No. 24A: Roux at Parliament Square, London, SW1
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The strange numbering of this entry is created due to this entry breaking the 40 B4 40 rules. On this occasion my wife is not in attendance, but she has sanctioned my reporting on my day out with my bald red faced surrogate wife, Alistair.
Unlike our last foray into the big smoke, which ended a bit messy, this was far more of a sober affair. This time we were off to hear Prime Minister’s Question Time at the Houses of Parliament. As ever, the Palace of Westminster looked resplendent and the walk through St Stephen’s Hall was, as always, impressive.
Having watched the ‘Speaker’s Procession’ through the Central Lobby, we were soon in the fully packed Public Gallery above the House of Commons. The view was excellent, and the glass panelling installed after someone threw flour at Tony Blair did not really effect the experience too much.
Our expectation to see David Cameron, and the other bloke, was short lived as Nick Clegg was standing in due to the Prime Minister being in the Middle East. For obvious reasons no one is told the Prime Minister is leaving the country in advance.
The best questions came from the floor, and some of the humour was quite sharp. Harriet Harman did not have her best day at the despatch box with her questions appearing somewhat weak. All in all, Nick Clegg seemed to handle the session pretty well.
It is interesting to know that the Despatch Box on the Government side houses a Bible and a Koran. The Opposition box contains a burnt Bible, dating back to the destruction of the Commons chamber by a German bomb on 10 May 1941 during the Second World War. Few know that the House of Commons was destroyed during the war, as there was a news blackout at the time to prevent the British people for being demoralised.
Having enjoyed our visit to the heart of UK democracy, it was time for a beer. In the shadow of Big Ben is St Stephen’s Tavern, an nicely preserved historic inn, and we were soon inside tasting their wares and admiring the architecture. The pub is owned by Hall & Woodhouse, who of course are the new owners of The Beach House (Ex: Westover Hall hotel) in Milford on Sea.
After a couple of pints and a good chat, it was time for lunch.
We did not have to walk far, as Roux at Parliament Square is just down the road. This is Michele Roux Jnr’s second restaurant after Le Gavroche, housed in a Georgian Grade II listed building of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. The restaurant is contemporary and luxurious, combining period features and modern furnishings and the listed building was designed by Alfred Waterhouse, the architect of London’s iconic Natural History Museum.
On this occasion, rather than eat in the restaurant, we had previously decided to eat in the upstairs ‘Pembury’ lounge & cocktail bar.
Being a lunchtime, we had resisted the cocktails, and sat enjoying some beer and wine as we read the menus, it was surprising to see that their were no 'set lunch' offers in the restaurant. The restaurant menu was solely a'la carte, and whilst enticing, also expensive.
Fortunately for us, the bar menu was the opposite price wise. Alistair is a big fan of tapas, and I am a big fan of picking at food, so although it was not a tapas menu we decided to order a portion of most of what was on the menu. It would of course been rude not to try as much as possible
As we awaited our meal in cosy armchairs by the fireplace, we enjoyed a bowl of Pork scratching with smoked paprika (£2), which was like a pork popcorn. Not long after we were moving to a table laden with food!, which included; Pea and mint aranchini (£5), amazing Pepperdew peppers stuffed with feta cheese (£5), Pork & apple sandwich du jour on organic sourdough (£8), which was just like a hog roast sandwich, Home made scotch egg, piccalilli & secrets farm salad (£8), hmmm yummy, House cured salmon, crème fraiche, toasted multiseed (£8), Selection of cured Iberico pork, pickles & sourdough bread (£15), which was delicious.
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As you can see, the menu had a bit of a pork theme going on.
Saldy, due to over ordering the 'picky bits', one thing we did not try was the the Seasonal pie and mash, which today was Hare. However, it did look great value at just £15, and now marked down as one for next time.
To round off our lunch we had the Selection of sweet bites (£9), which all bar one had a lemon theme and included; posset, cake bites, macaroon, and I think the most amazing brownie I can remember.
On leaving, we bumped into two high profile cabinet ministers in the lobby, fortunately they did not recognise us, and we were not drawn into long conversation providing our advice on what next strategic move the government should make.
On leaving, we bumped into two high profile cabinet ministers in the lobby, fortunately they did not recognise us, and we were not drawn into long conversation providing our advice on what next strategic move the government should make.
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How about this for a wine rack! We had a business meeting and lunch in the Angels' Wine Tower Bar at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Stansted Airport, the bar is underneath this monolith containing 4000 bottles of wine in a spectacular glass storage tower.
If you are wondering how the wine is retrieved, it is collected by the restaurant's acrobatic bar angels, who soar into the tower on harnesses to retrieve the appropriate vintage. yes, ...really!
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If you are wondering what the 40 B4 40 Dining Challenge is all about, please click here and all will be explained.
If you are wondering what the 40 B4 40 Dining Challenge is all about, please click here and all will be explained.
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