Island Grill, Lancaster Terrace, London W2 www.islandrestaurant.co.uk

Judith Baker finds why local produce and honey from its own bees is creating a buzz at Island Grill, Lancaster Gate

The island in its name may not be of the tropical palm tree variety: The Island Grill is in fact found on the large traffic island on London’s busy Bayswater Road at Lancaster Gate, but the food served here still manages to create a breath of fresh air in an area saturated with mediocre and often overpriced. dining options.

Island Grill has its own glass fronted entrance and white limestone exterior but is part of the Lancaster London Hotel, an iconic landmark built in the 1970s. Island Grill itself was designed by the team behind Wagamama and Fakhreldine and has a much more 21st century ambience.  

Just minutes from Lancaster Gate tube station, and looking out over Hyde Park, it is not where one would expect to find fresh sustainable and eco-friendly food, at affordable prices.

But The Island Grill has been awarded the Sustainable Restaurant Association’s top Three Star rating, thanks to Head Chef Adam Woolven’s efforts to create an eco-friendly yet luxurious dining experience.

The pork belly we chose to start  is from Dingley Dell farms and came served with noodles and a melon and cucumber Asian salad.  The Gressingham duck was perfectly pink with a port and soy jus while my partner enjoyed the catch of the day which was a hearty sea bream. All fish is sustainable and caught on the Kent and Sussex coast by day boat fishermen. Meat and vegetable suppliers are all based close to London on Kent and Suffolk farms.

The menu also showcases a 40 mile cheeseboard (the cheeses all come from within 40 miles of the restaurant) as well as dishes which use the honey that is harvested from the beehives on the roof. Thousands of bees live in ten bee hives on the second floor roof, making honey from the plants and trees in Hyde Park which has a large number of   lime trees, making the honey taste is very citrusy.

I found the best way to try it is in The Lancaster London Honey Pannacotta served with fresh berries, edible flower and brandy snap – on its own worth making the journey on the Central Line.  

Island Grill is open from 7.00am–10.30pm.  From Noon until 7.00pm, the restaurant offers a Prix Fixed lunch and early evening menu, priced at £9.50 for two courses and £12.50 for three courses.