New York Italian style hits the street’s of London this spring, as five-star hotel The Churchill transforms its Saturday brunch menu.
Who said you couldn’t eat pizza for breakfast? Luxury London hotel, The Churchill are bucking the trend of ‘eggs with everything’ brunches, in favour of some New York Italian favourites.
We headed to the hotel’s Montagu restaurant, nestled behind London’s Oxford Street and just moments away from the Saturday shopping mecca that is Selfridges, for a Saturday brunch with a difference.
The dining room at the Montagu is topped with elegance – Art Deco detailing, artwork adorning the walls and even a live jazz band in corner. Come Saturdays however, the restaurant takes on a more relaxed vibe, offering up NYC style pizzas, mama’s kitchen style tiramisu and lashings of Prosecco.
We’re shown to our table by the warm and welcoming staff, but it’s up again to head over to one of two brunch stations. The first, dishing up hot food like make-your-own pizzas and hearty pasta dishes, the other for cold plates like decadent lobster salads and desserts to finish.
We head to the hot station first, where one of the chefs explains how the pizza dishes work. The table is practically overflowing with the perfect pizza toppings, from gooey mozzarella to platters of salami and parma ham. It’s simple, you pick your toppings, as little or as many as you wish, he makes it up and it arrives at your table. We went for a simple, classic combination of tomato sauce, mozzarella, rocket and parma ham. Hearty and satisfying yet only half the size of a regular pizza, they leave plenty of room to explore the brunch’s many other options.
The New York inspiration behind the Montagu’s lunch comes partly in the form of fresh, grilled steaks. Served up with a classic caesar salads or drizzled with decadent truffle oil, they’re definitely a step up from Saturday morning’s usual egg and soldiers.
Over at the cold station there are some much lighter options including a twist on the retro prawn cocktail, this time simple shrimp swapped for sophisticated lobster. There’s also a trolley dedicated entirely to Bloody Marys, where you can make-you-own as fiery or as heady as you like.
We stuck with the Prosecco, which thanks to the attentive waiters did not drop below halfway throughout the entire meal. This no doubt had something to do with the general atmosphere in the restaurant, groups of women celebrating birthdays, mums and daughters out for brunch, families and even a slightly rowdy stag do sat side beside, laughing and enjoying themselves.
Although the food comes from an award-winning kitchen and you’re sat in five-star luxury, any stuffy attitudes or reservations are firmly left at the door.
We left belly-full and a little tipsy, making sure we didn’t make a detour to nearby Selfridges – a stop off there after more than one glass of Prosecco could spell potential danger.
What a way to kick off the weekend.
The set brunch menu costs £59 per person and is available every Saturday in The Montagu restaurant from 12.30 to 15.00. For reservations, contact [email protected] or tel. +44 (0) 20 7299 2037.
The Montagu at Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill, 30 Portman Square, London, Greater London W1H 7BH