Centre Point, 101-103 New Oxford St, London WC1A 1DD www.paramount.uk.net
Up above the madding crowd Nick Harman discovers his inner wild man with a special foraged menu
Well I’ve never met anyone who’s ever worked in the building and, as it was built in 1962 a time of heightened cold war panic, it was kind of believable. In fact it stood mysteriously empty for 10 years after it was built and then became synonymous with the homeless who inhabited its subways and walkways.
Today it sits amongst all the chaos of the Cross Rail building project but now we can all get in, thanks to Paramount the restaurant and bar on the top floors. Soon there will be expensive apartments and the whole building will be what it should always have been, an ornament to the West End.
I’ve been to all the high rise restaurants in London and more are coming, but Paramount has the best view by far, so far. On this crisp, cloudless, night it really is stupendous. The bar on the top floor lets you look in all four directions, here in the restaurant below it’s mostly North to South via East. I can see all the way to Essex, which is the only way eh?
The room is smart, everyone’s good looking and probably over from the Square Mile and not short of money. The scent of the sixties has been well expunged so that you could be in any high-rise smart bar/restaurant from New York to Dubai. Paramount was in fact a private members-only club until relatively recently and it still feels like it is, which is not a criticism.
Members clubs are not always known for their food though, after all the only way a carping critic could get in would be to be a member. They tend to stick to cooking high class hotel style menus, reckoning that the members have little interest in eating other than as simple fuel.
So props to Paramount for launching a foraged menu Thursdays to Saturdays only and running until the 24th of November. Head Chef Krzysztof Zachwieja who one has to assume has Eastern European roots (and berries) and so a long cultural history of knowing what’s good to eat in the wild, has come up with a set menu of earthly delights for £70.
Starter though had me worried; Pressed Hare & Pheasant Terrine, Marinated Pheasant Egg, Hawthorn Berry-Rose Hip Jelly, Ground Ivy Leaves & Wild Borage Flowers. It came prettily to table but was a bit too much a like any old terrine and the pheasant’s egg was raw and rather unpleasant texturally. However the hawthorn berry and the other hedgerow greens did add unusual tastes.
It’s a good menu, yes it’s pricey but you aren’t just paying for the view and style as so often in these kinds of places. The chef can really cook and forage (he found most of the seaweeds himself apparently)
Photos supplied by Paramount except the bad one of the view. Hey it was a mobile phone..