I was invited to dine at the Tower Hotel Brasserie along with a good friend of mine. Now the Tower Hotel is literally on the edge of the Thames next to Tower Bridge so the view there is always good. On the day of the review the sun was shining, Andy Murray still had a hope of winning Wimbledon, and it made sense to sit outside on the veranda of the Tower Hotel Brasserie.
The Brasserie menu includes the usual safe dishes like steak and chips but also more exotic ones such as Atlantic cod with Chorizo broth. This lets you have a Brasserie experience with friends but with a wider choice of food.
I started with Scallops on a Fennel and Coconut mash, and my companion had Timbale of Smoked Salmon and Crab Salad. Both came beautifully presented and much better that you might have expected from a hotel brasserie. Better still, they both tasted as good as they looked.
The mix of colours as well as subtle flavours really made the dishes and were perfectly presented.
For main courses I ordered Lamb with a Thyme Sauce on Polenta and a side of creamed spinach, my companion ordering a steak and chips. The presentation on the steak was good, the chips being more like wedges of potatoes, but full of flavour. My lamb looked very disappointing, the thyme sauce looking more like HP sauce poured over it. The taste however was wonderful, with the meat tasting exactly as it should and being one of the nicest cuts of lamb I have had all year.
The side of spinach, although appearing to be drowned in cream sauce, was still crunchy and refreshingly tasty. It was exactly how I like it to be and not at all the boiled down spinach you usually get. It was so good I would recommend it as a side dish with almost anything.
The Executive Chef, Christian Rozsenich, came over to talk to us and explain what he wants to do with the Brasserie. He spoke of how he had chosen a local quality meat supplier which explained why both the steak and the lamb tasted so good. He also shared his plans for what he wanted to change and do going forward, reflecting the confidence the Tower Hotel have in him. He was proud of his staff for sharing his vision and clearly from what we tasted and saw the Tower Hotel Brasserie is going to become a ‘must do’ location.
For desert I chose Yoghurt and Mascarpone Cream with Summer Berries, with my companion choosing the Elderflower Semolina Dumplings. Both arrived beautifully presented, matching the quality of presentation of the starters. The Elderflower Dumplings were light and fluffy, and the yoghurt cream being a very scented and smooth way to round of the meal.
Throughout the evening the place was busy, but the staff were always on hand. Nobody seemed to have a problem getting the attention of any of the waitresses moving around and their attention to details and timing between courses was to be applauded. The Tower Hotel Brasserie is clearly a great place to spend lunch or dinner, both for food and location. It is definitely on my list of places to return to on a nice summer night with friends.
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