Sunday, November 7, 2010

The Warrington, Maida Vale

The Warrington, Maida Vale

Gordon Ramsays empire has been growing at an astounding rate of late. Amidst rumours of financial issues and chefs leaving to do their own thing, Ramsay has still managed to build a growing international empire. One area in which Ramsay has expanded into is the “gastropub” movement, with investments in the Narrow (Limehouse), the Devonshire (Chiswick) and the Warrington (Maida Vale). Asked to go along by their PR and give a “British Fortnight menu” at the Warrington a whirl, I gladly obliged and dragged my sister along to see what it was all about.

The Warrington, Maida Vale

The Warrington is located in leafy Maida Vale, quiet and surrounded with the aura of the suburbs. The pub itself is incredibly grand with high ceilings and ornate fixtures, quite “busy” but ultimately quite aesthetically pleasing. Upstairs is where the somewhat more demure restaurant is located and dominated by browns and beiges, boring some might say, but I rather liked it. On arrival, it turned out that a fellow blogger in Essex Eating was there with his other half, so we joined tables and put the entire menu through its paces.

The Warrington, Maida Vale

Mushrooms on toast with a poached egg - Whilst we were perusing the menu to see what we wanted, the maitre'd seemed incredibly keen for us to try one of his favourite dishes, simply mushrooms on toast. This tasted exactly how you would expect, earthy on toast drizzled with olive oil. The poached egg was perfectly cooked and oozed it's prize of a golden soak all over what lay beneath them. Nice and simple, but nothing more.

The Warrington, Maida Vale

Bowl of clams, parsley and pear cider - I've got a real thing for clams at the moment and this dish was a simple combination of great flavours. My starter of sweet clams were cooked a la marinière, with pear cider being used instead of white wine. Really delicious.

The Warrington, Maida Vale

Braxted Hall double lamb chop, samphire and smoked garlic butter - After such a satisfying starter, I wasn't sure that my main could live up to it. Thankfully what was put in front of me didn't let me down. I always like to have a good sniff of my food before I eat it, and the smell of the smoked garlic butter was just divine. The sweet lamb was accented by slightly salty mouthfuls of samphire, and the generous creamy smoked garlic butter brought all the flavours together. The crushed potatoes underneath provided the carbs. A fabulous dish, comprising of a mere 4 main ingredients.

The Warrington, Maida Vale

Lemon posset - A straightforward lemon posset packed with zesty lemon, well made. The shortbread on the side was sweet and crumbly and went well together.

The Warrington surprised me. I was expecting overcomplicated dishes trying to be more than pub food, but what I got were simple dishes, well prepared and pared back to let the flavours shine through. Service was excellent, but you can't really judge it too reliably on an invite as they are often focussed on impressing, but with the company I was with, it all led to a thoroughly enjoyable evening. The set menu is due to change every two weeks and is currently focussing on the fruits of Autumn, and at £22 for three courses, it's excellent value. A great experience and I would quite happily return.

The Warrington - 93 Warrington Crescent, Maida Vale, London, W9 1EH

Warrington on Urbanspoon


8 comments:

Mzungu said...

I've always wanted to eat in Gordon's other pubs after sampling the Devonshire.
Shame that one has closed now. Big shame.
The autumn menus look really good.

London Chow said...

I thought that the mushroom on toast would be a tad unwieldy. I mean, wouldn't the entire ensemble just tumble the moment you poke at it?

But the lamb chop does look substantial. I can almost smell the butter just look at your picture.

Was at Ramsay's The Narrow at Limehouse some time back. While it was really difficult getting a table, we weren't really impressed. Seems that the Ramsay brand is a hit and miss.

Hollow Legs said...

Food looks good, though at first glance that dining rooms looks pretty soulless.

Grumbling Gourmet said...

It's a lovely building too with a beautifully ornate marble bar Used to work round the corner and that was our Friday lunchtime option (back when it was one of those old man pubs serving Thai food)

Rich

Unknown said...

I have eaten downstairs at The Warrington and was not that impressed - perhaps upstairs is better.

tehbus said...

@Mzungu - I would say give this place a try. It was pretty empty with a largish dining room, but there were always a few people coming in.

@London Chow - Ha! Exactly that. The smoked garlic butter was the best bit and was a decent size. You shouldn't have a problem getting a seat here, as I said to Mzungu, I guess Gordon's tarnish has worn off, wasn't all that busy.

@Lizzie - I think the soul was provided with the fact that I was dining with Dan and Elly.

@GG - Thai food? Oh how times have changed :)

@GC - I think downstairs is very much pies and scotch eggs, where upstairs is very much more restauranty. I was quite surprised by the change in decor as we moved upstairs.

PDH said...

Double Lamb Chop? It's called a Barnsley Chop, always has been... They are lush, they always used to fly out the kitchen when we'd put it on the specials board.

catty said...

mmmm those clams do look good. I still have your razor clams from Quo Vadis stuck in my head, they were SOOO sweet. Need to find some more like it!