Chef Adam Bateman in the dining room at Straits Kitchen
Promoted content
What's the news here?
Straits Kitchen is the signature restaurant at Pan Pacific London hotel in the heart of the City. This summer, their Executive Chef Adam Bateman has given the menu a full summer makeover, which is what we were here to try. If you haven't been before, Adam's menu here is all about celebrating the heritage of Pan Pacific hotels while using amazing local produce. So he's used western techniques alongside culinary inspiration from the flavours of Southeast Asia to create a menu that's very much City of London, but with a twist.
Where is it?
You'll find the restaurant up on the first floor of the hotel, which is almost opposite Liverpool Street. Surrounded by glass on two sides, you've got a view that typifies this part of the City. On one side, the Gherkin looms large, on the other, the dining room has a fabulous view across to the impressive 18th-century church of St Botolph's. Your nearest tube would be Liverpool Street, although Shoreditch High Street is only a few minutes' walk away.
Lunchtime at Straits Kitchen in the City
So what sort of food are we talking about?
We were here to try their Experience Menu, a five-course affair which would easily suit a business lunch or a dinner with friends. They also have an Express Lunch option, which is great value for this part of town at £28 with a mix of small plates and larger mains. That rotates dishes on a weekly basis, so there's always something new to try.
But let's get back to that Experience Menu, which is a great way to try the food here and see exactly what they're trying to do. Here's what we had:
Chilled native scallop with a red curry crisp
Jimmy Butler's pork skewer - pork from the award-winning Blythburgh pig farmer Jimmy Butler in Suffolk, with a char siu glaze and served with plum ketchup.
Cornish crab pappardelle with a laksa emulsion, green apple and caviar. This was one of our favourite dishes and a perfect example of what they're trying to achieve here. It feels like a hit of Singapore chilli crab, balanced out with beautiful Cornish produce and green apple.
Hereford beef short rib with sweet soy and stout jus and hibiscus pink pickled onion. The beef comes courtesy of top butcher Aubrey Allen, who the chef has worked with for over 30 years.
Ice cream sandwich with a sesame caramel centre. This was a perfect dessert after a tasting menu, creative and interesting and light enough not to leave you rolling out of the room.
What about the wine?
We were pleased to see that plenty of the tables having lunch when we visited were also enjoying some wine (not always the case in the City). There's plenty available by the glass, which is useful for lunchtime visits and our glass of The Federalist Chardonnay from California (£17 a glass) was particularly good.
Overall thoughts
There's a lot of competition in the City for elevated dining at a good price, and we felt that Straits Kitchen more than met the challenge. Chef Adam is just over a year into his tenure here and his clever balancing of producing a menu to suit the audience here that also takes culinary inspiration from Pan Pacific's roots is starting to pay dividends. The Experience Menu would be just as much a great date option as an impressive choice for entertaining clients or colleagues, so it's an easy recommendation from us.
More about Straits Kitchen
Where is it? 80 Houndsditch, London EC3A 7AB
How to book: Book online
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @panpacificlondon.
Hot Dinners dined as guests of Straits Kitchen. Prices correct at time of publication.
Subscribe to be the first to get the news from Hot Dinners
