Harden's says
Nose-to-tail dining comes to the West End.
Harden's survey result
Summary
“A mini-outpost of the mothership” – this three-year-old shares Fergus Henderson’s visionary “spartan aesthetic, friendly-hipster service and idiosyncratic menu” with the legendary original. “Simple in execution, complex in conception” – it’s “fabulous” for a “stolen hour sat at the bar eating rarebit and smoked mackerel, cut back and delicious in that St John way”. For some, though, the “stark” interior goes too far: “if only the place didn’t possess the atmosphere of a cramped transport caff!”
Summary
“Spot-on sea bream and lemon posset…”; “no bone marrow, but very good deep-fried rarebit, crispy pig cheek and the legendary Eccles cake and Lancashire cheese…” – this rare expansion from Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver is still improving in its second year in Marylebone, offering a daily changing menu of the “simple and excellent” nose-to-tail dishes using “highly seasonal ingredients, perfectly cooked” that have won its stablemates such renown. It shares their low-comfort, utilitarian design, which at its best seems “charming if slightly quirky”.
Summary
Nose-to-tail dining returns to the West End, with Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver’s first opening in seven years (their Leicester Square project, St John’s Hotel, closed in 2013). It’s on a two-floor Marylebone site with a short menu of trademark punchy British dishes and baked items (for example: deep-fried rarebit, ox heart, Eccles cake and cheese). Ratings are high for the food, but also support the view that – as yet – it’s “not as good as in Smithfield” or Spitalfields. More problematic is the interior, which echoes the stark utilitarian approach of its siblings: here it can seem merely “cold” or “dreary” (“like the 1960s!”).
For 34 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at St John Marylebone?
98 Marylebone Lane, London, W1U 2JE
St John Marylebone Restaurant Diner Reviews
"St John’s was a big disappointment. We booked on line for an upstairs table but on arrival were told we were downstairs. In the end this was no problem as the tables downstairs are bigger. The dinner menu was typical St Johns ie difficult to know if the dish will be to one’s liking or an offal step too far. The deep fried rarebit was fantastic - crisp but not oily, with a good strong cheese and mustard flavour. A main course of braised venison and beetroot was however disgusting. It reminded me of school dinners - chunks of meat that were flavourless and had been stewing for too long, floating in a watery gravy with similarly tasteless chunks of beetroot. It looked unappetising and was."
"Complex in execution, simple in conception. Sparkling oysters, crab on toast and a legendary Bakewell tart. Memorable. Service warm. Room stark. "
"Sat at the counter. Lacks the range of dishes vs the flagship but great salads and specials."
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £55.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £3.50 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Service | 12.50% |
98 Marylebone Lane, London, W1U 2JE
Opening hours
| Monday | 9 am‑2:45 pm, 6 pm‑9:45 pm |
| Tuesday | 9 am‑2:45 pm, 6 pm‑9:45 pm |
| Wednesday | 9 am‑2:45 pm, 6 pm‑9:45 pm |
| Thursday | 9 am‑2:45 pm, 6 pm‑9:45 pm |
| Friday | 9 am‑2:45 pm, 6 pm‑9:45 pm |
| Saturday | 9 am‑2:45 pm, 6 pm‑9:45 pm |
| Sunday | 9 am‑2:45 pm, 6 pm‑9:45 pm |
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