Galvin at Windows
our review
IIf you fancy indulging in rich French foods, fine wines and slightly over-fussy staff, whilst at the same time spending a few hours viewing the entirety of London from a great height, then Windows on the 28th floor of the Hilton Park Lane really is the place for you.
Yes, it’s expensive and yes I couldn’t eat each dish, simply because it was so over-the-top and yummy, but my, you could quite happily keep coming back here just because the whole package works so well. Oh, and I helped train the now restaurant manager Michele Caggianese, years ago, so it’s always great to see him again!
By the way, the best time to go is lunchtime, not simply because you’ll be able to see more of London, obviously, but they offer a pretty good value-for-money menu. For £29 per person you can devour a velouté of butternut squash (soup) with tortellini of parmesan and sour raisin purée, a roast fillet of Loch Duart salmon, or the poached Cornish lamb shoulder Primavera, with either a selection of French cheeses from the cheese trolley, expertly talked through by a happy sort of chap who seemed to know what he was talking about, or, a selection of desserts. The chocolate parfait, griotte cherries and pistachio anglaise is a must.
Alternatively, you can go Menu Gormand (£75, excluding wine), or, à la carte (£58 for three courses). Luckily, Michele allowed us to choose at will, and therefore, I presume, so that André Garrett, the head chef, could show off a bit. Nice work too, because it was pretty faultless. One thing I must criticise though was the salmon starter. The cured Loch Duart salmon, crab, lemon and caviar dressing was beautifully presented and tasted great, apart from the spring onion, which rather overpowered the flavours from the sea and made us reach for the wine glass.
For mains, we opted for the ‘house speciality’ – Culotte of Anjou pigeon, foie gras and truffled Baeckaoffa (a stew from Alsace of beef, mutton and pork marinated in local wine with potatoes and onions and cooked for up to four hours) and the tournedos of Scottish beef ‘rossini’, that was cooked to perfection. The pigeon dish André had nabbed from a previous restaurant in Lille and it made me think only of those Tudor dishes Henry VIII might have had. To say rich, was an understatement, to say I needed help getting to lift afterwards, is just me being silly!
The wine list is pretty concise and, if you have time, makes for great reading. It does seem odd though that when opting for wines by the glass with each course why the sommelier suggested two, poured one, and then gave us a glass of the other without letting the other one of us sample it! The Banyuls that was offered to us to compliment the cheese I could quite happily have continued drinking well into the evening. Note to self; I must put that on my wine list?!
Finally, booked in during the next few weeks are a series of private tasting dinners, from the likes of; Krug, Taittinger and Dom Perignon, all being tutored by either the chef de cave, the Brand Ambassador, or, in the case of the DP evening, an MW (Master of Wine). All brilliantly priced and certainly a totally indulgent way of enjoying what is, without doubt, a totally outlandishly, extravagant experience.
T.K-S. - April 2008
what the critics say
Matthew Norman - 6.5/10
your comments review this restaurant and win a bottle of champagne
I decided to take my girlfriend to Galvin@Windows for a romantic evening, at the same time taking advantage of the 50% off on ala carte offer.
We arrived pretty early, an hr before our reserved time of 8:30 pm, and spent some time in the adjoining bar. Right from the start, we thought the staff was excellent. Overfussy and overzealous have been the words used by reviewers before, but we thought they were very helpful, and unlike many other top end London restaurants, WARM.
We spent an hour in the bar, sipping champagne and soaking in the atmosphere and the chic decor. Meanwhile we decided to try our luck and requested them if for dinner they could get us a table with a good view- to our delight, they did just that, and come dinner time, we were escorted to our table right by the windows, with a nice view of Hyde Park and North London.
The food was pretty good, we ordered the foie gras and mushroom starters, and the sea bass and venison mains, and also munched on a few breads served by our waiter- everything arrived on time, and we were patiently explained things that we didnt understand on the menu. We washed it all down with some Chablis ( Les Temps Perdus, Clotilde Davenne 2007).
The loos were clean and presentable, though not great!
The bill for two including the bar drinks came to 160 quid, which is a great bargain considering how fulfilling the evening was. We will be back here again!
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SumitM
Overall rating 
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
We took advantage of the 50% off food and the sunny weather forecast to enjoy the views and went to Galvin for a late Sunday lunch. It was a rather mediocre experience. Food was adequate but nothing beyond that, service was slow and quite disorganized and the restaurant lacked any form of atmosphere. Perhaps unexpected at a hotel restaurant on a 28th floor, tourists from China and Japan dominated the scene, together with some formal family gatherings. There was havoc in the toilette, with loo paper on the floor, missing and falling pieces on the doors,.. something quite unusual at a London restaurant, I would say.
Pretty uninspiring place, quite ordinary food.
