Apsley's, a Heinz Beck Restaurant: one of my top choices in London

28th April 2013
A colleague suggested a social Sunday lunch out, and said that I should book somewhere 'nice in central London', and that she preferred fish.
So the question is, what do you do with a defunct hospital in the middle of London at a prime site? If you don't (unsuccessfully) turn it into a commercial and residential development, such as has happened to the Middlesex Hospital, you turn it into one of the best hotels with a Michelin Star restaurant (it used to be St George's Hospital). I have been to Apsley's a few times and for me it is a treat. They often have special offers for limited menu dinners and lunches, and we opted for the £35 Sunday lunch with a glass of prossecco.. It may sound a lot, but I can tell you that you get what you pay for, and I never feel that I have been overcharged for the food (the wine is a different matter). Have a look at their web site for more general information http://www.lanesborough.com/en/apsleys_restaurant_london . Although it does not say so, it is probably a reference to Apsley House, the residence of the Duke of Wellington, which is on an opposite corner of Hyde Park Corner.
For starter, I had the minted pea soup. What you start with, does not look like soup:

Your waiter then comes with individual soup boats (like sauce boats, but each one just contains the soup for one person) and then it looks like this:

Very colourful, but a triumph of style over hotness, as the resulting soup was only a 7 on the CHOF scale.

For main course, I chose the crusted beef. This was excellent, tasty, probably a 7.9 on the scale, but a miniscule serving, but we have to think of the meal as a whole, which did not leave me unsatisfied.

I think the picture speaks for itself. Desert and coffee with petit fours followed.

I should have made a note, but I think this was a mango mousse with exotic ice creams.

After the meal, I noticed that chefs were out in the Restaurants, and it turned out to be Heinz Beck himself with Heros de Agositnis, the executive chef at the restaurant. I could not resist having a photo taken.

It shows a little of the elegant Venetian styling, with the notable painting by Casson in the background.

I have to say that Apsley's always leave me with a feel good factor afterwards. Lunch from the fixed price menu with  (expensive) wine, water and coffee cost me £139. As to the hotness, well, it was fashionably the wrong side of 8.