Inside the long-established Myhotel off Tottenham Court Road, Gail's Kitchen is a little different to the upmarket bakery chain's usual offering, as across the hotel lobby is a first foray into the restaurant business.
Housed in what used to be the hotel’s bar, the interior at Gail’s Kitchen is bright and breezy. Ginger banquettes line one wall, salvaged wood tables and white wire-frame chairs punctuate the room. In pride of place by the counter bar is a display of rustic loaves and seeded cracker breads. A little plateful of these appears on your table,sliced up and served with oil and butter, it’s tempting to fill up on these before your dishes even arrive.
As you’d expect, bread plays a central role on the menu of small plates, which features dishes such as mackerel rillettes with toasted rye, or steak sandwiches with comté cheese. Our smoked prawns, served with a charred slice of caramelised garlic-pocked bread, came in the shell in an appealing pile, ready to be dunked into a pot of aioli.
Fresh from the pizza oven proudly on display in the open kitchen, the ‘white’ pizza took the form of an oblong of pillowy baked dough drizzled with plenty of quality olive oil and topped with rich burrata cheese, violet artichoke wedges, parma ham – and bread croutons for some added bite.
The light gruyère scones that accompanied a creamy bowl of seafood chowder were another demonstration of Gail’s impressive baking abilities. But the chefs are not just here to showcase the bake-off, as a well-executed dish of tender braised shin of beef with al dente pearl barley proved.
Although the small plates are a little on the pricey side (£10.50 for the seafood chowder, for example), friendly service and a simple but appealing menu add up to a winning formula.