During Luxury Week London we decided to try the Hunter 486 bar and restaurant which is part of the Arch Hotel London. With the location at Marble Arch, this is a great for central London shoppers and a nice place to meet new clients, or in my case host, a very good friend called Mr Chill. Mr Chill is always been entertained so for me I wanted to impress him.
As soon as I walked in a noticed the cosy decor, it sends out a message of being very laid back. I loved the leather booths in which we sat down and ate. The brown glass chandeliers were super cool and I noticed the artwork on the ceiling. So make sure you look up whilst eating. I also noticed there were other leather booths you could pull a curtain to give out a clear message of privacy wanted. I thought this was clever, let’s say you got a very important discussion that you don’t want others to look into, this is what I would call a place with laid back luxury.
Open Plan Kitchen
I loved seeing the chefs at work and to be able to go up and interact with them too. Can you imagine these guys are always slaving away to entertain us and it was nice to be able to connect with them? What was also lovely were the Georgian windows that you could look out and see the neighbourhood mews.
It was a gorgeous day in London and I was with Mr Chill now in my leather booth, we decided to have some wine. Mr Chill drank a white wine called Gavi di Gavi, La Toledana, Villa Lanata, 2014 from Italy. He kept harping on about it so much I thought I would taste it for my self. It is a dry white wine made from the Cortese grape, it reminded me of a Chablis. Next time I will order a whole bottle.
I went for red wine the Portillo, Malbec, Mendoza, 2015 from Argentina, it was selected for me by the knowledgeable waiter. As the Hunter 486 has a big stone oven we were treated with some warm fresh bread, which teamed up well with some extra virgin olive oil.
The Menu
There are many choices and we decided to opt for the following. For starters, Mr Chill chose a salad with eggs and watercress. Mr Chill had nothing left on his plate so I assume all was going well.
I chose potted shrimp with Melba toast. It was really yummy and refreshing, perfect for the hot weather in London.
The Stone Oven
From the moment I saw the stone oven I had to choose the rack of lamb, crushed jersey royals, spring vegetables with herb broth. Mr Chill explained that these potatoes need to be treated with respect as they came from Jersey one of the channel islands. I think Mr Chill needs to chill out a tad more. I also chose some green beans, which were cooked to perfection.The lamb was amazing and a perfect portion to appreciate the fine art of casual dining.
Mr Chill chose mackerel which looked very nice indeed and in fact I ate some too and nothing was left on his plate. Always a good sign when it comes to Mr Chill.
Dessert
I had orange, pomegranate, almond, rose flower water with Mascarpone sorbet. It was refreshing perfect for a summer day in London and yes I did not give any to Mr Chill.
Mr Chill kept on about the chocolate fondant salted caramel ice cream peanut brittle. He did allow me to have the last bite.
We finished off with some of these nice chocolates and a dessert wine.
To anyone who is wanting to experience food in a nice casual luxury way then this is the place. If you are trying to impress a client then this is the place. The staff are very professional and the chefs certainly knew how to cook. It is also a perfect location to host a private event for business clients and has a luxury laid back feel about it. In 2016 define the word luxury. To me, it is about good customer service, great food and eating out with good friends. Mr Chill certainly will be back, always a very good sign.
Details
- Style: Relaxed, boutique-style hotel bar and dining space serving meaty grills and stone-baked pizzas.
- Address: 50 Great Cumberland Pl, London W1H 7FD
- Phone: 020 7724 0486
Update 2020 – The Hunter 486 restaurant is permanently closed.
