The 'Works Do' At Sergios of Great Titchfield Street, London
Published On Thursday 26 Jan 2023 by Sticky Beak
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It was The Man Birds’ Christmas works ‘do’, and yes, I’m fully aware that Christmas isn’t in January, but they were so flat-out at the end of the year that there was no chance of getting time to organise a get-together! However, I always say that things turn out the way they’re meant to, and so it was in this case too; off to Sergio’s of Great Titchfield Street in London’s west end we all trooped. By ‘all of us’ I mean me, The Man Bird, a dozen of his colleagues and the big boss man…and we were transported from our hotel to the venue in a mini bus, so no arguing over who was the designated driver/s.
Sergio’s has a super snazzy canopy that shelters the al fresco dining area (not that there was much of that happening thanks to the slinging rain!) and heralds its presence to prospective customers. We walked through the double doors and were greeted very warmly by the team, some of whom had built up great relationships with a couple of His Nibs’ colleagues. Heading downstairs, we saw our table all decked out with pristine cloth, cutlery and napkins, as well as several bottles of spirits to get the party started! Just off to one side of this dining area is a separate private dining space, enclosed by more doors to offer all the exclusivity you require for meetings/celebrations etc.
This fantastic team are clearly more than used to dealing with large groups and seamlessly suggested we have a selection of pre-starter nibbles to graze on whilst we chose our starters proper – good thinking guys!! Platters of fat, verdant Nocellara Olives and their darker Calamata cousins soon got my attention, whilst The Man busied himself with the golden gorgeousness that was the Cheese-topped Garlic Pizza Bread. There was also an ample bread basket that housed all manner of freshly baked temptations and bottles of Olive Oil and Balsamic to dip them into.
A hush descended over the table as folks satisfied their hunger (none of us had eaten for several hours as we’d been travelling down to the big smoke!) but, once that initial need had been quelled, the thrum of conversation soon built up again. Everything had been beautifully presented to showcase the different colours and textures in each dish; citrus wedges and fresh herbs provided more decoration to each platter of morsels that had been placed on the table.
Whilst we were all chomping merrily away, one of the team came round with bottles of water for the table and a very handsome chap popped glasses of bubbly in front of us…well it was a Christmas party, after all! I briefly tossed up between having the Avocado and Crabmeat starter from the specials menu, but the Carpaccio won me over, and His Nibs had the Pan-fried King Scallops with Chilli and Garlic to kick his meal off. Across the table from me, one of The Man’s colleagues had the Mussels in Marinara sauce, so the smells in our section of the table were of nostril-twitching calibre, as I’m sure you’re imagining!
The Scallops were absolutely perfect: fat, juicy and sweet in the mouth with that deliciously fragrant hint any seafood-a-phile will appreciate. An artfully arranged stream of the cooking liquor provided a smidge more moistness and a whole lot of flavour and heat for the palate to savour - and His Nibs’ palate certainly did that. You can’t beat biting into the dense flesh of plump, meaty Mussels and I couldn’t help but smile at the sigh of happiness as it escaped the mouth of my companion across the way. Very graciously, he offered me one of the Mussels, but I declined as I prefer mine in white wine and Garlic, rather than tomato-based sauces.
One of the things that The Man and I differ on is how rare/raw we like our beef; I have been known to pilfer a slice off the steak he’s about to cook (much to his disgust!) so I have no objection to raw meat at all. Therefore, I was smacking my lips in happiness as I took a bite from one of the gossamer-thin slices of Fillet Steak that Sergio’s kitchen team had precisely arranged in a circle of ‘petals’ on my plate. Honestly, this was such a pretty dish that I felt a twinge of guilt as I tucked in…don’t worry though, it briefly passed! In the centre of this Fillet ‘flower’ was a gorgeous arrangement of verdant, peppery Rocket leaves and pale shards of pungent Parmesan. My mouth was flooded with a symphony of tastes and texture, a flourish of freshly ground Black Pepper from one of the Sergio’s team providing the perfect final touch.
You can always tell the quality of service by how unobtrusive it is, and I have to say that none of us noticed when the empty bottles of red and white wines were replaced for fresh ones. We hadn’t noticed our glasses being freshened up either; Sergio’s ‘wine fairy’ is the full package. Likewise, our empty starter plates seemed to silently disappear and our main courses appear from the ether!
