A side road off Regent Street, Heddon Street is a quiet haven amid the bustle of central London. It is home to several restaurants, and The Living Room W1, nestles in a corner of this U shaped street. The double frontage, although substantial, belies the size of this flagship restaurant of the Living Room chain. It is cavernous, with seating for a good number of customers to the front of the establishment, and a large bar to the rear. There is another huge seating area on the upper floor, where the open kitchen is situated and customers can see the chefs at work, while they eat or wait for their meals.

We went there for lunch and very good it was too. For starters, the shredded smoked ham hock with fried duck egg was very tasty, a good strong flavoured portion of meat supported well by the egg, the crisp shallot rings, salad and the tomato and pepper chutney served with it. The crab, prawn and ginger cake delivered three good sized nuggets which had a firm texture from the minced prawn, and a nice background of ginger, these tasty little cakes went well with the sweetness of the pressed beetroot topped with a delicate horseradish cream that accompanied them.

For mains, the classic cheeseburger provided a substantial, excellent quality burger, with good texture, topped with fried egg and bacon, with a fresh zingy tomato salsa on the side and fries with skins on that remained crisp to the end of the dish. The roast pheasant breast, was cooked perfectly, although a fairly dense meat it was tender and juicy throughout, served on a board with tarragon cream gnocchi, oxtail consommé and a pheasant leg hash, this was a tasty dish, providing a range of different tastes complementing one another to entertain the palate, a side of perfectly cooked al dente French beans also worked well with the main event.

On to the desserts, a good flavoured chocolate brownie, which could have been a little gooier, was topped off with a maple and walnut ice cream that had good-sized chunks of nut in it, accompanying the brownie well. The lemon madeleines, served with bramley apple and calvados cream was delightful, three good textured shell shaped cakes paired very well with the cream.

We chose the house Columbard Sauvignon Blanc to drink with our meal, a good fresh tasting wine with some acidity and at just under £13 a bottle, good value. The Living Room W1, as the chain’s flagship restaurant, has menu that whilst offering dishes that you will find elsewhere in the Living Room chain, has a number of dished that can only be found at that site. The food was excellent, and beautifully presented, and the service was attentive, courteous and helpful. It is well worth giving a try.

akandpa