Returning to London, I visited an old favourite of mine in a quiet alley just off the crowds and bustle on Piccadilly. Serving up fresh seafood every day over a hundred years, Bentley’s is an institution on Swallow Street, and one of my go to seafood spots that I go to time and time again whenever I land in London.
Originally opened by Bill Bentley, Bentley’s restaurant started as a side business outside of Bill’s primary interest in musicals, comedy and theatre. A few years earlier, during World War 1, Bill had invested in oyster beds as a form of side income, which quickly led to him selling oysters from a wheelbarrow on the pier, and later, the opening of his namesake restaurant in 1916.
Bentley’s storied history included a period under ownership of Oscar Owide, who owned many of the other establishments on Swallow Street. However, Oscar’s interests lay not in the culinary arts, but instead in nightclubs, gentlemen’s clubs and various forms of “adult” entertainment. During his tenure, Bentley’s suffered and fell into disrepair.
In 2005, Chef Richard Corrigan, who once worked at the restaurant under Owide, purchased the failing restaurant and brought it through a massive renovation, restoring the historically listed building and reopening it as Bentley’s Oyster Bar and Grill. Bentley’s became the first restaurant in the Corrigan Collection, which has now grown to include seven group restaurants.
Bentleys consists of three spaces now: an outdoor heated terrace, a more formal dining room upstairs, and my personal favourite, seats along the long oyster bar where I can watch the oyster shucking and chat with the staff. The oyster bar is always happening, so that’s the place I naturally gravitate to. The theme is nautical with candles hanging off scallop shell wall sconces and various framed diagrams of fish lining the walls.
We decided to do a fairly light dinner, as we were still jet lagged from our flights over from Singapore.
If you go to an Oyster bar, you must have the Oysters. We ordered three types: shucked raw oysters on the half shell, garlic-baked and Catalan, which I’ve only ever found at Bentley’s.
First up, the raw oysters. Jerseys from the largest oyster beds around Britain, on the east coast of Jersey just across the Royal Bay of Grouville. Some of the cleanest seawater in Europe flow there and they have 35 hecares of oyster beds, producing 50-60 million oysters per year. It takes about 18-24 months to grow from seed to market size, and the large tidal range in the area produces a very plump, briny oyster with a crisp cucumber finish.
The next was a garlic baked oyster. The same Jerseys swimming in a garlic parsley butter sauce, topped with cheese and broiled until the cheese is melted, but not enough to fully cook the oyster. Garlicky.
Finally, to finish off the trio, the oysters Catalan. This is a dish I’ve only ever seen at Bentley’s. They take the oyster, bread it and fry it, and serve it with slices of spicy chorizo, sweet pickled onion and a peppery mayo. The sweetness and acid of the onion offsets a huge kick of spice from the seasoning and chorizo.
A large grilled scallop on the half shell. Covered in the same garlic parsley butter mixture as the garlic baked oysters and broiled on one side, the rest of the scallop was still just slightly translucent raw and tender in the mouth.
In keeping with the seafood theme, a lobster bisque. Given the amount of labour and steps involved in making a lobster bisque, I always order it when it’s on the menu. Roasted lobster shells, crushed and fried in butter until aromatic, deglazed with brandy before adding stock and blending. A touch of creme fraiche added just before serving and a piece of tarragon leaf. Rich and delicious.
Dover Sole, presented whole and deboned tableside. One of the largest species of flatfish, a good Dover Sole can easily serve two. Its name comes from the Port of Dover, the English port where most sole was landed in the 19th century. The fish was one of the two most prized catch in Britain (the other being turbot). The meat itself is mild and holds together well. The natural buttery-ness of the meat was largely unnoticed, as we received a large pitcher of hollandaise that we slathered on to our plates liberally.
On the side, a vibrant salad with mixed bitter greens, pomegranate, avocado, peeled slices of tomato, crispy croutons and peach slices, dressed with a tangy vinaigrette.
Some Pink Fir Apple potatoes, a French fingerling varietal with pinkish skin and waxy, firm texture. Covered in Bentley’s famous seaweed butter and cooked until just short of tender still with a bit of crunch.
After the fish, we were stuffed, so we passed on dessert.
Overall, we’re not talking about the heights of fine dining or tasting menus here - we’re talking about comfort food, executed well in a historic British institution that I keep on going back to, and to that end, Bentley’s gets an A.
Total damage: 200 GBP/2 people.