Eat & Drink
Originally published on Thursday, 14th May 2009
No.20
I've always found Mark Fuller an intriguing figure. Famously outspoken, the man behind eighties club Embassy now cuts a swathe in his posh West London chippy Geales and his boutique Berkshire hotel Inn On The Green, usually somewhat conspicuously in black leather biker gear.
At least in his latest creation, Sanctum Soho, the groovy new hotel designed to attract music and media types, he doesn't stick out quite so much. Fuller and some fellow fat cats have spent £10 million here creating 'crash pad' rooms, designed with 'after-party sex liaisons' in mind and filling the mini-bars with massage oils and saucy scanties.
But despite all that Fuller also knows a thing or two about food and always manages to find the right chef for the job. So, although the hotel might not be quite my thing, the food at No.20 most certainly is.
Former L'Escargot chef Gavin Austin is a dab hand at Brit comfort food with a twist. A zingy prawn cocktail is heaving with juicy king prawns and comes with a nice salsa of avocado and tomato in the bottom of the glass, the lemon sole with spinach and nut butter is just right and puddings like lemon sponge with ginger ice cream really hit the spot.
The room lends itself more to dinner than breakfast or lunch so go in the evening and maybe you'll be tempted to get a room.
Hours: Mon-Sat 6.30am-11pm & Sun 7am-10pm
Place: Sanctum Soho Hotel, 20 Warwick St, W1B 5NF
Cost: ca. £40
Web: sanctumsoho.com
Book: 020 7292 6102
