The Boxwood Cafe co-owner Gordon Ramsey

This café is no greasy spoon

THIS is as far from being a café as you could image a café to be. It qualifies more as a brasserie-restaurant. Boxwood Café occupies the corner entrance of The Berkeley Hotel (Hyde Park corner end) and you can enter through Knightsbridge or through the hotel itself.
The restaurant is divided into two floors: the lower mezzanine and the ground floor with the bar in the middle. I prefer the upper section – especially table 11 for two or if you want seclusion then table one for four situated on the corner with interesting street views. The menus are attractive in colours of metallic dark green, brown and silver and ceramic pots with potted flowers on the tables.
We opted for the lunch menu at £21 for three courses. Excellent value for what I would describe as above average food, both on presentation and taste. Warm bread was brought immediately we sat at the table together with a pot of taramosalata followed by an espresso cup of Jerusalem artichoke soup with roasted shallots and shaved truffles.
I had the thinly sliced Norcia ham, baby artichokes, basil and rocket. Serrano ham is usually chewy but not this one. It melted in the mouth.
Werner chose poached hens egg, smoked haddock brandade, bacon and red wine sauce which he pronounced as being exceptionally good.
For a main course we had the Fricassee of white beans with buttered English spinach and glazed root vegetables. An innovative dish for vegetarians. The pan-fried gilthead bream, fennel, olive, tomato and chorizo sausage was superb. The other choices in the lunch menu were celeriac, apple and chestnut soup and Char grilled rump of beef with sautéed potatoes and Café de Paris butter.
For dessert I had the poached rhubarb soup and tropical fruit sorbet. Lovely presentation with beautiful colours and low in calories while the pear and almond cake with rum-soaked raisins and bay-leaf custard was quite the opposite but equally delicious. We had them with two glasses of Kir Royale (£21) – it seemed that everything we ordered cost £21!
A well-balanced wine list with category titles such as dry and earthy, medium bodied, full and aromatic. Several from California and Bouchard Pere and Fils were well represented with a 2001 Mersault (£88) and a 2001 Gevrey-Chambertin (£48). We found my now favourite Grenache Viognier, Domaine La Croix Belle at £21 which was an excellent choice. Medium bodied and dry.
The espressos (£8) came accompanied by delicate petit fours: chocolate fudge, white chocolate with orange and a macaroon.
We met Gordon Ramsey’s partner, Stuart Gillies, who seems to love his work. His enthusiasm is contagious and every one around him is happy and relaxed. Boxwood Café is a sheer delight. Everything there gives you a prelude to an excellent dining experience.
Smoking is not permitted in the restaurant and a 12.5 per cent discretionary service charge is added to the bill and the credit card receipt was closed by the restaurant. Well done.

Boxwood Café                                        Click here to book restaurants
The Berkeley,
Knightsbridge, SW1X                              click here to go to Restaurant home page
Tel: 020 7235 1010

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