Food and Drink Review: 108 Marylebone Lane

If you’re going to name your restaurant after its address, you might as well pick a smart one. Situated on quiet but elegant Marylebone Lane, this restaurant rubs shoulders with trimmings boutique VV Rouleaux and acclaimed shoe shop French Sole. A British Carrie Bradshaw would not look out of place sitting at the window of one of the nearby apartments, tapping away at her keyboard. There’s no getting away from it – this neighbourhood has style.

And 108 Marylebone Lane, the restaurant and bar of the Marylebone Hotel, fits right in. Outside, the restaurant appears unobtrusive yet sleek; inside it is a relaxed and sophisticated space, designed to provide an attractive setting for informal dining. Lit almost entirely by candles, their light reflected in the pristine glassware, the restaurant has a soft glow to it – perfectly complemented by a soundtrack of chilled soul music.

On arrival the staff were very friendly and led us to our table by the window. We were provided with the menu, which features a variety of dishes incorporating ingredients from local suppliers. I was impressed with the dishes on offer; decision making was actually made quite difficult by the fact that everything sounded so appealing. In the end I plumped for the smoked salmon to start, and my boyfriend Paul chose the honey-mustard glazed pork belly.

I’m a smoked salmon freak, despite not being much of a fish eater. I can’t get enough of the stuff. Which means that over the years I’ve definitely eaten my fair share of smoked salmon starters, some of them delicious and some of them rather disappointing. 108 Marylebone Lane’s dish definitely falls into the former category. Served with a wonderful fennel salad and drizzled with a lemon and spring onion dressing that was not too overpowering, the salmon benefitted from an expert combination of flavours. It was the kind of dish that makes you think the person in the kitchen really knows what they are doing.

Paul’s pork belly was deliciously tender (well, I had to try it!) and he was impressed with the accompanying black pudding, which he was pleased to find wasn’t dry as it sometimes can be.

Impressed by the starters, we were interested to see how our chosen main courses of confit duck leg and grilled fillet of salmon would measure up.

You see, I’m also a duck freak. I get a bit over-excited when there’s confit of duck on a menu. Unfortunately, I’m a bit exacting with my standards. Eating a lot of duck confit in France has taught me to expect it beautifully crisp on the outside and meltingly tender on the inside. This duck was extremely tender and fell instantly from the bone, but the skin lacked crispness. It was, however, full of flavour and served with a delicious sweet potato puree. My rocket and parmesan side salad came a little late, but was an excellent example of a simple yet extremely effective dish.

Paul found the salmon fillet well-flavoured and the accompanying caramelised onion and red wine sauce a suitable complement, compensating for a slight dryness in the fish.

Two courses in and we were feeling rather full, but we weren’t going to let TLLWTL readers down. So we launched (metaphorically) headfirst into dessert.

Again, I felt my dessert was an example of someone really knowing what they were doing with food. Everything was in a tiny, almost bite-sized portion, just right for the end of a rather rich meal. My plate was beautifully presented, and consisted of a tiny red wine-poached pear, a roasted fig, a small biscuit-type creation and cinnamon mascarpone. All in all an attractive and tasty dish – the perfect end to the meal.

Paul is dairy intolerant, but luckily the waiter was very helpful, providing advice as to which desserts contained cream. In the end, Paul opted for the sorbet selection – and boy was it a selection. His bowl arrived piled high with different scoops: raspberry, passion fruit, blackcurrant and pink champagne. All with fantastic depth of flavour and extremely fresh-tasting: nothing at all synthetic.

I enjoyed our relaxed dinner at Marylebone Lane and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a stylish yet informal dining experience. The bar area, with its striking decor, would also be an attractive space for drinks. And gentlemen: we discussed whether or not the restaurant would be a good place for a date, and decided that with its gorgeous lighting and chilled ambience it certainly would. So what are you waiting for? Treat the girl.

By Angharad

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Angharad

Angharad studied English Language and Communication at Uni and now works as an online writer. In her spare time she loves cross-stitching, making chutney and eating far too much Indian food. Ang lives with her lovely husband Paul and two furry bundles of cat joy, Manon and Dalida.

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