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Amy’s Restaurant and Bar
Hilton London Gatwick Airport hotel
Airports are of course transient places for most people and
eating at an airport is usually an expensive, yet non-remarkable
experience. However, my colleague Laurence and I were lucky
enough to have our preconceptions swept away when we visited
Amy’s recently.
When we arrived we couldn’t have been
greeted more warmly by manager Biju
Pappachan and his staff. He is warm,
charming and funny and it is patently
obvious that his absolute priority is making
sure each and every guest enjoys their
eating and drinking experience at Amy’s.
The restaurant itself is modern and classy
and the tables are spaced perfectly so
you don’t feel like you’re joining strangers
for dinner but at the same time you’re not
isolated. The glasses and cutlery were
immaculate and we were offered a glass o f
champagne, some water and bread rolls
immediately while we perused the wine
and food menus.
Fortunately Laurence and I are both red
wine fans. However, this didn’t really
narrow down our decision making
particularly swiftly but the affable Biju was
kind enough to let us sample several of
the excellent choices including a Malbec,
Merlot and Pinot Noir. We settled for the
Malbec but were delighted to have been
able to try a range before making our
choice.
While we were still looking at the menu,
we were treated to a pre-starter of lobster
bisque with miso, prawn and coriander
dumpling which was an absolute treat and
certainly filled us with anticipation for the
rest of our meal.
After a good look at the starters, which
included options such as soft duck egg,
pea mousse, feves, truffle, crisp bread,
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cider pork belly, apple crumble, roast
apple puree and chilled mackerel, fennel
with yuzu, pickled cucumber and wasabi
mayonnaise, it wasn’t long before I decided
what I was going to have. Being a huge
fan of scallops I was quickly convinced by
the signature/chef’s recommendation of
curried scallops, sag aloo, mango lassi and
crisp shallot. Keeping to the fishy theme,
Laurence decided to try the squid and
crab wontons with fruit salad and spicy
papaya dip.
All I can say, also being a huge curry
fan, I was in scallop heaven. They were
cooked to perfection – and being the
generous soul that I am, I still managed
to share some with Laurence, who, to my
amazement had never tried one before but
it’s safe to say I have a new scallop loving
recruit. There were also no complaints
about the wontons and two clean plates
were promptly cleared away.
There was an exciting choice of main
courses including satay corn-fed chicken
with coconut cauliflower, spiced lime bok
choi and toasted peanuts, maple glazed
salmon with spiced bulgar wheat with
almonds, charred orange, fire roasted bell
peppers and pomegranate dressing as well
as trio of asparagus risotto with pecorino.
Laurence opted for medium-cooked
sesame duck breast with confit duck
pancake, red pepper puree, lychee and
crispy cabbage and a side of house salad
while I went for one of the vegetarian
options of pumpkin and ricotta tortellini,
charred squash, roasted butternut sauce,
spinach and pumpkin seeds.
The duck was cooked to perfection
and complemented by the range of
interesting flavours in the ingredients of its
accompaniments. The tortellini was just
right, slightly al dente, creamy and hugely
comforting – and filling.
The dessert menu would impress anyone
with a sweet tooth with options including
deconstructed lemon meringue tart with
raspberry macaroons, white chocolate
and Baileys cheesecake with tiramisu and
cappuccino crème brulee or strawberry
and Pimms roulade with lime sorbet,
minted cucumber and sherbet.
Feeling more than quite full at this stage,
I opted for a lighter option of blackberry
and elderflower jelly with spiced cider
ice-cream and milk tuille while Laurence
tried the rather exotic sounding Szechuan
pepper marshmallow with milk chocolate
mousse and almond biscuit.
I certainly made the right choice which was
light and refreshing and Laurence certainly
didn’t have any trouble polishing his off
and was full of compliments.
It’s right to say that I didn’t really
know what to expect from an airport
restaurant but I can honestly say the
whole experience from start to finish was
fantastic and the quality of food brilliant.
Biju and all staff we had contact with were
excellent – attentive but not over the top.
So much so that I wouldn’t hesitate to go
back – whether I was flying somewhere
or not.
By Liza Laws