Culture Food & Travel News & features

Wild Honey reopens as a swanky brasserie in St James’s within the Sofitel hotel

Wild Honey reopens as a swanky brasserie in St James’s within the Sofitel hotel

A few months after the closure of its original Mayfair site, fine-dining restaurant Wild Honey has re-opened at the Sofitel in St James’s. The completely refurbished dining room, the work of interior designer Jim Hamilton, features high ceilings and 110 seats split over two levels. Guests can sit either close to the bar, where they can enjoy a lighter / more casual meal (though the restaurant’s menu is available too) or by the actual dining area, where comfortable blue velvet banquettes and caramel leather chairs fill the floor.

Chef Anthony Demetre, who ran two michelin-star restaurants for several years – Arbutus and Wild Honey – is known for his French-influenced cooking style. With Arbutus, he tried to bring to London the success of Parisian gastro-bistros; then he added the tablecloth fine-dining to the portfolio.

Wild Honey St James is a swanky brasserie, and the menu reflects it. We tried a mix of starters: first the Handcut Macaroni Cacio e Pepe. It comes with crispy boneless chicken wings, which are juicy and rich, but you can’t have pasta and chicken on the same plate, it’s just not allowed. The Grilled Galician Octopus is a show-stopper but it was the Crisp Pig’s Head that delivered the best flavours.

Of all the mains, the rabbit’s saddle is Demetre’s jewel. It’s prepared as a sliced roulade just like at the Mayfair site, and it comes with shoulder cottage pie as well as girolles and Italian green beans. For pescatarians – or anyway those who favour fish – the grilled plaice is a comforting option.

Given the restaurant’s name, it more than makes sense that one of the desserts is ice cream made from honey, served with fresh honey taken from the frame in front of the customers. Currently, it’s sourced from Burford (Cotswolds) but in future they plan to have their own. Another dessert worthy to be tried is the warm chocolate soup with toasted rice ice cream.

For a buzzy, casual meal – with good food – Wild Honey St James won’t disappoint. They also have a spacious, 16-seat private room full of artworks, as well as a very convenient set lunch (£24 two dishes / £27 three dishes). Next to the restaurant, the newly refurbished St James Bar offers its own snacks menu (also looked after by the chef) and over 100 labels of whiskey. Wild Honey is a smart, easy place to dine at.

Filippo L’Astorina, the Editor
Photos: Filippo L’Astorina

To book a table at Wild Honey St James, 8 Pall Mall London SW1Y 5NG, call 020 7968 2900 or visit their website here.

More in Food & Drinks

Adam Handling launches Friends of Frog dinner series with chefs from two-Michelin-star restaurants

Food & Travel Desk

Chef Yiannis Mexis brings modern Greek fire cooking to Borough with debut restaurant Pyro

Food & Travel Desk

Gian Paolo Bassi crafts the world’s most expensive Panettone – and it’s not only for Christmas

Food & Travel Desk

Japanese woodfire restaurant Kokin to launch atop The Stratford hotel

Food & Travel Desk

Michelin-starred chef Tom Kemble to open New York-style pizzeria, Spring Street Pizza

Food & Travel Desk

Soho’s Nessa launches weekly Salon of the Unruly art nights celebrating local talent

Food & Travel Desk

Ave Mario launches pre-theatre dinner menu in Covent Garden

Food & Travel Desk

Islington’s Little Bat Bar unveils new menu from chef James Cochran

Food & Travel Desk

Cotswolds Distillery launches two-for-one tours to celebrate inaugural English Whisky Week

Food & Travel Desk