We try the new Sunday at 108 Brasserie, Marylebone.
It’s Sunday, and like most people in Britain, my thoughts turn towards the Sunday Roast dinner. In culinary terms, Sunday Roast is as much of a British tradition as fish and chips and Afternoon tea. It dates back to the 15th century when people used to cook a large joint of meat on Sunday, which was their only day off of the week. So, with much anticipation, we head off to Marylebone to enjoy the new Sunday menu at 108 Brasserie.
Marylebone has a village feel, with many chic boutiques and smart restaurants. 108 Brasserie, part of the Marylebone Hotel, is one such restaurant in the heart of Marylebone. The restaurant has a large canopied frontage and its own entrance.
As I mentioned, we are here today to try the recently introduced Sunday Roast menu. I’m interested to see how the new menu fares especially with the restaurant’s international clientele. What will they make of this British tradition?
Introducing a Sunday Roast menu can be risky as it involves cooking lots of different elements well and offers no hiding place.
On entering 108 Brasserie, we are taken to our table in the restaurant area. There is a separate bar area which also serves food. The bar looks perfect for cocktails or drinks, with its large oak bar as a stunning centrepiece. The restaurant is a bright, airy space (even on this wet Sunday) with windows on two sides. The window frames are detailed in black, contrasting well with the white walls and low-level lighting. The seating is sumptuous deep red leather, creating the perfect brasserie feel.
Once seated, we were offered a drink from the Bloody Mary trolley before glancing at the menu. The display was so appealing that we both ordered it as an aperitif. It was then time to decide what spirit we wanted as the base of our cocktail. Leigh opted for traditional vodka, whereas I went for a gin version called Red Snapper -because I was keen to try the Brasserie’s own label gin, which is distilled exclusively for 108 by award-winning Hawkridge Distilleries. We finally had to decide on a scale of 1-10 how spicy we wanted our drink to be. Leigh opted for a cautious five, whereas I chose a slightly bolder seven.
There are several alternative spirits that can be used in a Bloody Mary besides vodka including rum, tequila and whisky.
Our drinks were a big hit, and the spicing was perfect. You can’t beat starting a relaxed Sunday lunch with a Bloody Mary.
At this stage, it was time to dive into the menu. Obviously, we were having a Roast, but there were the starters to navigate. The starter choices did make life difficult, as there were many of my favourites to choose from.
I was tempted by the Jersey rock oysters and the burrata with pesto, but ultimately, I chose the Chapel & Swan smoked salmon, dill creme fresh, capers, lemon, and Guinness bread. Leigh decided to have Devon white crab, toasted soda bread, watercress, and apple salad.
I suggested to Leigh that I needed to taste her starter in the name of research. Well, in truth, I was just keen to taste the crab; it looked superb. I can confirm it tasted as good as it looked, and the sourdough bread was the perfect base for the crab. The apple salad also gave a crunch and texture to the dish.
Not to be outdone, as you can see from the photo, my smoked salmon looked appetising too. What you cannot tell from the picture is how delicious the Guinness bread was. It was so soft and worked really well with the Chapel and Swan smoked salmon.
Chapel & Swan cure and smoke their fish in Exning, near Newmarket. They have two kilns, one for cold-smoked salmon and haddock and the other for hot-cured fish. I will pop a link at the bottom to their website to read their story in more detail.
Anyhow, back to the starters. I’m told that breads are baked onsite, so a big thumbs up to whoever baked it. If they had a bakery on site, I would have bought a loaf of Guinness bread there and then. The starters were excellent, and if you needed any further proof, I can tell you, dear reader, my tummy is rumbling just typing this.
Wisely, we requested an extended break before our roast dinner.
Back to the menu and on offer are three types of meat on offer for the Roast, rib of beef, West country lamb rump and corn-fed chicken. All are served with roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, buttered root vegetable mash, and spring vegetables, including your gravy boat with your dinner.
I chose chicken, and Leigh chose beef. It was difficult to decide, as we also both love lamb.
Classic side options were available to accompany the Roast: red cabbage, cauliflower cheese, pigs in blankets, sage and onion stuffing, and buttered greens.
We added just one side and went with the cauliflower cheese because we had seen the size of roasts arriving at other diners’ tables.
I mentioned that delivering the perfect roast on mass is never the easiest thing for any restaurant, but it clearly was not a problem for the chef here.
The beef and chicken were cooked perfectly, and the Chicken was succulent and moist. Leigh has always said that roast potatoes are the biggest test, and these pass Leigh’s critical eye with flying colours. The root vegetable mash, with carrots and parsnips, was a great idea, and we will be borrowing this for our next Roast, of course claiming it was our own idea.
Hopefully, the pictures did our plates justice.
A quick note on our side dish: Sometimes, if you overcook the cauliflower, it can disappear in the cheese sauce. I am delighted to report that the cauliflower was the star here and retained a texture and bite.
Finally, plenty of gravy is essential for any Roast dinner, and we were asked if we required more gravy on several occasions. If Roast is not your thing, there are five choices of alternative dishes on the menu, including vegetarian and vegan options.
Earlier, I mentioned I wanted to see how the new Sunday roast menu would be received. I am pleased to report that on a dreary Sunday, only a few spare tables were available despite the weather. The atmosphere was very relaxed with that special Sunday lunch vibe, and it was heartwarming to see families and friends getting together to enjoy their meal and each other’s company over Sunday lunch.
On the evidence of our visit, the Sunday menu is a hit with the diners with plenty of Roasts leaving the kitchen.
Last up, it’s pudding time, and after the first two courses, we decided to share a pudding. We plumped for the restaurant’s most popular pudding, a classic creme brûlée served with shortbread. Thanks to our waiter for the recommendation; sharing was the best option. The brûlée was the perfect end to our meal.
We left impressed and well-fed. The restaurant understood and perfectly executed the Sunday roast tradition, and the service from the staff who looked after us so well enhanced our lunch experience.
Before we left, Anna, the duty manager, took us on a tour of the hotel. The public area has the same light and airy feel as the restaurant, the Hotel has its own cocktail bar and a nice selection of chill-out areas. We viewed the hotel’s various meeting/function rooms, including the lovely courtyard room. The hotel is set in a great location for a stay in London, and as I mentioned, Marylebone has a quiet village atmosphere, yet it is only a short walk to Oxford Street, Mayfair and Soho. If you plan to visit London, the Marylebone Hotel would be worth considering, and you won’t have to go far for a great Sunday Roast.
108 Brasserie
108 Marylebone Lane, London W1U 2QE
