| The Charming Connaught
London has so many charming areas with great hotels but few are utterly, utterly British. The Connaught stands out as a bastion of British heritage in an elite, stylish and remarkably quiet part of London's fashionable Mayfair. Gentlemens' clubs, 'members only' exclusive haunts, with waiting lists as long as Piccadilly are dotted in between excellent pubs, fashionable restaurants and the 'Best of British' artisans' salons (Nicky Clarke). It's truly special here but also wonderfully hospitable.
If you have ever stayed in a grand country house in England, with more mahogany than musk, where oil paintings of great repute hang casually above fire places (roaring in winter) and on panelled walls, then you will understand the 'feeling' of The Connaught. We arrived on yet another balmy sun-drenched afternoon in a staggering gunmental grey Bentley Arnage T Mulliner, which glided to rest at the front of the hotel, greeted by several smart doormen. The Arnage took pride of place alongside an Aston and several, rather common, S-Class Mercedes. Walking through the doors at the Connaught and into the small, aristocratically homely lobby, you almost feel displaced. Where's the glitz? The opulent chandeliers? The gilt and velvet chaise longe? The marble floor and stilted flower arrangements? But this is The Connaught, far from flash and oversized, it's more akin to a distinguished residence, with a sensational polished square mahogany stairwell.
The sitting rooms and bar are all comfortable and a welcome relief from the heat outside. Tables were laid for high tea in the Red Room, a perfect retreat to meet friends or relatives after a hectic afternoon with the gold card in Bond Street. Nina Campbell has enhanced the classic Edwardian period style with ease, and a spray of fitting antiques and lacquered red walls all add to the enticing ambiance. You really do feel comfortable here, relaxed and yet thoroughly spoilt.
We stayed in a fabulous one-bedroom suite, pleasantly furnished in an English-country-style fashion with every possible mod.con, all discreetly placed behind high Victorian and Edwardian furniture. Our 'mini bar' was housed in an exotic Chinese armoire and was stocked to the hilt (the suites here are perfect venues for small cocktail parties). I always check the bed, and this was sublime. The bathroom was floor-to-ceiling marble with a generous supply of Floris accessories. We looked out onto a steaming (hot and expensive) Carlos Place, sipping a long glass of chilled Laurent Perrier. The Arnage was still glistening in pride of place awaiting its valet to take it to its private garage for the night.
Angela Hartnett's Menu
My taste buds were starting to wake up. I had spent an hour or so earlier chatting to one of England's most talked about female chefs, Angela Hartnett, and I came away really believing in her culinary convictions. She's a no-nonsense, down-to-earth person but has such a strong belief system based on real passion and an intrinsic understanding of flavours and textures and good produce. Her mother is Italian and her father Irish; now that's a recipe for something explosively fervent.
We started off with drinks in the classic Connaught Bar. The bar manager, Brian Silva, is renowned for his cocktail skills and offers his guests some exclusive choices viz: The Connaught Royale, Le Blond and The Carlos Place Martini. Driving a Bentley, Ian Fleming's choice of car for Bond (if not Chubby Broccoli's), we chose the latter, one shaken, one stirred, both exceptional.
Menu occupies a large and impressive oak panelled room with stunning oils and clever lighting. Again Nina Campbell has decorated the room with a subtle elegance and what was once perhaps a slightly stuffy room filled with many more Adams than Eves hiding behind Havana screens is no more. Now there are parties of 'thirty-ish' and 'something-ish' and it's warm and lively yet still sophisticated and period in feel. Even though dress is more formal than otherwise, the tone is relaxed, allowing the digestive juices to brace themselves without any stifled interruption.
There is a fabulous tasting menu at Menu but we chose a la carte because I was desperate to try the mosaic of confit rabbit. It comes with a peach and saffron chutney, pain de campagne and summer coleslaw. It was ridiculously tasty. A real taste sensation, the meat melted in your mouth between the delicately flavoured glutinous jelly and the chutney; a partner made in food heaven. Could this get better? With a desire to eat long into the evening, I went large and chose a whole Dover Sole, lightly braised with a veloute of mussels flavoured with chervil and chives. It looked so delectable that when the faultless maitre d' asked if I'd like it on or off the bone I chose the former; I just did not want it disturbed. He was flabbergasted but surely relieved. Again this had me composing dithyrambs, the buttery braising with lemon and herbs were sticky and, although calorifically decadent and irresistible, it really is my kind of food. French in style and service, Italian in passion and British in stock. I went light on the pudding, choosing a lemon possett with a pimms granite in a fromage frais sorbet. Light, tart and refreshing. We had a surprisingly well-priced bottle of humble but stunning and mature Bourgogne Blanc 1996 from Domaine Leflaive, our favourite white wine producer in the whole wide world. All in all, a first class experience and I think Angela is well on her way to gaining another galaxy member. The service, by the way, was unimpeachable.
We finished the evening with a nightcap in the American Bar. It is intimate and cozy with a real cigar-and-whisky ambiance, surrounded again by oak panelled walls and a real fireplace.
The service at the Connaught is dedicated, warm and unobtrusive. It is faultlessly efficient and feels familiar. You really do have to keep reminding yourself that you are only a heartbeat away from Berkeley Square or Park Lane. As we were leaving a gentleman was checking in, (he was actually checking back in), for a month... This was his London domicilium and it dawned on me then that The Connaught was home to many distinguished clients from all over the world. I think I know why.
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