British food with bells on

Ceiling bells in The Gilbert Scott bar (courtesy Manhattan Loft Corporation)

Some food is very English. Pork pies, piccalilli, and panacalty are three that spring to mind. Marcus Wareing has the first two on the bar menu at The Gilbert Scott – the restaurant and bar in the heritage-listed, lavishly restored St Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London’s Kings Cross.

Panacalty – a casserole from the North East of England comprising a tin of corned beef, chopped bacon, sausage, potatoes, and carrots – is nowhere to be seen, thank goodness. It would be a tough one to tart up. But Wareing pulls off the first two with traditional courtesy and contemporary aplomb. Gotta love a bloke who can pull off a poshed up, Brit-smacking pub lunch.