Stepping into The Garden at The Berkeley makes you feel like you have entered into another world, you can almost hear the sea. Imagine your favourite Greek Taverna dotted with lights and lanterns with the service and quality of the food that the Berkeley is renowned for in the heart of Knightsbridge.
Sally looked after us beautifully and Peter, our waiter really knew the menu and gave very informed advice, and, in the time of Covid, you can either have a printed menu, which gets thrown away after each guest, or can scan the menu with your phone.
Roasted garlic, grilled tomatoes and hot bread arrive at once and it was hard to resist devouring the lot, but we were relatively strong willed. We started with charred giant prawns with saffron aoli which was delicious, the special starter was fried squid and Peter recommended that we try the tender stem broccoli with grilled sweetcorn and pine nuts, I urge you to try it and I shall be grilling sweetcorn for ever more.
We shared Lamb koftas with candied aubergine and cucumber tzatziki and had the halibut which was the fish of the day. If this was not enough deliciousness, Executive Chef Sean Whatling came to see us bearing a sizzling plate of Saganaki, a fried Greek cheese, with pomegranate and tomato salsa. With this oozy cheese we shared a pitcher (its enough for four) of Apple Spritz with Bombay Sapphire, Pommeau de Normandie, apple and of course Laurent Perrier champagne.
To say that we were over fed at this stage would be an understatement, however Peter was determined that we should cram in some pudding. We pleaded to be spared but no, he was adamant that the almond and plum tart as well as the new York style cheesecake with blueberry compote were a must and how right he was.
I am hoping to be able to get a table before The Garden closes for the summer as there is so much on this menu that needs to be tried – with temptations such as grilled baby courgettes with charred padron peppers and lemon, a T bone steak with shallot butter and chimichurri or roast cauliflower with smoked almond puree.
This restaurant delivers a real taste of Mediterranean holidays albeit upmarket with the barbeques negating the bonfire smell of a traditional fire but delivering the required smoky flavour while still using charcoal. Add to that great attention to detail and friendly staff, a visit here is just the thing to give you an excuse to forget any pandemic and recharge.
The Garden at The Berkeley is only open until 27 September 2020. The Garden will also be open for lunch AND dinner from 14-27 September.
To discover more, visit: the-berkeley.co.uk
All imagery courtesy of The Berkeley.
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