http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1813j8s/galvin-at-windows <b>Galvin at Windows</b><br />London, 22 Park Lane, W1K 1BE, United Kingdom en http://trustedplaces.com/uploads/placepics/trustedplaces.comaPlacePic['name']}.140.jpg http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1813j8s/galvin-at-windows http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1813j8s/galvin-at-windows/1c7de7
Review by LukeG

Rating: 4.00
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Fabulous Mahnattan feel after dark, breathtaking views in all directions, especially towards the City.
The service is excellent, the place is open late and has a reasonably good restaurant next door.
They play cool house music and the crowd is chic. Not sure if it's busy every night though.]]> Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:30:19 +0000 /review/uk/london/restaurant/1813j8s/galvin-at-windows/1c7de71481573061 LukeG 51.505201242105 -0.15133821081456 http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1813j8s/galvin-at-windows/1r0ct8
Review by sue

Rating: 5.00
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Located on the 28th floor of the Park Lane Hilton, Galvin at Windows is the perfect place to celebrate a special occasion. We went for dinner on my birthday and had a magical night. Yes, one of the highlights of a visit here are the fabulous views across London, but we also had mostly delicious food and were served by some very friendly staff which all added to a very enjoyable evening.

We started off the night with a drink in the bar, really enjoying the views and the cocktails. We were then ushered to our window seat in the restaurant, where we looked out over Green Park and Buckingham Palace. The staff were all charming, and I found it very amusing when the sommelier recognised us from a meal we had had 6 months earlier at Latium, where he used to work, and he even remembered which wine we had ordered back then (so did we as it was an excellent Barolo).

The meal started with an Amuse Bouche of Chilled melon soup which was nice and summery. We then had the Salad of summer vegetables, hand picked leaves, walnut vinaigrette & creamed Perigord goat cheese; and the Warm Lincolnshire smoked eel, seared foie gras & caramelised Victoria pineapple. The salad was nice and light and prettily presented. The eel was excellent and combined perfectly with the creamy foie gras.

For main course we had the Confit fillet of halibut, crab pommes ecrasees, courgette & radish puree; and the Fillet of Glen Fyne beef, braised cheek, English carrots & Madeira jus. Only complaint would be that the fish was a little bland, though it was nicely cooked and presented.

Dessert was the highlight for me (ok, when isn't it!). We had the Hot chocolate fondant, Szechuan pepper ice cream & almond milkshake; and the Peanut butter parfait with chocolate pearls & berry jam. Both desserts were superb, but the best flavour combination was to have a mouthful of the fondant and the parfait at the same time, making it one of the tastiest desserts ever!]]> Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:19:31 +0000 /review/uk/london/restaurant/1813j8s/galvin-at-windows/1r0ct8525310887 sue 51.505201242105 -0.15133821081456 http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1813j8s/galvin-at-windows/1l0a28
Review by chrisp

Rating: 4.00
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On the 28th floor of the Hilton Park Lane, there's a restaurant tipped for its first Michelin star next year. Officially tipped that is, with something called an 'Espoir', handed out by Michelin to places which aren't quite good enough "yet". I'm not sure I agree with this new system; if somewhere is tipped to get one soon, is that a guaranteed thing? Or can an espoir sometimes come to nothing? If somewhere isn't quite good enough yet, why not just wait and give it a proper star next year, rather than just tease them with an Espoir before finally saying "ah no, actually turns out your truffle veloute wasn't actually as good as I remembered, we'll have that Espoir back thank you very much". Furthermore, if an Espoir becomes a coveted title in its own right, the natural progression is for Michelin to start giving out "Espoir Espoirs", for places that are likely to be good enough next year to get a Michelin star the year after that. It all just seems a bit silly.

However, if it is possible to get any satisfaction from such a flimsy accolade, then Galvin at Windows should. The quality of the food and ingredients was in the most part very good, and the level of service as you would expect from anywhere starry.

Service was attentive to the point of mania at times, with very cross words exchanged between two waiters who noticed that one of our party had to fill his own glass up with water. Staff were so desperate to pass the "napkin test" that they whipped the napkin out of mid-air just as I dropped it on my seat on the way to the toilet. It seemed that the relatively cramped room was stuffed so full of waiters there was barely enough room for the customers, and it was all a bit overwhelming at first, but it's funny how a glass of Aperitif du Maison (a Strawberry Bellini) can soon settle the mind.

The amuse-bouches were really really great. A kind of truffle-infused cracker with a heavily flavoured goats cheese pate on top, very difficult to describe but incredible flavour and texture contrasts. Went down very well with all concerned.

A starter of Asparagus Veloute and soft-boiled quails egg was full of flavour and looked very pretty. It was a good example of how to make something delicious and unpretentious but still make it look like it belonged in an haute-cuisine dining room. However by the end of the bowl the seasoning was getting a little too overwhelming - a complaint that carried to some degree through all the dishes on offer. Seasoning is a very personal thing, and for any chef you will find as many people that think they underseason than overseason, but I have to say, based on my own experience, that Galvin really likes his salt.

