What They Say
London is a city with the ability to change while remaining true to itself. By Regent’s Park, next to the exclusive Marylebone district, this hotel reinvents itself as a city’s metaphor after a substantial renovation. ASAH Architecture Studio restores the most splendid and modern version of a 1930s Grade II listed building, preserving its Art Deco style and transforming all areas of the hotel.
Meliá White House, a London icon, welcomes new and regular visitors and business travellers alike. A variety of spacious rooms, spectacular dining options at the ’35 Bar and Lounge and Arado Restaurant, plus all the exclusive benefits of The Level’s superior service await you.
Meliá White House is pleased to announce the second edition of the Supper Club Series, blending sustainability, style and soulful living. Following the success of the first sold-out event in June, the second Supper Club will take place on Thursday 17th October, hosted by Quatre Vin Co-Founders, Oliver Proudlock and Elliot Awin.
The Supper Club
We arrive at the hotel, check in and immediately head down to this evening’s main event, the Melia White House Supper Club, catered by the hotel’s main restaurant and event space, Arado. We wander through the vast areas of the hotel, past the gym and function rooms (there are several events going on tonight) and we take in the mood. The art deco surroundings are lit perfectly with an orange hue; aptly autumnal and very much the energy of the evening inside and outside of the hotel.
The Supper Club is part of an ongoing collaboration with Quatre Vin wines – founded by Made in Chelsea’s Oliver Proudlock and Elliot Awin, a third-generation wine importer.
The evening begins with a welcome drink and canapes, which include a pleasantly piquant prawn cocktail served on a little gem leaf and a mushroom tart in a pastry so short, that it detonates upon touch and we lose the tasty contents to the floor. Clean up over… we take our seats at a communal table.
Elliot begins with an informative intro to Quatre Vin and the story of its inception. Like most ingenious ideas of the last five years; Quatre Vin is the brainchild of lockdown boredom. The entrepreneurial pair and their partners, Emma Louise Connolly and Paula Anton, who together form the ‘quatre’, decided to share their love of wine with the world and launch their very own organic, vegan-friendly label, which is now available in bars, restaurants and retailers across The UK.
Over dinner, Oliver tells us that ‘Quatre vin is about bringing people together’ and at a time when people were separated by the pandemic, ‘we felt that this was more important than ever’.
Served family-style – an array of sharing starters arrive in quick succession. These include baked camembert with truffle and mushroom pithivier, enshrouded in a flaky puff pastry. A fig and Iberico ham salad with creamy burrata and a prawn and avocado salad that arrives drenched in a very zingy vinaigrette.
The main courses include an extremely succulent herbed rack of lamb with confit cabbage and a buttermilk potato puree. Paired with Quatre Vin’s medium-bodied organic red – we’re delighted to find that the fruity, peppery Grenache/Syrah blend cuts through the lamb fat beautifully. The fish option is a pan-fried halibut with crispy gnocchi, steamed mussels and a beurre blanc sauce that when matched with Quatre Vin’s peachy Provencale rosé – transports us straight to The South of France.
Dessert is a wonderfully tangy apple tarte tatin served with a silky vanilla creme anglaise. A selection of petit fours follows and includes… a delightful miniature eclair and a raspberry parfait served atop a light and airy vanilla sponge.
It was a really fun way to spend an evening. We met some lovely people and as we make our way to our room we feel… well… very much like we’ve been ‘brought together’ – so I suppose… mission accomplished, Quatre Vin!
Sleep
If you decide to stay after supper, Melia White House provides sleepers with Apart Hotel energy. The compact rooms (not at all small but brilliantly efficient use of space) combine Japandi-style features against a backdrop of fun pop art on the walls – we’re talking a Rembrandt-style nun blowing bubble gum or a delicate portrait of a deer in a business suit. There is ample space in our room to hang clothes for two – no fighting over the single wardrobe – and the Japandi theme continues in our bathroom, with brushed black fittings and an excellent shower, closed off from the main space by a curtain.
The hotel and its rooms seem geared towards the working traveller with ample space to work, both in our room and downstairs across the ground floor. There’s also a focus on good sleep, with Rituals Sleep shower Gel and a pillow menu by the bed.
The Level Bar & Lounge
In the morning, the mood-lit hotel lobby from the night before has completely transformed into a bustling watering hole, with tourists and guests visiting for business alike. There are people scattered around on laptops or having meetings, as well as more relaxed-looking travellers carrying shopping bags.
The hotel itself is 4* but those who book the Level Rooms, which have access to the Level Lounge, can enjoy perks such as the 5* private breakfast area and access to the private lounge, late checkout, and private check in/check out.
The breakfast is one of the most impressive we’ve tried in any hotel, with a full range of cooked foods, pastries, honeycomb, meats, cheeses, fruits and even churros! The highlight of the meal is when we realise that there is bottomless champagne provided as part of the buffet, which we only slightly take advantage of, lest we forget the looming week day ahead.
The Level Bar serves complimentary tapas, snacks and drinks throughout the day, so you’re free to work, chat and snack for as long as your heart desires.
The Details
For future Quatre Vin Supper clubs visit www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/melia-white-house-presents-supper-club-with-oliver-proudlock
Rooms at Melia White House start at £266 per night
Melia White House, Albany St, London NW1 3UP
