There’s only a handful of places in London where you can find a Halal Sunday Roast, its a British classic, it is relatively simple to construct, you throw and a couple of vegetables in the oven with some meat protein and boom, you are done, but it’s not a dish that you (most of you) or I had growing up, so it’s nice to experience a different kind of food.
Located on Park Lane and near Marble Arch Lanes of London is an upmarket hotel restaurant that has now begun offering halal options. The surrounding area is synonymous with attracting Muslims from overseas like the Middle East it’s a smart move to serve up British food available for the Muslim Market. The venue is spacious and has a chic, classic and elegant atmosphere that really creates a nice relaxing environment. It’s ideal for a romantic dinner or a catch up with friends. They also offer afternoon tea as well.
I decided to try one beef and one chicken roast. Available for a reasonable £18 is a Halal Chicken Roast with red cabbage, roast potatoes, broccoli, carrots and Yorkshire pudding. Also available is the beef instead of the chicken, however, the chicken does not require pre-ordering, however, the beef does need 48 hours notice.
It also was my birthday, so I was looking forward to some good food. I started the afternoon with some Drinks, off the menu, you can get the barman to make you any drink you like, I asked for a virgin strawberry mojito and a “fancy drink with elderflower” was my request. Both drinks were great, refreshing, not too sweet and well balanced.
On the menu, the roast was meant to actually come with a whole baby chicken, but on the day I was told that they ran out so we were given a chicken breast instead.
I got the beef and my dining companion got the chicken. The plate looked good, a nice giant Yorkshire pudding, fluffy roast potatoes and of course the striploin of beef cooked medium rare on request. I really enjoyed the meal, the beef seasoned well and cooked as requested, the gravy made from halal meat stock added to the flavour, although it was not the deepest and flavoursome beef, it was still very enjoyable.
I was not expecting much from the roast chicken breast, but I was surprised with how good it was, in fact, I prefer it to the beef! It was served with crispy skin on and despite only being seasoned with salt and pepper it had a deep rich roast chicken flavour, something you get when you use good quality free range chicken, it was also very tender, juicy and cooked evenly (which is tricky with breast due to the uneven thickness)
We also got a couple of extra sides of creamy mash potato and some of the best sweet potato fries I’ve ever had. Yes. The sweet potato fries were awesome.
I was totally stuffed, I did go out the night before and had a big meal, but this was the next time I ate, I thought that the food wasn’t going to be enough but it sure was.
A very enjoyable birthday lunch was rounded off with an unexpected birthday dessert and the staff even sang happy birthday for me. The service was very good, our waitress was very friendly and upbeat, whilst providing attentive service.
Based on the location, venue, price, service and quality of food I definitely recommend trying this place for the Sunday Roast, I’ll be posting my review of the Spring menu soon.
Remember, if you want the Beef option for the roast you need to pre-order in advance.
