TASTING NOTES
IN his current book describing London’s early Victorian gambling scene, Gentlemen & Blackguards, author Nicholas Foulkes points out that Crockford’s, then the most famous and exclusive gaming club in town, was as known for its fine food as it was for relieving aristos or their fortunes. As with The Milroy (see above), that’s still the case with top casinos – after all, any casino owner worth his salt knows that the more comfortable you make your high-rolling punters, the longer they’ll hang around to keep donating to the profit sheet.
The present day Crockford’s (www.crockfords.com), on Curzon Street, is maintaining the tradition too. The dining room – like the casino – is a vision of classical opulence, with a menu overseen by chef extraordinaire Anton Mosiman.
With their international clientele, casinos tend to be good places to eat if your food tastes have a global bent. Crockford’s has separate menus for Italian, modern British, Oriental, Middle Eastern and Indian cuisines, as does the fashionable Palm Beach (www.thepalmbeach.co.uk) on Berkeley Street.
At Aspinall’s (www.aspinalls-club.com), the clubby Mayfair venue also on Curzon Street, you can take a break from high stakes punto banco with fine Italian food in the club’s mirror-panelled dining room (pictured left). Even better, in summer there’s a swell outdoor terrace restaurant.
In Marylebone – a quick walk from Marble Arch – you’ve got The Sportsman, a supremely suave place with a basement restaurant serving a pretty good international menu. Usefully, it’s open until 3am.
And there’s always The Ritz. Gambling doesn’t get more elite than The Ritz Club Casino (www.theritzclub.com), in the Piccadilly landmark’s old ballroom, where the restaurant has an all-new summer menu.