Galvin at Windows, London, 28th floor Hilton London on Park Lane, England, UK
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Our Sunday lunch experiences, July 2017
Galvin at Windows at the London Hilton on Park Lane was longer on my fiancé’s and my radar. Since we had four days in London end of July/beginning of August 2017 and one of those was a Sunday, we decided to try the famous and only Michelin stared Sunday Lunch at Galvin at Windows.
A few days before our lunch we received a call from Galvin at Windows to confirm we were joining them as planned.
Arriving at the London Hilton on Park Lane we asked the concierge how to get to the restaurant. We were directed to the elevator bank, where we had to type in the floor we wanted to go to. In our case the 28th. The display showed us which elevator we had to take. Security is good, because no one else can join you and you can only go to the designated floor. A key card is needed, when going to a guest floor.
The elevator was fast and within a minute or so we were at our destination.
The hostess greeted us warmly and took our jackets. She offered us to have drinks at the bar first or go immediately to our table. We decided to head straight for lunch.
The dining room was classic and beautiful with cloud inspired artwork.
At first the restaurant wasn’t very busy. The longer the afternoon progressed the more diners arrived. The clientele was international with most of them being couples. There was also a family with two small children. The kids were overall well behaved and had fun with the sommelier.
The chef patron is Chris Galvin with head chef Joo Won in the kitchen from South Korea, so the classic French dishes had some Korean influence too.
Our table at the double height floor to ceiling windows had views over the Intercontinental Park Lane, Piccadilly and other London landmarks towards Victoria and Battersea Power Station.
We were given the wine list and menu. When asking for the cocktail menu this wasn’t a problem either, it was promptly presented to us.
We were asked if we might be interested in olives.
We agreed and didn’t regret it. The Spanish green Gordal olives were delicious and addictive.
Our bottle of still Acqua Panna water and a bread basket with butter arrived soon afterwards.
We had one alcoholic cocktail called The Foreigner made with Nomad Whisky, Pedro Ximenez sweet Sherry, Palo Cortado dry Sherry and orange and one non-alcoholic, Betty’s Garden, made with raspberries, strawberries, lemon juice, Vanilla syrup and cranberry juice. The sommelier said Betty’s Garden was a good choice and it definitely was my kind of cocktail. It was sweet and fruity, while The Foreigner was definitely a manly drink. He liked it very much. It was slightly too bitter for myself.
There were about 20 cocktails created by the bar manager Tiago. The inspiration was travel.
Our waitress said that the chefs could work around our dietary requirements.
Our appetizers were Galvin smoked salmon, beetroot, horseradish and dill and seared foie gras, Iberico pork, brioche and tomato chutney.
The first one is a “signature” classic. Both were delicious and moreish.
The size of the dishes was generous, so I thought in order to have a three course I should choose something smaller or lighter. I tried the tart tartin with zucchini, aubergine, onion and tomato. My fiancé had the roasted breast of Cotswold Chicken, chilli barbeque glaze and vegetables.
The savory tart tartin reminded me of holiday in the Mediterranean, while his chicken was finger licking good and the glaze was the highlight. The meat itself was tender and virtually fat free.
As desserts we chose a lime and strawberry mousse cake and a hazelnut and almond Paris Brest with praline cream and chocolate ice cream.
There was a show element included. The desserts were brought to the table on a trolley and the cake was cut in front of us. The size of each dish again was fairly large.
The Paris Brest was covered in chocolate sauce by the waitress at the table.
Wonder what a Paris Brest is? The choux pastry was created in 1910 by Louis Durand, a famous French patissier, at the request of Pierre Giffard. It was named after a bicycle race from Paris to Brest and back. The pastry is circular shaped to remind of a bicycle wheel.
The mousse cake was light and summery. The Paris Brest was heavier, but the size was right and the flavors worked well together.
To round up the meal we ordered two cappuccinos.As surprise we received dark chocolate and chocolate orange pralines.
The pralines have been memorable and the sommelier must have overheard us discussing that it would be nice to have more of them, if we weren’t so full, because of this he came with another set.
Of course we couldn’t refuse the gift, so we ate further….
The staff was attentive and genuinely interested in us, for example we chatted about golf with the sommelier, inspired by the polo shirt my fiancé was wearing. We had bought it at the Elba Palace in Fuerteventura.
After our beautiful Sunday lunch it was time to settle the bill, which came with a large glass jar of marshmallows (mint and strawberry). Both tasted moreish and are fluffy and refreshing.
There was a slight mistake with the bill. We were charged for the 3 course dinner, not the Sunday lunch. It was fast corrected and the member of staff was very sorry about the mistake.
The bill was 179.61 GBP (ca. 202.80 Euro / ca. 231.45 USD) including service charge.
We would return for the Sunday Lunch again. It reflects good value, the cuisine is excellent, the portions generous and the staff efficient and warm, plus the location on the 28th floor added a magical setting and wonderful views too.
Please see:
Would we recommend this restaurant to a friend? YES!
Would we want in our future again enjoy lunch/dinner at this restaurant? YES!Thank you and safe travels.
