Seven Dials in Covent Garden is a fantastic little area where seven street converge into one central circular space. The area is home to some fab shops, theatres, hotels and one fantastic new restaurant from celebrity chef, Marcus Wareing. Playing on the location Marcus named the restaurant Tredwell’s after the butler in the Agatha Christie novel The Seven Dials Mystery and by coincidence the Agatha Christie play, The Mousetrap, is just round the corner.Having studied English literature, I like a good literary connection…and Mr S likes good food, so Tredwell’s was the perfect place for lunch after the previous night’s birthday celebrations. The post-birthday day is kind of like Boxing Day, you still feel festive and happy but also slightly sad that it’s over….comfort food was in order!
I was excited to wear some of my latest purchases for our lunch. A silk and lace top (I’ve been getting very into lace recently) and a wool and suede skirt from Maje. I loved the mixture of textures in the outfit and it went perfectly with my new bag!
The interior of Tredwell’s looks a little like a vintage diner, with green leather banquettes, wooden floors, tiling and mirroring.
Skilled mixologists whip up inventive cocktails behind the central gilded bar.
Mr S and I dined on the ground floor but the space at Tredwell’s is deceptively big. There’s a smaller basement for some after dinner drinking and a mezzanine floor above looking out on to the streets of Covent Garden.
Cocktails were in order for the post-Birthday celebrations…
…and the names of the cocktails seemed to be inspired by old-fashioned London. I chose one called Down the Apples and Pears, and for my International readers that’s London cockney rhyming slang for Down The Stairs. The cocktail contained Belevedere Vodka, apple, pear, elderflower and thyme. It was delicious and incredibly drinkable. Our waiter, a mixologist himself, told us that the vodka had been infused with thyme, and this gave it a slightly smokey flavour.
A gunpowder gimlet, a rather appropriate choice days after Guy Fawkes night, was Mr Silver’s cocktail. It contained gin, cardamom, green tea and lime…
Flavours that were certainly smoking hot!
Matching cocktails and outfits…
Marcus Wareing’s menu is described as modern London cooking and you can start the meal with a few snacks and than follow on with the standard starter, main course, dessert.
Mr S loves chicken wings almost as much as he likes ribs…so the sticky chilli chicken wings were a no brainer for our first snack. The chicken was tender and smokey with a lovely mild spice.
Our other snack was charred bread with chorizo jam. We chose this dish as it’s not something that we’d ever seen on a menu before and it sounded quite inventive. The chilli, garlic taste of the chorizo was delicious, I would have preferred slightly more toasted bread but this was only a minor complaint.
Now if you don’t know who Marcus Wareing is, you’re probably living under a stone! One of the UK’s top chefs he is runs the two Michelin Star restaurant MARCUS at The Berkeley, as well as The Gilbert Scott at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. Tredwell’s is his first foray into the world of casual dining as he follows in the footsteps of other top chefs who are branching out into more casual spin offs.
Marcus has worked with several of the world’s greatest chefs, but Gordon Ramsay was one of his strongest influences and he credits him as the man who taught him to cook.
And what a fabulous menu Marcus has created here. The kitchen produces comforting British grub that also shows high levels of innovation…it’s not your average British brasserie.
On to starters, and we shared harissa glazed aubergine with chilli and peanuts.
And a beautifully cooked rare salmon with chargrilled cauliflower and spirulina. The salmon was perfection (and I know my salmon) the spirulina wasn’t really necessary but it was a nice added touch.
And for main course…
Lamb chops (standard, Mr Silver)
And sea bass…(standard, Mrs Silver)
The lamb chops were perfectly cooked, slightly rare and served with a mint chutney and anyone who knows Mr S will know he goes wild over mint sauce. My seabass was served on a delicious carrot mash with lentils and crunchy shallots, the flesh was beautifully cooked with a crispy skin.
The waiter recommended the sweet potato chips, and said ‘You don’t see them many places’
‘Well, they do have them at, Nandos,’ I said. I’m very familiar with the Nandos menu as Mr S is a big fan and frequently brings himself a takeaway home. Obvs, these were far superior to the chain chicken joint and even Mr S, concurred. I liked the fact that they actually tasted healthy and I assume they were baked rather than fried.
Though we were busting at the seams we ordered two desserts.
Warm chocolate, fig and chocolate cornflakes
And salted caramel soft serve, which was caramel ice cream with crispy honeycomb.
Individually both desserts were delicious and rather reminiscent of childhood treats. But the puddings really shined when mixed together as I dug my spoon into the warm chocolate and then topped it off with the delicious, cold ice-cream.
A little bird told them it had been my birthday yesterday and the waiter bought out a final treat, before every member of staff burst into song. It was very embarrassing, but sometimes I’m secretly excited to be the centre of attention.
Thank you very much to Tredwell’s for an absolutely delicious lunch to help beat the post-brithday blues!
Tredwell’s
4A Upper St Martin’s Lane
London
WC2H 9NY
0203 764 0840
Mr S and I dined as guests of Tredwell’s
