St Pancras Grand is a Searcy’s restaurant, in a magnificently re-furbished room in one of the twin stations of King’s Cross and St. Pancras which form London’s main transport hub. This district is getting better known and busier and more cultured all the time. Way to go!.
The restaurant is in a unique location, just to the side of the Eurostar platforms at St Pancras station, next to the champagne bar. The restaurant ceiling has splendid burnished gold recesses, the walls have mirrors, the aspect out into the giant station shed …..it’s an extremely comfortable, memorable place.
It’s less obviously placed than either the Carluccio’s or the Betjeman Arms at the end of the platforms, and it’s hardly signposted at all. Discreet? Certainly. Romantic? If you’re into stations like Laura and Alec from Brief Encounter….why not?!
My excuse for going, as the guest of Searcy’s…. is that on Sundays between 12 and 4 you can hear either the Roland Perrin Trio or (as I did) the Chris Jerome trio, and there is a special three course menu at £25 including a Grand Bellini. The a la carte prices would tend to rule it out for most people, apart from a very special occasion. These jazz sessions go on until late November.
Chris Jerome’ s trio with Miles Danso on bass and Andy Trim at the drums were on good form. Jerome had eight years as Courtney Pine ‘s pianist. His playing bristles with life, energy and alertness. When I first walked in the trio were bouncing through Cheek to Cheek. More fitting for a station gig was Moment’s Notice, and inappropriately just right was Wes Montgomery’s Road Song. The trio seemed to catch the mood of the place. And, rare for a restaurant gig, they were getting applause at the end of every number. May be Londoners really are getting more polite….
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Andy Trim, mostly on brushes, found absolutely the right volume level, delicate and subtle. Miles Danso is one of those great less-is-more players, the busy walking four being the exception rather than the rule. I like that. And so, I have to say, did a six-year-old boy, who stood transfixed watching the trio with his elder sister.
And promptly announced to his father. “When I grow up I’m going to be a bass player. “
Categories: miscellaneous
Oh what a nice restaurant, or at least you make it sound like it 🙂 I'll make sure I find time to go there if I ever go to London on a business trip again. It is a magical city full of amazing restaurants. I keep reading the best reviews on every one of them and am still amazed. I had no idea London was such a restaurants city. Well if you ever come to Toronto, pay a visit to the The Stockyards. It really is a special place 😉 Thanks for your review,
take care, Elli