The main was really lovely - Coquelet (kind of a teenage chicken apparently, somewhere between a normal chicken and a poussin) with onion and thyme tart, with shallot puree and spinach. There were also some hazelnuts scattered around the plate which gave a great texture contrast. Lots of nice flavours that worked very well together and nothing too weird - classic French cooking really and very enjoyable.

The only slight disappointment was the dessert, which was a very nice subtley-flavoured cheesecake, well presented and surrounded by mini strawberries, good stuff, but with a great big blob of hugely overpowering strawberry sorbet on top, which I had to scrape off and eat separately. A real shame because the cheesecake was really delicious, and so was the sorbet, but together, a bit like a fight between Joe Calzaghe and Russell Brand, there could really only be one winner.

A few interesting little sweeties rounded off the meal, including a delicious homemade chocolate truffle and a slightly less nice passion fruit jelly, which was quite bitter and a bit odd. All-in-all though, it seems those Michelin guys are right on the money once again in spotting a good thing, and I'm sure with a few of the rough edges ironed out we will see the Espoir converted into a first star in 2008. And best of luck to them.]]> Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:20:58 +0000 /review/uk/london/restaurant/1813j8s/galvin-at-windows/1l0a28966724554 chrisp 51.505201242105 -0.15133821081456 http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1813j8s/galvin-at-windows/132a08
Review by kellytron

Rating: 3.00
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Great views (which is reflected in the expensive, yet skillfully produced, drinks list) and I love the olives they ring out with your drinks. Not the sort of place I'd chose to go on my own (preferring an element of grime to my normal venues) but I certainly havn't complained about coming here a couple of times for work.]]> Thu, 24 Jul 2008 23:01:29 +0000 /review/uk/london/restaurant/1813j8s/galvin-at-windows/132a082089703747 kellytron 51.505201242105 -0.15133821081456 http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1813j8s/galvin-at-windows/1q37y9
Review by ilovelucy

Rating: 5.00
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My Uncle came into town last November and said he'd take me to dinner - expenses paid of course! Seizing the opportunity to eat at restaurants I could only dream about, I asked him if we could go to Galvins at Windows and of course he agreed.

Situated on the 28th floor of the Hilton Park Lane the restaurant and the bar gives absolutely stunning views of London from every direction of the room. We had a bit of time to kill before our table was ready so we had a couple of cocktails at the bar - everything was beautiful and luxurious, the lighting was low and music was at the perfect volume - just like slipping into a warm bath - bliss! Expensive though they were, the cocktails were impeccable and the waiters were great in topping up the olives and trail mix.

We were ushered to our table by the window and shown the menu - i daren't look at my Uncle but I did hear a small gasp - he obviously read that it was £58 for three courses!

That small minor detail was soon overlooked as the plates came swiftly to our table. I had ordered the foie gras for starters - which tasted heavenly. However my main course which was the dover sole with mussels and prawns in a divine champagne sauce was absolutely amazing. I was so disappointed when I had polished it off. I finished with ice cream which came in some unusual flavours that surprisingly worked very well.

It was a lovely treat for me to be taken to such a restaurant - such treats happen so rarely. I thanked my Uncle profusely and offered dinner whenever next he comes to town. Hopefully he didn't have a problem declaring his expenses - i daren't ask!

]]> Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:35:31 +0000 /review/uk/london/restaurant/1813j8s/galvin-at-windows/1q37y9129514144 ilovelucy 51.505201242105 -0.15133821081456 http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/1813j8s/galvin-at-windows/1e53o8
Review by ProfMagellan

Rating: 5.00
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Mrs Magellan and I were joined by the senior Magellan Labs attorney and his wife, both old friends and university contemporaries, who had flown in from California earlier in the week. So this was a "big occasion". Galvins, located on the 28th floor of the London Hilton, did not let us down. The food was delicious and service professional without being over-bearing. The menu fixe (three courses) provided plenty of choice. The puddings were especially good. It is not cheap at all and the wine list was quite pricey. But for birthdays, anniversaries and so on, this is a great place - the views across London give it a tremendous edge and feeling that you are somewhere special.
We noted that all the staff were particularly cheerful despite being busy and were keen to ensure that we had a good time (we did).
Gripes are few: the lobby of the Hilton is not a joyous experience and you have to share the lift to the top with all the punters - pity that there is not an express lift. And, for some odd reason, there were no "sauce spoons", that wonderful French creation that allows you to clean the plate of the gravy, sauce or whatever. We had a window table; but only because several key technicians at Magallan Labs are loyal customers of Galvins in Baker Street, the sister restaurant.
Otherwise, they will not guarantee such a preference.
Chef Galvin can be proud of his eponymous establishment. Thumbs up.]]> Fri, 06 Jul 2007 14:03:58 +0000 /review/uk/london/restaurant/1813j8s/galvin-at-windows/1e53o8940551022 ProfMagellan 51.505201242105 -0.15133821081456