbridge
SW1X 9SG
Tel: 0800 023 5445