For his main course The Man Bird had opted for the special, which was bone-in Veal cutlet with a Brandy and Cream sauce and I chose the Grilled King Prawns with Vegetables; I also ordered a mixed salad as a side dish. All main courses come with a selection of three vegetables (including sautéed potatoes) as standard, or you can select any pasta from the menu for an extra £5.95. What I really liked about this particular moment of service was the fact that all our party got served with their main courses within a couple of minutes of each other. There’s nothing worse than having to wait for your companions to be presented with their meals whilst you’ve happily chomped away at half of it, or having waited for them so that your dish has gone cold, is there?
Mange Tout and Tenderstem Broccoli were the greens that came with our meals and both had been cooked absolutely spot-on to retain their crunch and flavour; the sautéed spuds were pretty fab, too, with their gently crisp, golden outers and soft inners. If you’re wanting to eat the rainbow this new year in order to maximise your vitamin and mineral intake then you could do a lot worse than chow down on Sergio’s mixed salad, thanks to the plethora of vegetables in it (all of which were crisp, cool and wonderfully fresh).
His Nibs’ little face lit up when he spied the sizeable Veal cutlet and, with no preamble whatsoever, he tucked in with gusto. The meat was sublimely tender with a delicate creaminess to its flavour and it was incredibly juicy, no doubt thanks to the marrow-fat that would’ve come from the single rib-bone during cooking. An indulgent Brandy and Cream sauce added a real slice of luxury to this superb dish as well as providing another layer of flavour to this moreish meal.
My own choice of main course was no less impressive, with its multitude of butterflied, de-veined King Prawns meticulously displayed in a fan arrangement on a dazzling white plate. These minxes were super-sweet in my mouth, their fragrant juices gliding over my tongue seductively. To be honest, so good was the quality of the King Prawns that all they needed as partners were the clean tastes of the green vegetables that came with them. Turns out that the seemingly unexciting choice of a mixed salad was a genius move on my part, too; the textures and uncomplicated flavours here really allowed the seafood to shine.
Each and every member of our group commented on how much they’d enjoyed their food, whether it be meat, poultry, fish, seafood or pizza, pasta or vegetable. So far everything had run smoothly at our end of the table but (in true Beaky style!) this was about to change with the dessert course. I’d looked at the selection and whittled it down to either the homemade Tiramisu, Apple Sable or the Chocolate and Salted Caramel Mi Cuit, and His Nibs fancied the Chocolate Mi Cuit.
Now clearly, I am blameless **cough** for what unfolded; it’s my blog, I’m writing it and am making the executive decision to expunge myself of ANY fault whatsoever. What I suspect actually happened was a combination of factors: a) we were in the throes of a quiz, b) I was faaaaaaaar too busy yapping with members of an adjacent table trying to get the answer to a question we didn’t know and c) a fair amount of red wine had gone down my throat by now. Not the recipe for a successful food order, I think you’ll agree? So, there I was, eagerly awaiting my sweet treat as The Man Bird got his Chocolate, melt-in-the-middle Fondant placed before him and the other group members got their choices, but nothing arrived.
I felt a proper ‘Billy no mates’ (or should that be ‘Billy no food’ ?!) as I sat there with just the white cloth and an empty space before me! To add insult to injury - and again I have no idea how it happened, other than sheer good luck and general jamminess - His Nibs got a second dessert popped in front of him: a platter full of Profiteroles! In fairness, he did offer them to me, but I was in full-on mardy mode at my self-inflicted misfortune, so I declined (a.k.a cutting off your nose to spite your face). Honestly, you couldn’t make it up, could you?
My misery didn’t last long though, as two bottles of frosty, freezer-cold Limoncello appeared, and a shot of this beautiful liqueur soon had my mood as sunny as its colour. Limoncello can be drunk as an aperitif (before eating) or as a digestif, as here, but the key to enjoying it at its finest is having it as cold as possible, something the Sergio’s team clearly don’t compromise on! This stunningly refreshing tipple was going down a storm with the whole party and a second bottle got brought out – and finished!
All too soon we were bidding our grateful farewells to the magnificent team at Sergio’s and heading back upstairs and across the street, to our awaiting mini bus. Not only was this a brilliant Christmas ‘do’ (huge thanks to Dan from Qube EPoS for organising it all), but it was a superbly successful gastro experience to a new venue for His Nibs and me.
Hot Wings happily awarded to this incredible West End team; London’s Great Titchfield Street is lucky to have you! If you find yourselves in this area of our capital city, then please go and visit Sergio’s for fantastic service and food – you’ll be glad you did, trust me.
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