Round Baker Street way it’s hard to avoid references to the area’s most famous, if fictional, resident. The Holmes Hotel, and its in-house restaurant Kitchen at Holmes, lays it right out there in the name but there’s a lot more going on here than detectives and deerstalkers.
Kitchen at Holmes, which has its own entrance on Baker Street, is split into a bar at the front and dining room towards the back. There’s a completely open kitchen with the chefs working around a central station rather than behind a pass, so if you’re sat at one of the tables directly facing the kitchen you really do get an excellent view of all the action.
Head Chef Stefano Motta has designed the menu with the aim to please as many people as possible. There are cured meats and cheeses, fritti, a raw section, stir-fried dishes, salads, grills, small plates, main courses…. you get the picture. Although that sounds a bit chaotic, it does both make sense in theory (as a hotel restaurant you want to cover all the bases) and work in practice (because though the range of influences are broad, the dishes themselves are all fairly classical and actually very tasty). We reckon best way to navigate the menu is to start by sharing a bunch of small plates before moving onto an individual main. Do what you like when it comes to dessert.
Admittedly, that strategy doesn’t massively narrow down your options but we can recommend the Crottin cheese, a soft goat’s cheese that’s been marinated with Taggiasca olives; the aubergine tempura with yoghurt and dukkah; and the Iberico de Bellota – man that is some good jamon. The red prawn carpaccio, which we nearly missed out on save for a recommendation from our waiter, may just have been the best of the lot though – super fresh, zesty from Amalfi lemon and salty from caviar.
We kept it meaty for the mains, opting for the ribeye steak, which came perfectly cooked medium rare, and the breaded Welsh Herdwick lamb escalopes, given a Middle Eastern twist with roasted aubergine and tahini. We did manage to sneak in pudding after all of that – all in the name of research you understand. The best thing about the raspberry and lime cheesecake was the super sharp raspberry sorbet on the side, so the chocolate & orange fiesta, which was essentially a Jaffa cake in a fancier outfit, won that round.
Kitchen at Holmes has leaned into the Sherlock theme on the cocktail list but the wine list is worth a once over, especially if you like Italian vino. All in all, you won’t struggle for choice at Kitchen at Holmes and there are some gems to be found there so it’s worth stopping by, even if you’re not kipping upstairs.
108 Baker Street, London, W1U 6IJ
kitchenatholmes.co.uk