One Aldwych has, over many years, ticked numerous culinary boxes (read my reviews here). The hotel’s location makes it an ideal spot for both business and leisure, for families and lone workers. Back in 1907, this building housed the offices of The Morning Post. It has theatres on its doorstep and Covent Garden is a stone’s-throw away. The commercial hub of the City is just minutes from One Aldwych.
This luxurious, tastefully understated and contemporary hotel has great restaurants in and around but sometimes chilling in one’s room is what’s needed after an exhausting day of pavement pounding or a frenetic round of meetings. One Aldwych has Trays of Treats for pretty much any occasion.
Room Service is often a boring routine of ordering from a lack-lustre menu with predictable choices. But these Trays of Treats seem to be designed to make the prospective diner salivate and smile in equal measure. If the guest has tourism fatigue, a night watching a movie from the excellent selection of TV channels, or the BBC News (yes, there are indeed such people), might fit the bill, and there is a Tray just for you.
Wine or beer
The Movie Tray arrives with food piping hot. The Hot Dog was actually a rather fine and hearty sausage and one hopes that will continue. I hate hot-dog frankfurters with a will known to few, and this sausage elevated that dubious snack into a rather acceptable evening meal. This dog was served on a brioche bun with mustard and caramelised onion. There were also Nachos, chilli, and guacamole, too. There was a little dessert if one still has room, along with a film-friendly bowl of popcorn. But this Tray had the very adult addition of the choice of wine or beer rather than a soft drink. Nothing missing from an evening at the movies, apart from an uncomfortable chair and a tall person sitting in front.
So that’s grown-up relaxation; but how about those poor mortals who are in London for business? One Aldwych has great transport connections and so it’s the hotel of choice for many businessmen/women. They stay and also hold meetings here. Perhaps there is no time for dinner, so Room Service comes to the rescue.
Considerable proportions
The Working Tray offers a substantial spread which one can eat before setting up the laptop, or nibble when the job is done. This Tray has Comfort Food writ large. There is a home-made sausage roll of considerable proportions, a bowl of triple-cooked chips with a dip of wonderfully aromatic truffle mayonnaise. There is a Caesar salad, so you can tell your mum you have had your greens, and banana and walnut bread to finish. Soft drinks are included with this Tray of Treats, but The Lobby Bar is on the ground floor and that is a cocktail-sipper’s paradise and a great place to meet colleagues.
Youngsters are not forgotten at One Aldwych. They have their own Tray and it has been designed specifically for little hands. The Children’s Tray offers a mini-burger on a brioche bun with hand-cut chips, veggies and hummus to dip. Seasonal fruit plate will have a thumbs-up from the parents, but the kids will likely prefer marshmallow and warm chocolate sauce, and chocolate caramel milk.
The joy of the Children’s Tray is not only the food but the fact that you won’t have to walk the streets looking for something that they’ll enjoy eating. Parents can have their own Trays to meet their dining needs, and the kids can eat their suppers watching cartoons and wearing their PJ’s. Now that does sound like a holiday treat!
Grilled halibut, trendy quinoa salad, almonds and confit lemon
One can order any of the trays: nobody is going to demand that you watch a movie or carry a laptop, and you won’t have to give evidence of an hour spent at the well-appointed gym to order the Healthy Tray (which also happens to be both dairy- and gluten-free). This is a rather classy spread of grilled halibut, trendy quinoa salad, almonds and confit lemon, heritage tomatoes, olive oil and white balsamic, with sliced seasonal fruit and the choice of juice or fruit smoothie. This is indeed a healthy option Tray but it is just as tempting as the others, with no sense of deprivation garnishing meagre portions. This would be a delightful late-night supper for anybody.
Dominic Teague, Executive Chef, has done a wonderful job of designing four totally different Room Service menus. Obviously, one could go and have a regular meal in the restaurant, but that isn’t always what people can do or even want to do. These Trays of Treats reflect the way most people eat, or would like to, when they are away from home. They show great imagination, practicality and a sense of fun.
Trays of Treats are available to order from One Aldwych Room Service for guests staying in-house, and from 12 noon to 10pm.
One Aldwych
1 Aldwych
London
WC2B 4BZ
Phone: +44 (0) 20 7300 1000