Langans | The Modern Cad Guide to London: West End
- Jaan Larner
- Nov 14, 2019
- 2 min read
Where the PFL was practically invented…
Legendary eaterie owned by the incomparable chap and national treasure, Sir Michael Caine - cool before it was fashionable in the restaurant trade and then defining the term for a generation - anyone who is anyone has eaten here and if they are very lucky, been shouted at or thrown out, because that is to have been part of an idiosyncratic history which seems a different dimension to the prissy, beige and dull conformity of today.
Our starters were moreish duck liver and foie gras parfait and a collection of variously cured meats including ham, mutton, beef salami and venison - so tasty as to be inhaled rather than savoured - more please.
Meaty instincts led us to both choose steaks, but one Ribeye and one fillet to cover the spread between complex tastiness and comforting nursery ease - both succulent and excellent.
We swerved the pudding and hailed a brace of double espressos to top off the bottle of Cote du Rhône and lashings of discreetly delivered sparkling water. Don’t forget to hydrate, boys and girls, despite what fish do in it.
The welcome was brisk, but friendly and efficient, (without that false ingratiating chat straight out of a crappy online course: ‘is everything alright with yourself...?’ - ‘....No’) and while the woodwork is a little lived in, I prefer that matched with pristine starched tablecloths and excellent staff, to the sterile, overlit hanger spaces that so many restaurants think better showcases their food - forgetting that many of us dine out for the company, not the performance.
The only slight bum note was one waiter’s haughty disdain for explaining a French term on the menu (relating to the rightly-adored soufflé - we know what a fucking soufflé is, in the same way we know what cul de sac, entrepreneur and Agincourt are). You might have thought that attitude had been beaten out of French waiters last century - but so nice to be reminded of how valuable and accurate some National stereotypes remain.
Contact: 020 7491 8822, info@langansbrasserie.com
Address: Stratton St, Mayfair, London W1J 8LB
Website: https://langansbrasserie.com/
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