Michelin-Starred Seafood at Angler

It’s a great feeling when you meet someone who just click immediately with and you know this could be the beginning of sharing many glasses of bubbles together…Though I’d met Maggie before we didn’t have much time to get to know each other and with plenty of jetsetting on both our parts it took a while to put a date in the diary.

With a blog named Planes & Champagne it was clear Maggie and I were going to have a lot in common and her suggestion of Michelin-starred seafood restaurant, Angler at The South Place Hotel also met with quick approval.

Located on the 7th floor, Angler is all white walls, big windows and light, really the perfect place for a ladies lunch. A seafood restaurant was the perfect choice as we’ve both just been to The Maldives and it gave us the chance to remember some of the great meals we’d had there.

Rare red mullet on a crisp with an avocado dip was a delicious and light amuse bouche – a taste of the great fresh fish that was to come.
Fellow bread lovers would rejoice with me at the sight of a loaf like this and it came with a unique, slightly smokey caramelised butter.
My starter choice is apparently one of the most popular on the menu and I can see why. My tuna tartare was prepared so perfectly with cool creamy avocado and a spicy kick of wasabi. Deep fried shiso gave a great contrasting texture to the dish.

Maggie was also very happy with her choice of salt cod, Jersey royals, black truffle cream and Wye Valley asparagus. A classic concept of sustainable seafood and seasonal local produce is at the heart of the Angler experience and the freshness truly comes across in both the flavour and the appearance of the food. Of course, The Maldives and our mutual passion for hotels and luxury travel was very much the topic of conversation and I could have spent all day chatting to Maggie.

Cod isn’t usually my first choice when it comes to fish but it was cooked so beautifully and served with vibrant green spring peas, juicy morels and delicious grilled Cornish squid.
Maggie’s Cornish mullet was served with Jersey royal cream and smokey bacon another great dish!

Executive Chef Gary Foulkes also popped out to say hi to us, a man who’s worked several of the top restaurants in the UK. His most recent position was two-Michelin star restaurant, The Square which he left in 2016 to become head chef at The Angler.

We considered a cocktail on the restaurant’s pretty outdoor terrace but I suggested to Maggie that we head to The Ned instead. Seeing pictures and hearing about The Ned is currently unavoidable as the hotel complex is one of the biggest openings that London has seen in years!

We perched on stools at the bar of Italian restaurant, Cecconi’s with another glass of champagne and a toast to exciting things to come!