A restaurant not for the impoverished of dress and pocket!
Everybody knows you need deep pockets to eat at Wiltons, but I would prefer to eat here once than twice anywhere else. Blue blood courses through the veins of this bastion of Britishness.
Most Modern restaurants( in my opinion and that's what really counts) is their so-called cuisine wouldn't stimulate the appetite of a starving boa constrictor!
The most prized tables are the booths (Pullmans) along the left hand side of the main dining room, usually reserved for royalty,high-ranking politicians and yours truly!. And yet Wiltons has a highly developed sense of noblesse oblige. All are welcome, for wonderful oysters, Dover sole.
Ah! Dover Sole -
Whole Dover sole is the overwhelming choice of English connoisseurs: brushed with melted butter, sprinkled with salt and pepper, turned quickly on the grill so that the grill bars burn a dark lattice pattern into the fish, then cooked under the intense heat of the broiler for roughly 12 to 15 minutes. Perfectly simple, simply perfect and entirely sufficient. This is the porterhouse steak of fish. No sauce is needed, partly because cooking the fish whole ('on the bone') helps to keep it moist. You may well come across an occasional apostate who insists upon tartar sauce (toss the bum out!) or hollandaise (too rich),...then of course, game in season and terrific beef round out the menu.
The wine list is a joy. The oyster bar has been spiffed up recently but, in an ever-changing world, it's the constancy of Wiltons for which it is best loved.
What I mourn the most thought is that no cigars are allowed any longer. In my day, to finish a meal here and have a glass of port along with some Stilton Cheese presented by the affiable Jimmy Marks, and a good cigar was the best of all worlds, alas! Sigh!!
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