bruncheating outlondon
REVIEW: REFORM SOCIAL & GRILL, MARYLEBONE
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The Posh Ploughman's Platter
A brand new brunch right in the heart of Marylebone mixes hearty fare with refinery to create a relaxed and comfortable dining experience.
A brand new brunch right in the heart of Marylebone mixes
hearty fare with refinery to create a relaxed and comfortable dining
experience. I went along to try it out.
The Reform Social & Grill is a hidden sanctuary, just a
few minutes away from the hellish thoroughfare of Oxford Street.
The restaurant and bar at the Mandeville Hotel takes its queues from the heritage
from the area and is inspired by traditional gentlemen’s clubs. In its efforts
to embody the “quintessentially British” the menu encapsulates everything
English.
![](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DT7VfwnYgUY/VQxLNuTQShI/AAAAAAAABkw/-4zOkkz4Ywg/s1600/Posh%2BPloughman's%2BPlatter.jpg)
The three course meal, which will cost you £30 a head,
begins with a ploughman’s platter, which was loaded with delicious treats.
Favourites included the battered pickled onion rings, the mouth-wateringly
gelatinous ham hock pressing and the piece de resistance, a hay baked wheel of
Tunsworth cheese with sourdough for dipping. This platter was so filling that
it was a squeeze to fit in the main (although we managed – it was so hard to
resist).
Next up was roast pork belly, which was served with very
nice cauliflower cheese, roast potatoes and parsnips, and a Yorkshire pudding
drizzled with gravy.
Roast pork belly
When it seemed impossible to be sated further a tower of
deserts was presented. All the British favourites appeared including an
amazingly rich sticky toffee pudding (thankfully minus the sultanas – who likes
those anyway?) with clotted cream ice cream and a pineapple upside down cake
with tropical coconut ice cream. There was an inventive take on the classic
apple crumble, a whole baked apple was stuffed with a sweet filling and topped
with biscuit.
From top: apple crumble, sticky toffee pudding, Bakewell tart
We were also treated to a cocktail masterclass. Social has
created a new cocktail for every month of the year, designed to treat whatever
malady comes with the month. It may be self-medication, but that doesn’t mean
it can’t be glamorous – or delicious. We learnt to make February’s cocktail, a
twist on the old fashioned designed to cure lonely hearts. Incorporating
marmalade jam, I’m not I would recommend this drink as a long-term solution to
heartbreak. Short-term, however, I think it would be absolutely adequate.
The Mandeville Hotel is located in the heart Marylebone, so
if the weather is fine you can digest your mammoth brunch while strolling
around the grounds of London’s most famous parks, Hyde Park and Regents Park.