REVIEW: A Wedding Breakfast at The Ned

When The Gay Wedding Guide was invited to feast on a three-course wedding breakfast at The Ned, we sent our spokesperson, restaurant guru and himself a groom-to be, Hugh Wright, along to review it on our behalf. This is his verdict on the food served at one of London’s hippest new hotels?

“The three-course lunch which I enjoyed in The RWB Room at The Ned was very impressive. Although I must say first of all that the room itself – formerly the office of the chairman of Midland Bank, whose immense and grand headquarters The Ned used to be – felt rather corporate and more like a boardroom than a celebration room. This was all lightened however by the exquisitely set table, adorned with flowers by Grandirosa, weighty Soho House crystal and cutlery, and vast candelabra.

“Chef Ian Daw had put together for us a menu that in many ways was the perfect wedding feast: food that was fashionable without being so trendy as to put off older or more culinarily conservative guests; prettily plated without being fussy; and most importantly, delicious and filling without being at all heavy. Our starter of roasted pumpkin, ricotta, bitter leaves and truffle was a lovely way to begin the meal, the hearty root vegetable and creamy ricotta nicely lifted by the aroma of truffle and slight bitterness of the leaves.

“Wild fillet of sea bass, spiced bulgar wheat, kaffir lime sauce was a marvellous main course, the fish perfectly cooked – the skin crisp, the flesh firm but yielding and not at all dry – and the zesty sauce a good contrast to the fish’s natural saltiness. This was a very light main, which I liked, but couples with hungrier friends and family might want to include some additional sides for the table, too.

“Pudding was equally elegant, mandarin parfait with wonderfully crumbly shortbread and a rich-to-the-point-of-savouriness chocolate ganache. I enjoyed this as it wasn’t overly sweet, yet still felt like a proper dessert. Interestingly its colours and presentation were not dissimilar to the starter; intentional or not, I liked this symmetry!

“Service was very polished, synchronised and unobtrusive, from a young, well-drilled team. On the strength of this lunch I’d have every confidence in The Ned’s being able to deliver as impressively to a larger party (we were 25 for lunch) and, bar not loving this particular room, found nothing to fault and much to praise about their wedding lunch.”

To find out what The Ned can offer you for your wedding, please contact them direct.