Theo Randall @ The Intercontinental London Park Lane, England, United Kingdom

After having mixed experiences at Theo Randall's one year earlier we decided to give it a new try after the restaurant went through a full transformation and renovation in late 2015/early 2016.

The space had considerable brightened and looked much more contemporary and rustic with wood panelling and interesting light features.

The acoustic had also improved. It wasn't as loud as before. It could have had also to do with there being mostly couples.

The welcome was much warmer than last time around. We were promptly brought to our table, which was large, wooden and squared.

We had given the vouchers for two glasses of Prosecco we had received at check in to the maître d' and the Prosecco arrived promptly.

Our bottle of Acqua Panna and the Three Moons Cocktail with Masala and fig-thyme syrup were next. The cocktail was very strong and nuanced. It was delightful.

The greetings from the kitchen was bruschetta, which we already knew from our first visit and loved. It's one of the best we had so far, besides the one we enjoyed at the Hilton Dublin Airport.

We ordered insalata mista and beef carpaccio with zuccini as starters. Both were delicious.

Our main courses included sea trout with datterini tomatoes, aubergine, peppers, courgette, capers and Tagliatesch olives and parpadelle a la ragout (slow simmered beef in Chianti) and Parmesan cheese. The fish dish was colorful and had all the Mediterranean flavors I imagined it would have. The parpadelle were an indulgence.  It was rich and moreish. He had ordered the appetizer size, remembering from our first time visit that the portions were generous.

Dessert rounded up our meal with the infamous Amalfi lemon tart and one torta caprese, a chocolate almond cake with almond ice cream. The lemon tart is my fiancé’s favorite dessert at Theo Randall's. He liked the tart and sweet flavor combination. My torta caprese was generous in size too and delicious, but felt slightly too large.

Service was warm and attentive. We had also the chance to chat with the restaurant manager about the renovation and could compliment him for good service, better design and even improved food, which tasted even better than a year earlier.

The bill was 105.75 GBP, ca. 118.60 Euro or ca. 129.60 USD.

When we visit London again in our future and look for an upscale Italian meal we would gladly return to Theo Randall at the Intercontinental London Park Lane for our dinner.

©2016

Intercontinental Park Lane London, United Kingdom

In June 2016 we stayed for the fourth time in four years at the Intercontinental London Park Lane. We had enough IHG Priority Club Rewards Points left, so we used them to pay for our stay. When we made the reservation we made a mistake and noted there would be three persons sharing a room instead of two. I called the hotline to rectify it and promptly received a new reservation, stating two guests.

During the weekend the Queen officially celebrated her 90th birthday, so London was very busy and we had the chance to sign the congratulatory book at London Heathrow’s Queen’s Terminal. In exchange we received Union Jack flags and a paper crown as a keepsake.

When we arrived via the Tube at Hyde Park Corner we were surprised to see lots of naked cyclists. The cycling event takes place annually. Navigating through the throng of bikers wasn’t easy, but at least I had some eye candy, while he was fed up within a few minutes. Having finally made it to the Intercontinental we were warmly greeted by the door man and the greeter. Check in was a breeze and done in a friendly and personal manner. The receptionist did even know we were celebrating our anniversary and this was one of the reasons to stay at the hotel.

The check in sheet showed that there were three persons staying, so it seems the information hadn’t been passed on to the hotel directly. It wasn’t a problem. The receptionist promised to send a member of staff up to remove the rollaway bed, since we didn’t have a need for it. We had been upgraded from an entrance category room to a London Room. He also handed us vouchers for two glasses of Prosecco at Theo Randall’s. We were surprised by this because normally they are only given to either to Intercontinental’s loyalty program’s Ambassadors or highest tier members of the IHG Priority Reward program. It was a nice touch and we felt spoiled.

It was our second time we had received a London Room. The two were identical, only the views and layout were slightly different. This time we had Hyde Park view, which was very much appreciated.

As always the room was comfortable and even with a rollaway bed it wasn’t very cramped. The color scheme in blue and brown was to our taste too and felt fresh and elegant at the same time.

We were around 15 minutes in our room, when housekeeping arrived to take away the rollaway bed, which looked comfortable too. We hadn’t tested it, while waiting, so we can’t comment.

There was a book on the room, called “Love London”.

We used the shoe shine service and received the Financial Time as complimentary newspaper as requested. Both services were reliable as usual.

We had in room dining twice. Once we had late lunch with a Stamina Boost and a Vitamin Shot, the Spa Bento Box, which all came from the Wellness – “I’m worth it” section and a little indulgence, a massive Chocolate Brownie and Dark Cherry Sunday. It was all high quality and of course the dessert left as always a lasting impression.

In the morning we had the Wellness – “I’m worth it” The Healthy Start breakfast. It included green tea, one Energy Jolt juice, organic low fat yogurt, fruit salad, all bran with soy milk and multigrain toast.

The late lunch cost 67.50 GBP (ca. 75.70 Euro / ca. 82.75 USD) and the breakfast 22.50 GBP (ca. 25.25 Euro / ca. 27.60 USD), since the portion was generous we shared one set.

We also had dinner for our 2nd time at Theo Randall’s (review to follow), which we enjoyed.

Another nice touch was the cake that was delivered to the room due to our anniversary.

We had to check out fairly early, since the second reason for our stay was an exhibition visit, called Cycle Revolution, at the Design Museum at their former location at Shad Thames near the Tower bridge before it closed and moved to their new location in Kensington. While checking out we had a chat with the receptionist about the exhibition, since he was a cycling enthusiast, but hadn’t heard about the event.

