RIBA restaurant at art deco gem 66 Portland Place, London W1
I have had many a party at RIBA, it is a wonderful venue. I had never eaten at the restaurant before and was incredibly impressed by the food and the service. No one likes to eat alone so I went to review this restaurant with my friend, New Statesman columnist Nicholas Lezard.
The venue is bright and airy, in the summer you can eat outside. There is always a lot going on at RIBA.
What I ate.
Middle white pork belly
Black pudding, quince
Jerusalem artichoke and red onion fritters
Braised lentils, grilled artichoke hearts
soft poached egg
Baby leaf salad, cherry tomatoes, cucumber
White chocolate mousse
Dark chocolate honeycomb, gold leaf
What Nicholas ate:
Seared scallops
Leeks, candied hazelnuts, black olive powder
Braised Yorkshire venison
Sautéed girolles, truffled mash, redcurrants
Sticky toffee pudding
Clotted cream, butterscotch sauce
Curly kale, garlic butter
The starter comes on black, granite slabs, a touch that I found different and original. They are very good at presentation. My pork belly was done perfectly.
The food tasted like heaven, the fritters I had were absolutely delicious. The different consistency of the ingredients of my main meal worked brilliantly. I didn’t know lentils could taste so good. My egg was poached perfectly. The fritters were crispy, as all fritters should be. At first I wasn’t sure how all the ingredients would work together, but they do, beautifully.
I had a side salad with my main even though it wasn’t necessarily needed. The main was very filling. I liked that they put balsamic vinegar on my salad. The staff were also attentive and eager to please.
My white chocolate mousse was absolutely divine and was a visual treat too.
To drink I had port and coca cola. Nicholas had red wine and port.
RIBA is a good restaurant, the food is divine, the staff expert and the location incredibly up-market. I highly recommend. I will definitely be eating here again.