Have you ever heard of a lively street called Seymour Place? It rung a bell to me. I had probably walked past it without stopping to look into the many independent restaurants and shops on that one street. Seymour Place is located right in the heart of Marylebone and next to Marble Arch station. It contains a great mix of Basque, Italian and traditional British restaurants.
I was invited to a restaurant hop a little while back to explore the food that Seymour Place has to offer. Due to a crazy day, I joined slightly late into the foodie crawl despite the fact that I had marked this as the highlight of my week!
The first stop on our tour was SANDY’s Pizzeria – the first established Corsican restaurant in the UK, offering authentic, thin crust, stone-baked pizzas. Sandy’s is known for it’s homely vibe, authentic food, and Corsican beer at a great value. Note: they do not take reservations, so make sure you get there early.
Our second stop was Bernardi’s – a modern Italian restaurant bringing an antipodean approach to Italian hospitality. Bernardi’s is known for it’s modern yet authentic vibe, generous portions, and high-quality ingredients. A crowd favorite here was the burrata and the squid. Don’t forget to check out their basement bar, or their terrace on a nice sunny day.
I managed to join in on the 3rd restaurant Lurra & Donostia – a Basque restaurant offering delicious tapas from the region of northern Spain. I’ve always wanted to visit San Sebastian and Lurra was a great taste of what the Basque cuisine has to offer. We got to sample the dry aged Galician Blond beef which was served on a sizzling hot plate. This steak was so beautifully seasoned and went very well with the Agerre Txakoli sparkling wine. Another highlight was the jamon croquettes with Ossau-iraty and Idiazabal cheese.
Next stop was Vinoteca – a restaurant, wine bar and shop with a daily menu using fresh seasonal ingredients. Vinoteca has come a long way since it first opened it’s doors in 2005, with 5 restaurants in total across London. We got to try their light fried vegetables and delicious aioli sauce which went along nicely with their house Rose. As the name suggests, they’ve got an endless amount of wine to choose from so this is definitely a spot for wine lovers!
What’s Seymour Place without some classic British cuisine? The Portman is a traditional gastropub serving a host of British classics. The pub has got such a community feel. There’s the classic pub downstairs and a nice dining area upstairs. By this time I was running out of space in my stomach but still had to tuck into the shepherd’s pie filled with tender lamb shank.
Last but certainly not least, we visited The Gate – one of London’s favorite vegetarian restaurants. I am a person who loves my meat too much to intentionally seek out a vegetarian restaurant but The Gate took me by surprise. Not only with their presentation but also their creativity with their vegetarian dishes! We got to try the butternut rotolo stuffed with potato, pumpkin and butternut squash. The owner Adrian Daniel has invented his own Jalapeño margharita which was the highlight of my evening – so spicy and strong! After an evening full of food, this was the perfect finish.
The bottom line is that there are so many hidden gems worth exploring on Seymour Place based on your food preferences! Its so central and definitely worth a visit when you’re in the area.