We would stay at the Intercontinental London Park Lane again, since we were always well treated.

©2016

Theo Randall at the InterContinental London Park Lane, United Kingdom

When we booked our stay at the Intercontinental Park Lane for October 2015 we also decided to reserve a table at Theo Randall, having passed it a few times while previously staying at the hotel and having heard many good things.

 

We were greeted warmly when entering the restaurant for dinner. The center piece is a desk with Theo Randall cook books and the earned AA Rosettes clearly displayed. We were asked if we wanted to have a drink at the bar first, before having dinner. We declined, since we had an early start, catching our train from London Euston Station to Birmingham New Street Station. The Maître d’ seemed, at least in our opinion displeased with our decision, but brought us to our table.

 

It was a relative private space and only a table seating four other diners was in the same area.

 

Unfortunately the group of business men and a woman was fairly loud.

 

The restaurant was full and the atmosphere was lively and didn’t match the fine food. Sometimes it was so loud we couldn’t hear what the waitress or the significant other was saying.

 

We started with a large bottle of still water and an Apple Martini for him. He enjoyed the Martini very much. It was soon followed by a greeting from the chef, bruschetta with tomato and cheese. This was really excellent and enjoyable.

 

We had already sent an e-mail with our food intolerances/allergies and dietary requirements, so I was a bit surprised when we were asked for them again by our waitress.

 

We ordered the insalata di pomodori (tomatoes, cheese and thin bread), as main course the large portion of ravioli filled with Delica pumpkin and Ricotta and as dessert originally cheese cake and black berry sorbet.

 

We liked the salad. It was refreshing and the bread added nice crunch. The ravioli were one of the best, but we made a mistake by ordering the large portion, which was slightly too much. It would have been better to take the appetizer sized dish.

 

The desserts and his drink, an Amaresso with espresso, Amaretto and cream, arrived at the same time.

 

To our dismay we realized the cheesecake contained raisins. It hadn’t been mentioned at all on the menu, so it was a total surprise. It wasn’t possible to pick the raisins out, because there were so many and they were incorporated in the dough. Since he is allergic against them we couldn’t accept the dessert. It was also overlooked by the staff, who had been advised months before and when ordering.

 

Of course mistakes can happen and when we told a member of staff, we received a few very sincere apologies, the cake was taken away and replaced with a Panna Cotta with raspberries soaked in Grappa without any quibble. It arrived fast and I was still eating my sorbet – I couldn’t wait, since it was melting away -, so we could at least enjoy part of the third course together. We don’t know if the Panna Cotta is normally presented the way it was, but it was delicious and made him happy.

 

We suggested that some dishes should be described in greater detail in terms of which ingredients are used.

 

My sorbet was full flavored and tasty. He liked the Amaresso. It was very generous, rich and bitter-sweet.

 

The bill came in at 129.38 GBP (ca. 166.10 Euro or 185.10 USD).

 

We will return, because the cuisine was excellent, the staff was friendly and the recovery quick and satisfactory. Hopefully next time we arrive at a slightly quieter time too.

 

©2016

 

The Intercontinental Park Lane London, United Kingdom

Our first port of call in October 2015 when arriving in London was our hotel, the Intercontinental Park Lane, where we stayed for a night on a points and cash rate. This was our third stay in three years.

 

We were recognized by the greeter and at check in as returning guests. To our big surprise we were upgraded to a London Room on the 8^th floor with courtyard view. We had considered booking this room type for some time now, so we were very happy to have received the upgrade and we weren’t disappointed.

 

The room was medium sized, but very detailed furnished and beautiful throughout.

 

There was dark wooden furniture and the color scheme was grey, blue, brown and gold tones, which was a nice contrast and added elegance.

 

The carpet had a beautiful plant print.

 

The large and extremely comfortable king size bed took in most of the space.

 

There was also a seating area with a coffee table and a club chair, a writing desk with a leather chair and stylish lamps.

 

Artwork depicted Apsley House and the Wellington Arch and reading material was the Where in London Magazine, which we enjoy.

 

The bathroom was small but well thought out with a sink, toilet, shower/bath combination and Agraria amenities.

 

The minibar was fully stocked and the Flat Screen TV offered regional and international channels.

 

We had ordered our lunch from the in room dining menu. It had changed since our earlier stays and was getting more health conscious and exciting. We had of course to try out the Wellness – “I’m worth it” by Neuropath Elisabeth Peyton-Jones Spa Bento Box. It included grilled chicken on Baby Gem, lemon and yogurt dressing, watermelon, mint and feta salad, salmon sashimi and couscous with moutabel. We also had drinks from the range, the Stamina and the Vitamin Shot. All was beautifully presented and tasty.

 

Later we had dinner at Theo Randall’s. A review is going to follow about it at a later stage.

 

The next morning it was hard to get out of the comfortable bed. Our next adventure was waiting, though, and we had to get ready for breakfast and our train journey to Birmingham.

 

We shared a Wellness “I’m worth it” Healthy Start breakfast with green tea, an Energy Jolt, a fruit salad, granola and bran flakes with soya milk and wholemeal toast. It was delicious.

 

Afterwards our check out was quickly dealt with and we were on our way.

 

We are looking forward to stay at the Intercontinental Park Lane again in the future.

 

 

©2016