Savoy Grill: a festive feast for the senses

With its lush art deco setting and attentive service, the Savoy Grill in London has always made guests feel as if they’re dining in a golden age. For the festive season, it is going even further and transporting guests back to their childhoods, with a menu filled with all the tradition of Christmas – and its scents, too.

The Gordon Ramsay restaurant has teamed up with luxury British perfume house Penhaligon’s to create the Scent of Christmas menu, an indulgent seven-course feast for the senses.

This limited-edition menu echoes and enhances the notes and tones of Penhaligon’s Christmas in the Air scent – a mix of intoxicating woods, juniper berries and cashmeran to recreate the fragrances of the festive season.

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Guests are escorted from the elegant dining room, with its magnificent Swarovski chandeliers, through the pristine kitchen to their select private area – the Kitchen Table, an intimate setting with a glass wall allowing diners the chance to get up close and personal with the tightly run brigade creating their delicacies.

Watching over them all are general manager Thomas Sorcinelli and head chef Ben Waugh, whose charm belies all the stereotypes of the angry kitchen boss. Ben and his fellow chefs pop in and out to introduce their dishes, describing courses and their inspirations and happily answering questions. Their pride and passion is plain to see.

Kicking off the night is a cocktail of peaty, smoky Ardbeg Islay malt with sweet vermouth – a hint of the flavour combinations to come.

We begin with canapés of roasted chestnuts followed by devils on horseback with pine-smoked bacon, the delicate scent of the wood teasing the flavour before it hits your mouth.

Standout courses include cedar-smoked brie with perigord truffle and birch syrup and scallop cooked on coals – a dramatic course that sees dry ice winding its way off the dish and around the table.

Star of the night is the main course: venison and forest mushroom Wellington with blackberry and juniper. Carved at the table and buttery soft, it silences the room as we take in the heady flavours and fragrances.

As no Christmas is complete without a game, we are invited into the kitchen to watch a masterclass in desserts – learning how to pipe meringue to make our Christmas pudding baked Alaska before being let loose with the blowtorch. We are all, obviously, bound for next year’s Masterchef as there are no complaints on our efforts when we tuck in.

Assistant head sommelier Andrea Follador guides us through each course with his choice of wine, including a 1999 Lanson champagne that expertly cuts through the richness of the food.

With so many fragrances and notes, it had been a challenge matching drink to course, he tells Portfolio, before smiling and adding: “I had a lot of fun.”

We leave with a gift from Penhaligon’s and a head – and stomach – filled with memories of Christmas past. Ho, ho, ho indeed.

Savoy Grill Scent of Christmas Chef’s Table experience is priced at £140 per person. Portfolio enjoyed the prestige wine pairing, priced at an additional £135 per person. A classic wine pairing is available for an additional £85 per person. Scent of Christmas is available on five dates only: Lunch 12pm – 1, 3 and 29 December; Dinner 6pm – 4th and 28th December. For reservations, contact groupsandevents@gordonramsay.com or tel: 0207 592 1373. Savoy Grill is at Savoy Hotel, Strand, London, WC2R 0EU