Pimlico – so near, yet so mysterious. I’m not so much talking about the bit near Sloane Square which many people think of as an extension of Chelsea – where La Poule au Pot on Pimlico Green is one of the capital’s longest-running success-stories – but the bit over the railway tracks, in real (Passport to) Pimlico territory.
Here, you find a land that had its heyday in the Swinging Sixties, and, restaurant-wise, went into hibernation soon afterwards. There are still only two restaurants there that anyone might seek out. One – Patrick Gwynne-Jones’s illicit basement time bubble, Pomegranates – has been in business for over thirty years. The origins of this other dining room trace back to the building, in 1937, of Dolphin Square: the largest apartment building in Europe.
Once overlooking the swimming pool (the pool is in fact still there, but now tastefully screened off) the room is on a scale rarely seen in London. It is all-enveloping, deeply blue and very Deco. It is quite soothing, as long as you don’t miss natural light. Until a couple of years ago it held a Michelin star when it was called Rhodes in the Square. Then Gary and caterers Sodexho parted company leading to this new identity.
If you’re looking for a business venue that’s comfortable and spacious – and handy for, but not in, the West End – you’d be pushed to do better. It’s notably discreet too – there was just one other table occupied the lunchtime I visited. But this absence of patronage is mercifully no commentary on the food. Now presided over (from afar) by Anton Edelmann – once of Savoy fame – the posh-hotel cooking is perfect for business. Good, but not too good, and prettily, but not fussily, presented, by friendly staff whose professionalism is belied by their surprisingly informal garb.
