Restaurant Review: The Wolseley (Piccadilly, London)

I am a little behind in my diary, but will hopefully catch up soon, in the mean time I promised a review of a recent breakfasting experience…

Breakfast at the Wolseley The Wolseley is an institution in London. Its initial construction in 1923 bankrupted the commissioning company - Wolseley Motors Limited, so it became a bank for seventy years, until in 2003, it was recommissioned into the ultimate European cafe-restaurant.

It features a stunning façade with purpose designed wrought iron. The interior is light and surprisingly spacious. The distinctive architectural style, featuring raw stone, marble floors, black pillars, and gold and silver tints exude opulence.

Breakfast is the primary meal of the day at the Wolseley (though it is open for Lunch, Afternoon Tea, and Dinner) and one has to book at least a week in advance to get a table at peak times. I choose to sleep in a little and make a 10:15 reservation. Given all I had heard and read about this restaurant, I was actually rather apprehensive as I approached in my far from formal clothing and traveller’s backpack.

I was probably the most under-dressed individual in the premises. The front desk is set aside from the tables and is always manned, I was politely welcomed, asked if I wished  to select a newspaper from the stand, and led to my table (for one!).

It is clear that every detail has been considered in the construction of the restaurant, it is laid out to delineate the areas that each waiter/waitress is responsible for, with clean division between the drinks counter, the servery, and the dish clearance areas. When I arrived the main breakfast rush was at its peak and it did take me a little while to be served. My waitress was a bubbly blonde English girl who apologised profusely for the wait.

The table service is classic, with solid silver cutlery, silver teapots, tall boy glasses with clean lines, linen napkins, and monogrammed china. Everything was what I would describe as ‘opulent’, by which I mean that the teacups were the optimal size for drinking out of, the silver cutlery had that weight that one just can’t find with modern stainless steel cutlery. I could not fault this in the least.

To drink, I had a pot of Earl Gray, with my usual - grapefruit juice. Both were exceptional, the juice was (very) freshly squeezed, it did not have the usual synthetic colour and flavour of even ‘freshly squeezed’ varieties that one finds else where. My only complaint (and as the restaurant has a top class reputation, I am allowed to be picky) is that the Asian waitress who presented the beverage just plonked it down on the table with absolutely no decorum.

The tea service was fantastic, with a loose tea blend that was delicious; it was also extensive, with enough for three or four cups. For my first course, I had the Greek yoghurt with granola and banana. Absolutely top quality ingredients - the yoghurt and banana were of perfect consistency. The granola had amazing flavour and texture and was probably the best muesli I have ever tasted.

For my next course, I had Eggs Florentine. The English muffin was very fresh, but rather thick for my liking. This made this dish a little bready. The spinach and poached egg were perfectly cooked. However, my strongest disappointment was with the Hollandaise sauce, this had been finely seasoned with chives and paprika (rather than than the traditional pepper/lemon flavours). These flavours did not seem to improve the classic sauce and were unnecessary.

The waitress seemed genuinely concerned that I actually enjoyed the meal, was knowledgeable, and even went out of her way to accommodate special. Though, she was possibly a little over attentive when it wasn’t necessary. Generally, everything was exceptional. In terms of the price, it was fairly pricey at £22 (about NZD$60), but given its location right in the middle of London and the quality of the food and service, it seemed appropriate. Let me know if you have any further questions!