There was only one place on my mind when I was thinking about where to take my mum for an early Mother’s Day lunch, it had to be Dalloway Terrace. Knowing my mum’s love of flowers and plants, I knew the new Spring Jungle would be the perfect.
When I don’t think the flower installations at Dalloway can get any better, they go and outdo themselves and the Spring Jungle is an amazing colourful fiesta full of vibrancy and eye-popping colour.
The inspiration for this Spring’s installation comes from the 1913 novel by Leonard Woolf (husband of Virginia Woolf), The Village in the Jungle based on his experiences in Sri Lanka, what was then Ceylon, a tropical island paradise. The Bloomsbury Hotel’s Dalloway Terrace is after all named after the novel by Virginia called Mrs Dalloway and the hotel usually draws inspiration from the novelists who lived in the Bloomsbury area aptly called “The Bloomsbury Set”.
As we were shown to our tables, I knew my mum was impressed. I could see from her reaction as she felt the flowers just in case, they were real, they’re that incredible. First we were greeted with a glass of champagne which my mum really enjoyed having mentioned the previous week at home that she misses the odd glass of bubbly. Personally, I would open a bottle of champagne if I fancied it but that’s just me, have I told you that it’s my favourite tipple?
We decided to go for the whole shebang, starter, main and dessert, mum and I have a real sweet tooth so we always have dessert but as we were choosing our dishes, mum decided we should share our mains in case we got too full. It was her day so I went with what she preferred. We chose starters of Grilled Asparagus and mum had the Dorset Crab on Toast, we chose the Seared Lamb Rump for mains and then desserts were Mango & Lychee Cream and mum chose the Baked Vanilla Cheesecake.
My Grilled Asparagus starter was served with duck egg, hollandaise and truffle. The spears of asparagus were lightly chargrilled and tender, and egg perfectly poached which was a sublime combination partnered with the hollandaise and truffle.
My mum’s Dorset Crab was served with watercress and apple batons which cut through the richness of the crab, it was delicious according to mum. My mum much prefers starters to mains these days and I think if I had suggested, she would have picked two starters and dessert which is what she does most of the time when we’re out.
Dalloway was by now getting quite busy, many diners are bloggers eager to take the perfect photo for Instagram, Japanese and Chinese tourists always happy to snap away on their cameras and phones as well as business diners, Dalloway is accessible to everyone.
For our mains we choose to have a large glass each of Pinot Grigio Franz Haas priced at £11.50 per glass. The Lamb Rump was accompanied with tenderstem broccoli which we chose as an additional side and I also ordered a portion of the deliciously crispy and earthy Truffle & Parmesan Fries which I’m a huge fan of having had them before next door at the Coral Room. The lamb is served with a saffron potato fondant and a vibrant sauce vierge. Everything about our lamb dish was amazing, butter soft slices of pink lamb, a super soft potato fondant and a zingy sauce vierge full of herbs and lemon, the broccoli was the perfect side.
I know we had potato in the dish but as I said before, once you’ve tried the Bloomsbury’s Truffle & Parmesan fries, you’ll want them again and again. They’re served at the Coral Room as well as Dalloway Terrace.
The very moorish Truffle & Parmesan Fries.
The best bit of our lunch was to come, mum and I both adore all manner of dessert and cakes and we never have lunch without ordering dessert. Sounding rather innocent dare I say boring; I can categorically say boring they were not! They were some of the most delicious and inventive desserts we’d ever had at lunch.
I chose the Mango & Lychee Cream which was a visual work of art. A white chocolate sphere filled with a fragrant lychee sorbet and mango pieces was balanced gently on a delicate and fruity mango tart. The sorbet with a gorgeous heady tropical aroma had the addition of nuts, the plate was as colourful as the Spring Jungle itself with bursts of yellow mango coulis, even coriander and juliennes of red pepper and other micro herbs which I’ve never had in a dessert before, it was all heavenly.
My mum’s dessert was just as colourful and delicious, three small squares of creamy Vanilla Cheesecake topped with hibiscus meringue, micro herbs and an unusual bramble & nettle sorbet on the side with a deep purple bramble coulis and nuts. We both agreed, it was the best part of our lunch.
Dalloway’s idyllic jungle is the perfect spot to get away from the hustle and bustle of London life, a serene space to enjoy breakfast, brunch, lunch or Afternoon Tea. Sitting among the passion flowers, bright fuchsia orchids and lush green banana plants, I almost felt I was back on my honeymoon in Mauritius. Indeed, my wedding colour scheme was bright flowers and my mum, and I had a lovely chat reminiscing about that special day all because of Dalloway’s Spring Jungle. Lunch was blissful, we had a wonderful afternoon and my mum was suitably impressed and wowed by Dalloway just as I was after my first visit, I can’t wait to bring her again, I wonder what the next theme will be at Dalloway.
Our champagne was complimentary. Our lunch including two coffee’s and 2 glasses of wine cost £113.06 including service. All photo’s and opinions are my own. The menu at Dalloway Terrace is exciting and varied and changes regularly.
DallowayTerrace
Bloomsbury Hotel 1
6-22 Great Russell Street
Bloomsbury, London WC1B 3NN
info@dallowayterrace.com
