The Only Running Footman
5 Charles Street, London, W1J 5DE

I have tried a pub / restaurant in Mayfair on Friday. The place is quite famous: it is called "The Only Running Footman, part of the Meredith Group. The restaurant room is on the 1st floor so you could enjoy a bit of quietness and privacy away from the crowd of the pub on the ground floor.

We have eaten some good quality food there. I had for a starter snails "Neathercleave farm snails, laver-bread and duck fat toast" which was delicious and quite surprising for an English pub. I have always thought English couldn’t stand snails and frogs. I was wrong then.

To start off with, I had some weird cocktail of Martini Bianco, Vodka with Olive jus which was absolutely awful. Don’t know why I have followed my friend to taste this. 3 of these cocktails cost us £24 !!!
For a main course, I had the dish of the day which was a superb duck confit with a yummy mashed potatoe and spinash. We had a bottle of Bordeaux "2004 Château Pey de la Tour, Bordeaux Supérieur" with a reasonable price of £30 (which you can find in Waitrose for £8). We didn’t have anough space for dessert but I have finished my meal with an expresso and a digestive drink "Mirabelle".

I thought the service was good even though it took a while to get my cocktail in the beginning. The décor of the room was simple and neutral.

The bill came to £45 per head with 4 people but we drank cocktails, wine and digestive. So not surprise here. Alcohol is always expensive in London. All in all, a good gastro pub in Mayfair.

Interested to read more of my  restaurant reviews, have a look here.

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