Despite the very central location, the Savannah restaurant inside the Wesley hotel isn’t the easiest restaurant to find. Firstly do not confuse Euston Street with the main thoroughfare that is Euston Road; it is a small back street at the side of Euston station. The signage to both the hotel and the restaurant are not easy to spot either.
When restaurants first open, there are always teething problems; luckily for the Savannah, they are not to do with their food or service. The decor is well-meaning to fit in with the savannah theme with the eagle and the tree of life on the wall being the highlights; however the long rows do give the feeling of being in a canteen rather than an upscale hotel restaurant. The background music also didn’t help the ambience by having magic radio on in the restaurant and also hearing hip-hip music from another radio station from the bar downstairs.
Thankfully the world cuisine food here is the diamond in the rough. Poached oysters with pickled cucumbers, beurre blanc and lump fish caviar were simply sublime and delicate. They provided three but I could easily have devoured a dozen. Steak tartare had extremely unusual ingredients mixed in with the meat: watermelon, wasabi and soy sauce. The eastern influences worked surprisingly well giving the meat extra vigour and taste.
Service is attentive yet discreet. They happily turn up the lights in the restaurant for you when you want to take a photo of the food. They even checked how I would like my lamb cooked for the main course; not many venues offer this. The meat was tender, succulent and rich tasting from the pancetta in its own jus. There was further richness from a dollop of goat cheese mousse
There was further culinary excellence in the desserts department. The lemon basil panna cotta had exactly the right amount of firmness and was refreshingly summery due to the basil and lemon. In keeping with most of the menu, the chefs cleverly use unusual ingredients to liven up traditional recipes. This is exactly the reason why people like dining out, to explore new flavours and experiences.
If they can sort out the teething problems affecting the restaurant, the Savannah could become a popular grazing spot for hungry diners.
baldwin@townfish.com