The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2 (020 7747 2525)
Meal for two, including wine, £70
I went to lunch at the Dining Rooms of London's National Gallery, ate some nice food and nothing bad happened. For an itinerant eater looking less for good food - though that is always a boon - than for something to write about, this was deeply frustrating, not least because bad things were constantly threatened. And then, through sheer professionalism, the National Dining Rooms saved the day. The first mistake was mine: we got lost looking for the restaurant and ended up wandering galleries full of huge and gilded religious icons. Not a bad thing in itself; it's always handy to have an excuse for some heaven-and-hell gags. Unfortunately, nothing worthy of rapture or eternal damnation happened.
Finally, we made our way back down the broad, pale-stone staircase and, on level one, found the National Dining Rooms, only to be told they had no record of my booking and were full. Hurrah! A gift from the god of restaurant reviewers. There's paragraphs of outrage in that. Except, after consulting quickly with colleagues, the receptionist apologised for any confusion and offered us a lovely table on the banquette at the back wall so we could look out across the clean, low-ceilinged space to the curve of windows overlooking Trafalgar Square.
As the meal progressed it became clear that the American couple to my right were not having the best of service: their wine had been left out of reach and they were having a job getting anyone's attention for that or other requests. I mentally chalked up a replacement paragraph of harrumphing. Until, blow me, the waiter apologised unprompted for the lacklustre experience and said that the service charge had therefore been scratched from the bill.
Which, my friends, is exactly how to do it. Then again, I should not be surprised. The National Dining Rooms is operated by Oliver Peyton, who over the years has proved himself a consummate professional in matters of London landmark restaurants - he runs Inn the Park in St James's Park, and the restaurant at the Wallace Collection - and is fast becoming the go-to man for above-par catering operations in cultural institutions. The menu at the National, which he first tried at Inn the Park and which, to my mind, he has perfected here, is of seasonal British ingredients presented without over-adornment. Only a platter of cured salmon, overwhelmed by the dressing of fennel and lemon juice, failed to please.
The rest was solid comfort food. There was a vibrant salad of wild rocket, spiced figs and West Country goats' curd. We had roast venison, rosy red at its core, that tasted of an animal that had lived high on the windswept hill, which came with parsnips and glazed chestnuts. There was a breast of Goosnargh chicken from a bird that must have had fantastic tits, it was so large, plus a tasty potato fondant on the side. We finished with blackberry jelly and ice cream, and a sherry trifle that would have infantilised even the most dour of adults. Though the National Dining Rooms close most days at 5.30pm, they also serve breakfast and afternoon tea, the latter for £12 a head including scones, cakes, savouries and sandwiches. Currently, the National is host to the Velazquez exhibition, which has already chalked up record ticket sales. If you go and fail to get in, lunch or tea at the Dining Rooms will more than compensate. Put it this way: I had no complaints.
