W/A Kensington, a new all-day brasserie and bar, has opened at 100 Queen’s Gate Hotel. The menu offers a contemporary take on British-French fusion cuisine, alongside a selection of cocktails, wine and champagne – the perfect setting to enjoy a lazy weekend brunch.
The hotel’s ESQ bar has been designed as a discreet drinking den, inspired by the parlour bar of former resident William Alexander and his exotic travels. Here guests can explore crafted cocktails and innovatively infused spirits, in a relaxing and intimate ‘home from home’ setting, complete with eclectic curios and artefacts evoking the grand expeditions of a bygone era. Two neighbouring private dining rooms can be also booked for an exclusive gastronomical experience and intimate meeting setting.
100 Queen’s Gate Hotel – London was formerly the home of Victorian aristocrat William Henry Alexander, and has been stunningly transformed into a hotel that embraces the building’s heritage, retaining much of its original 1870s architecture. William Alexander, a lawyer by profession, became well known not only for his wealth, but also his eclectic collection of oriental jewels and curios, collected on his exotic travels to the Far East.
W/A Kensington is the hotel’s elegant all-day brasserie and bar and the ideal place to dine and relax. The menu offers a contemporary take on British-French fusion cuisine – the perfect setting to enjoy a lazy weekend brunch. West London Living sampled a very pleasant supper in the calm, airy, beautifully turned-out and wonderfully-staffed new W/A brasserie. Highlights included the truffle chicken roulade, rosemary fries, and spicy green beans. The space is sensitively lit with recessed lights, neutral but harmonious navy, mustard and cream colour scheme. Its minimalism interrupted only by curiosities on floating shelves, housed in glass cloches and wonderfully down-lit. Staff were exemplary, anticipating our every need, but never intrusive.
The brasserie, bar and hotel all felt like a home from home – the sort of place a long-time Londoner would stay if they moved away. Or somewhere you’d take visiting relatives for a relaxed but decent meal and a nightcap.