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Susana - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating 
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 5
Sunday, December 28, 2008
I booked Windows to celebrate my daughter's birthday. I wanted to celebrate her birthday in style after several hospital admissions. After frantically searching the net for a nice restaurant, I opted for Windows. The name sounds nice! After booking by telephone, this was done directly to Windows, I realised i did not like heights = 28th floor!
We arrived on the 28th Floor, on a wet, damp and dismal November evening. The restaurant looked lovely, the tables looked spectacular with the shining glasses, the lovely white linen tablecloths, and the lovely, simple flower display We were shown to our table, by the Head waiter (I think), then we were introduced to the waiter who was going to be looking after us for the evening. I said Bonsoir, and he told me he was Italian. We had a lovely table, but with a bit of luck on my side, it was so foggy, thus visibility was poor and thus I felt quite at ease at this height, not at all nervous. We had a table close to the glass windows, the tables are not too close together, and there is a degree of privacy.
The menu was amazing to read, and the waiter explained certain items/dishes that were unfamiliar to me. We ordered half a bottle of Champagne. The bread basket was shown and we made our selection. I was slightly disappointed as i expected slices of french baguette, well it is a French restaurant.
We were given enough time to make our selection. I was so taken in by my surroundings that I cannot recall our starter - but it was all eaten. For the main course, I had the chicken, it was scumptious, lovely and tender. My daughter had the steak, and everything was eaten. The presentation was immaculate, I love the shapes of the plates or dishes that the meals are served on. During the meal our champagne glasses were topped up. We also asked for a jug of water, and it arrived with slices of lemon.
The dessert was well presented, i opted for the dessert which included the Tonka bean icecream, honeycomb, etc. I had experienced tonka bean before, but, when i return to Windows, I am going to ask the chef for a more generous serving of the tonka bean ice cream, I need to savour the taste for a longer period. My daughter had something with terracotta (i think), she eat it all up, and happy birthday was written in chocolate on her dessert plate.
My daughter had a cup of Windows cappucino to finish off her meal, and when i asked how it was, she just mumbled, 'it is delicious Mum'. She was offered some chocolates from Madagascar (I think), from an enormous case. The waiter was generous with his offer of the chocolates.
.... And, last but not least.... the coloured marshmallows, were delightful to look at and slowly savour, they just melt in my mouth. I would like to have the recipe.
The bill was paid, a sum of just over £172.00. A bit extravagant during a credit crunch, but it was well worth the expense for a delightful birthday treat. and my daughter loved every minute of the Windows experience.
She says Mum, I wish I could eat at Windows every day! And I am sure she will recuperate much faster on the Windows diet of excellent food. Merci beaucoup le Fenetres.
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Blanche Smith
Overall rating 
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
8 of us visited on 4th Sept for the set lunch (2 courses and a glass of Champagner for £19). The view from the top of the Hilton is amazing and the set lunch was very good value. The staff were accommodating and made me a dairy free dessert on request. Worth visiting for the homemade marshmallows which are brought to the table at the end of the meal!
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Antonia
Overall rating 
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Friday, September 12, 2008
As seems to increasingly be the case with upper mid tier restaurants in London, Galvin at Windows was hugely disappointing. Admittedly we were eating from one of their special offer menus, but I strongly feel that restaurants should not offer these types of deals if they cannot deliver at least a modicum of the quality you would expect eating a la carte. Reduced price early dining allows restaurants to fill tables that would otherwise sit empty, so it's very unpleasant to feel like the staff are doing you a favour letting you dine there. It's also highly unpleasant to have extras almost forced upon you in order to rack up your bill and then be treated like a serf when you don't want dessert wine or coffee.
So, that was the service - now onto the food. Amuses were spoonfuls of pea puree ("you'll like these," my mother in law told her somewhat picky father in law; "they're mushy peas like you get at the chip shop") And they were tasty - but how hard is it to throw peas, mint and cream in a blender?
I had the octopus and chorizo salad to start, which offered a very tasty but tiny piece of octopus and other slivers of braised vegetable on a strongly flavoured fish mousse. It was ok. If someone had whipped it away from me half way through, I wouldn't have cared.
The main course was grilled pollack. It was well cooked. But so it should be! Let's not forget this is a Michelin starred establishment - I'd be a little concerned if they didn't know how to grill a piece of fish. The pollack was topped with an extremely salty rosemary butter, a herb which I wouldn't have thought to serve with white fish and which this dish affirmed is better suited to roast red meats.
Sweet things showed a glimpse of the skill that clearly does exist in the kitchen; a brilliantly fruity mango sorbet topped light vanilla financiers, and petits fours included delightfully hot szechuan pepper chocolates. There was some consternation amongst the waiters when we asked for more, but to their credit this wish was eventually granted.
One thing I can't fault was, of course, the view, and I suppose that's what you're paying for. But I would much rather have eaten a slap up meal at a BYO in deepest East London, paid £10 a head, and spent the whole night staring at breezeblock walls. Because when you're actually enjoying your meal, you don't waste much time watching the scenery.
