In the Shade of The Palm
Ambience
Cuisine
Cuisine
Service
Value for Money
Value for Money
Many Americans in London are carnivores. And many of them have been missing the institution that is the American steakhouse.
Sure Gaucho gave us a fix, visits to SOS never disappointed, and the steak-only options of the Pope's Eye and Le Relais de L'Entrecôte were consistently good. We could even run to Automat if the moo of a USDA cow became too hard to resist.
But where was the creamed spinach, the tomato and onion salad, the slice of carrot cake that could serve four?
This all changed, more or less, when the Palm opened on Pont Street in London two months ago.
Although I first heard about the London Palm when it was still a rumour, divulged by the original Palm manager when my friend-in-steak, Stephanie, and I were closing the place down, it took a while for me to get there. In the meantime, I didn't read a single review, lest the arteries of my mind get clogged.
So what did we find when we finally went through its hallowed doors? And who exactly were we? Just five American girls, with more than 60 visits to at least 10 Palms between us. Which pretty much makes us experts in the field.
As we learned from the visiting Las Vegas manager (who graciously bought us drinks after we dropped almost £400 on a dinner that wasn't even that wine-fueled), the staff the restaurant was almost entirely replaced after initial reviews were so bad. Not only was the service lousy, the food wasn't up to scratch either.
On the night we visited, the restaurant was only half full, but the issues with service and food had definitely been resolved. Our waiter was overly familiar and jokey, and delivered the confident service found at Palms the States over. (Although he wasn't American, which somehow seemed wrong.)
And our food was very good, especially the lump crab cake starter, which was not only delicious, but also a surprisingly good value at £11. And our steaks, well, they were Palm steaks. Perfectly cooked, tender and very expensive.
But at the first bite, I found myself thinking: this is my favourite steak in London. God bless the American steakhouse.
But where was the creamed spinach, the tomato and onion salad, the slice of carrot cake that could serve four?
This all changed, more or less, when the Palm opened on Pont Street in London two months ago.
Although I first heard about the London Palm when it was still a rumour, divulged by the original Palm manager when my friend-in-steak, Stephanie, and I were closing the place down, it took a while for me to get there. In the meantime, I didn't read a single review, lest the arteries of my mind get clogged.
So what did we find when we finally went through its hallowed doors? And who exactly were we? Just five American girls, with more than 60 visits to at least 10 Palms between us. Which pretty much makes us experts in the field.
As we learned from the visiting Las Vegas manager (who graciously bought us drinks after we dropped almost £400 on a dinner that wasn't even that wine-fueled), the staff the restaurant was almost entirely replaced after initial reviews were so bad. Not only was the service lousy, the food wasn't up to scratch either.
On the night we visited, the restaurant was only half full, but the issues with service and food had definitely been resolved. Our waiter was overly familiar and jokey, and delivered the confident service found at Palms the States over. (Although he wasn't American, which somehow seemed wrong.)
And our food was very good, especially the lump crab cake starter, which was not only delicious, but also a surprisingly good value at £11. And our steaks, well, they were Palm steaks. Perfectly cooked, tender and very expensive.
But at the first bite, I found myself thinking: this is my favourite steak in London. God bless the American steakhouse.
Here Is The Writer : Sarah Western Balzer
Sarah Western Balzer is the managing director of HITC Life and is always on the lookout for reader-writers, so if you'd like to be one, make yourself known (sarah.western@hereisthecity.com). Sarah moved to London six years ago from New York but is originally from Florida, and still suntans like it's 1989. She is so grateful to the banker who introduced her to Here Is The City that she married him, and they live in Wapping with their son.
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