Snapshots Of Britain On A Plate, At GBR

GBR at Dukes ★★★★☆

Will Noble
By Will Noble Last edited 61 months ago

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Snapshots Of Britain On A Plate, At GBR GBR at Dukes 4
The Barbary duck, at GBR

As guests at the Dukes bar in Mayfair sip strong martinis while channeling Connery and Moore, something else quintessentially British is going on in the restaurant below.

GBR's new menu is a celebration of the UK via a medley of dishes sourced from local butchers, fisherman and farmers across the country — hardly novel, but in this case, executed nicely.

Diners can choose to make their way through the menu — including Barbary duck with salt baked turnips, and red gunard heaped with white crab — in two ways: as mains or smaller, sharing plates. The latter allows you to sample six or so ample-sized plates (ranging from £6-£11) and experience just what native food can be.

Most things on the docket should impress any foreigner looking to scoff at British fare: the posh haggis Scotch egg may now be a gastropub staple, but this one's a soft and spicy, oozing delight. The heritage beets (has to be heritage these days) are perhaps lacking a bit of pizzazz, but the eel served on a disc of a 'pig's head' terrine is little short of sublime.

Not everything at GBR is about tradition. Our hankering for a gin martini is brushed aside with the refreshing drinks list, in which manhattans are cross-bred with mint juleps, and sazeracs beefed up with a triumvirate of whisky, brandy and rum. Bond might not favour such potions over his classic, but they add edge to a competently classic menu.   

GBR Restaurant at Dukes, 37-38 St James's Place, St. James's, SW1A 1NS

Last Updated 25 February 2019