Hi all,
So here is the first blog from The London Brunch Club. Our first outing was to The Modern Pantry in St. Johns Square London (www.themodernpantry.co.uk). In attendance was Adam Radwanski, Brent Pitman, Arek Rokicki and Russell Harcourt.
This beautiful little pocket of serenity was decked out with tasteful white chairs and tables set against a grey backdrop. Personally, I am a real sucker for this color palate as it makes me feel relaxed and at ease. Cleanliness and simplicity. As we arrived, we were welcomed by a stunningly well lit room with long tables and the fresh aroma of baked pastries. The staff greeted us with friendly smiles and had our table ready instantly. As we are in the midst of winter, we were all rugged up with heavy jackets and I loath having to hang my jacket on the back of a chair. Thankfully the nearby wall hangers allowed for us to relax into the chairs.
Once we were seated, our staff member (cant remember her name, but remember that, like Russell, is a Sydney girl, haha) asked us for our drinks orders. Boring old me just asked for the usual Skinny Latte (£2.20), however the others ordered a Passion fruit, banana, orange, greek yoghurt, honey smoothie (£4.00)! It was a divine infusion of flavors which made me order one instantly! It should also be noted that the complementary bottle of water on the table was indeed welcomed as I think this should be common practice in all restaurants these days! I believe we should never have to pay for water or toilet facilities, but that is just me!
Our waitress was very accommodating coming back three times to ask if we would like to order because as usual, we were too busy catching up on the weeks events that we didn't have a chance to view the menu. Finally we ordered. Arek and I had the poached organic free range eggs and toast with smoked streaky bacon, slow-roast tomatoes (minus tomatoes for me, YUK) and buttered mushrooms (£7.80) and Adam and Russell had the poached organic free range eggs and toast with grilled chorizo or morcilla, plantain fritter, slow-roast tomatoes (£8.00).
Our orders were taken from us quickly and delivered in good time with nothing missing and served at the correct temperature. As usual you do the quick scan of what everyone else ordered to certify to yourself you made the right decision. On this occasion I wish I could have had mine plus what the boys had. It all looked very well presented on nice white crockery and with that grand cutlery you would find your parents to have as the special silver. I was slightly sceptical about the portion sizes and initially thought that we would have got a bit more for what we had paid. However, I was starving and the portion filled me up well. The eggs were cooked to perfection and the bacon was not too fatty! The flavor's of all dishes complemented each other well. All in all each of us enjoyed the food.
I must add, that I also am very sensitive to any environment. I detest loud and noisy places where you have to shout at the person next to you just to have a conversation. The Modern Pantry has a nice buzz to it that does not impact your tables conversation. Our neighbor even learnt a few things, albeit cheeky, whilst his girlfriend was in the bathroom. Speaking of which, very nice. Sterile and clean.
Now for the ratings:
Food: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Environment: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5
Value for money/price: 3/5
Uniqueness: 4/5
Overall rating: 3.9/5
The Verdict: I would eat at The Modern Pantry again. Great food, little bit overpriced, great staff and service!
