No other seasonal ingredient arrives with quite the bang that grouse does, with the first shots fired on 12 August marking the beginning of the British game season. Whether your taste is traditional or modern, here are the best London restaurants for grouse and game this year.
New Street Grill
Starting from Tuesday August 15, New Street Grill will be partaking in the celebration of the upcoming bounty of game. Priced at £38, the restaurant will be serving bacon adorned roast grouse braised in a red wine jus with grouse liver pate and bread sauce.
D&D Chop Houses
From 14th August, Butlers Wharf, Paternoster and South Place Chop Houses, will be serving up grouse with bread sauce and game chips. The grouse is sealed to maintain moisture then gently roasted with juniper berries and thyme. It’s served alongside sourdough bread sauce with a sprinkle of nutmeg and a generous glug of game stock gravy. A pile of watercress cuts through the rich sauces as do the game chips made from the new season’s parsnips.
The Game Bird
The Game Bird launched at The Stafford London in March 2017, under the helm of Executive Chef James Durrant. The restaurant has fast become renowned for offering classic British dishes, executed with great style, and served in a sophisticated yet relaxed setting. From Monday August 14, the restaurant will be celebrating its eponymous game bird with the classic British dish of roast grouse, game chips, bread sauce, braised legs and grouse Pâté en Croûte, while further game dishes will be added to the menu as the game season progresses.
Plateau
In celebration of the British game season, Plateau in Canary Wharf is launching a series of seasonal supper clubs, offering a specially curated menu by Head Chef Jeremy Trehout, honouring a different game bird for a week of each month from August to October. From August 14-18, the main course for the supper clubs will be a delicious dish of roasted grouse served with wild mushrooms, celeriac, bread sauce, and game chips.
Tickets for The Nest will also include welcome canapés, a bottle of real ale, starter of Venison carpaccio with smoked yogurt and pickled mushrooms, and for dessert a seasonal take on the traditional Eton Mess.
For The Nest supper clubs 11, 12, 14 September, grouse will be replaced with a beautiful main course of partridge, and for 9, 11, 12, 14 October, pheasant will be taking pride of place alongside seasonal starters and desserts. Priced at £45pp, this unique supper club experience will start at 7.30pm, with 16 people seated around the stylish Zanotta tables in the Bar and Grill of Plateau.
Coq d’Argent
Glorious Twelfth marks the start of game season, and to celebrate, classic French restaurant Coq d’Argent in The City is offering guests the delicious Perdrix des neiges ‘à l’anglaise’. Comprising roast English grouse, crispy bacon, liver crouton, savoy cabbage, juniper gravy, bread sauce and game chips, the dish will be available as a special from August 15-18 for £50pp.
Furthermore, throughout September and October there will be additional game dishes joining the menu at Coq d’Argent, including venison, partridge, pigeon and wild boar, and for the ultimate showcase of this fantastic seasonal produce there will be a game tasting menu bringing a flavour of the countryside to the heart of the city.