Berner’s Tavern, 10 Berner’s Street, London W1T 3NP

Berner’s Tavern, 10 Berner’s Street, London W1T 3NP

27/10/2013

www.bernerstavern.com

She said: As big fans of Atherton we had to visit his latest edition. I was more apprehensive about this one mostly because the media fanfare has bordered on groupie. It’s in a ‘trendy’ hotel and palatial setting and the more affordable set menu of his other restaurants is absent here. However, in we went for brunch (hoping normal food was available too). There is no question that the dining room is awe-inspiring. A great, grand museum of a space with stunning, stucco ceilings and grand photos hung like great masters on every available wall space. The bright, yellow-lit bar provides a contemporary focus in contrast with classic banquettes and crisp table settings. When we arrived the place was comfortably busy – buzzing but not inaudible. I suspect when full, diners who are distracted by echoing buzzard-like conversations may strain to engage with their companions (a lady whose laughter resembled a dying hyena was a big, resonating distraction during my brunch). The brunch menu has the usual breakfast dishes but also has more standard lunch options including Sunday roast. There was little for vegetarians in the non-breakfast options (I didn’t feel like granola in the middle of the afternoon) so I kicked off with mushrooms on toast which was delicious but clearly very buttery and salty. Given I find gnocchi a bizarre creation, which was the only vegetarian option in the main dishes, I opted for an avocado and blue cheese salad. When it arrived it looked very pretty but alas there is a limit to how much avocado, cheese and iceberg lettuce you can eat so I threw in the towel two-thirds in. Berner’s Tavern is a stunning restaurant; one to impress just by its setting. The food was less impressive than all the other Atherton eateries I’ve been to but combined with the majestic dining room probably comes close.

He said: the word ‘brunch’ has, for me, very specific connotations, involving fortifying stuff like eggs Benedict and a jug of bloody Mary, consumed happily and bleary-eyed well after honest folks’ usual breakfast time, indicating that the previous night was very good indeed. But lately, in London’s mad foodie laboratory, Brunch has come to mean: reduced menu of uncomplicated dishes that can be served fast by a much smaller kitchen team. Or, the opposite of what you expect from an Atherton kitchen, which is typically all about invention and unhurried finesse. For example, just compare the mushroom on toast here (very good) to that at the Social in Soho (genius). What first impresses the most when you visit Berner’s is the jaw-dropping dining room; but this is also perhaps what holds it back: it is so vast, with so many covers, that it is perhaps not possible for Atherton to deliver the usual. At his other restaurants you normally ‘wow’ at the kitchen while here you ‘wow’ at the room. I guess I’ll have to come back for dinner to know for sure. But if you take Berner’s on its own merits, like a happy tourist might, unburdened by memories of amazing meals at the other Atherton places, then Berner’s is a winner, combining very good food with the city’s most impressive dining space.