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Emily
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 4
Friday, August 08, 2008
This place is cool. The fantastic views are something not to be missed, certainly a better way to enjoy the views of London than in a rotating pod; in this scenario you are comfortably seated with a nice snack and a well mixed drink all for the same price. The food is very good, nothing out of this world but I do think that if you go for one of the deals then you’ll certainly get great value otherwise it may be edging on the slightly too expensive. The service is good, but the highlight still remains the view, for this reason alone give it a visit and if you prefer not to eat there is a fantastic bar next to the restaurant offering the views as well. The cocktails are mixed very well. Certainly great place to go with for a romantic evening, or just chill with friends. Beware the cocktails are really expensive you’re looking at paying upward of £12 per cocktail.
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chribson - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Thursday, July 03, 2008
We booked for a special occasion and having read these reviews were really looking forward to it but were very disappointed. I had requested a window table when we booked and again on the day so disappointed to be sat in the second row on the lower level which gave the worst views.
Service was shockingly slow - 30 minutes to order and over an hour for starter. Our hostess introduced us to our waiter but he was rarely the person who came to us and it seemed to be a mix of about 5 different staff which made it very impersonal. There were a lot of people checking the table and not enough actually serving. The exception being the sommelier who was helpful with our choice and very attentive and friendly.
We went for the a la carte and the starters were delicious and my husbands main of John Dory was superb but my halibut was raw and while I do always prefer my food rare, this was difficult to cut. The manager came and took it away telling me they would now pan fry me a fresh one. This took 10 minutes to come by which time my husband and long finished his and the fish was pale and showed no sign of colour or crispness from pan frying and was just dry on the edges which seemed more like it had been put in the oven for 5 minutes as the rest of the dish was much hotter than any of our others which had all been only just hot enough. When I commented on this I was told it was definitely pan fried but that we would not be charged.
Our pudding was fantastic - pear tarte tatin - but by now we were actually more keen to call it a day and were disappointed when we were overcharged on the bill for my husbands food and one of the drinks.
Definitely would not go back. Food quality was mostly fantastic but service was nowhere near what I would expect at this level.
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JR - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Friday, May 09, 2008
My husband took me here for my birthday and I can't recommend it highly enough. We were an hour late because Waterloo station had closed due to problems, but they held our table for us.
The view from the restaurant is cool and the raised seating area in the centre means that everyone can appreciate it regardless of where their table is. The decor is stylish, modern and elegant.
The service is very attentive and friendly.
The food was delicious and beautifully presented. The choice is a little limited for vegetarians (1 choice of main course). The dessert I had was sublime. My husband went for the cheese - a comprehensive selection which the waiter knew thoroughly and recommended the order in which the cheeses he'd gone for should be eaten.
There were some reasonably priced wines on the wine list too.
It is expensive, but well worth it for a special occasion.
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Linda Smith
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Okay I hold my hands up - We booked a promo meal through another site due to timings alone!...
The meal and service were brilliant. The service a bit too OTT (brilliant) to be honest as I don't like to feel I'm being watched.
28th floor views are quite amazing and obviously the main 'selling point'. The lift is danmed fast too!
Now the nitty gritty bits - One thing I hate about having a promotional meal is the potential reaction of the restaurant staff. I never realsed my friend telling me something untill she repeated it once we'd left. We filled in the questionaire they gave us - I'm guessing for promotional visitors only and I could not understand why she looked at me oddly when I answered 'yes' to 'visit again'. It would appear that she spotted a derogatary look when we were pointed to with regards to the waiting staff. Some comment as 'Promotion' was made which if I'd known at the time would have generated some swift comment from myself. One should never assume that visitors with promotional meals booked are lesser than 'corporate' spenders. I used my own funds for the two of us (as I normally do) and my company is not reimbursing me! In this particular case my MD asked me to search out some 'quality' establishments. Sadly I won't be adding this one to my suggested list for him for this entirely unprofessional manner alone.
Michael
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TwoForFood - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
We went for lunch today. The view was impressive but the restaurant lacked atmosphere - as it was a Monday it was not surprising that it was so quiet.
We decided to opt for the tasting Alsace menu £130 with wine (£80 without). Unfortunately three of the courses came with a frothy conoction that was rather samey. Presentation was good, Service excellent and some nice little extras.
However I was unimpressed by the coffee (which we'd assumed was included). We were offered coffee but the waiter did not ask what style of coffee we wanted. We received espresso at £4.75 each. Staggering. The final bill including service was £338 inlcuding £20 worth of coffer/martini and prossecco. To be honest I found the tasting menu a bit too rich for my palate. I probably would have been happier with the a la carte.
Go for the view.
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AnonAM
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2
Monday, March 03, 2008
