Is London’s Reform Social & Grill Worth Dining at? (Review)

While visiting England, Alex and I enjoyed lunch at the Mandeville Boutique Hotel’s restaurant: Reform Social & Grill in West London. 

Upon approaching the Reform Social & Grill restaurant, we mistakenly attempted to enter a set of windows (they looked like doors, okay?) adjacent to the entrance doors. In line with its sophisticated interior, Reform Social & Grill doesn’t display gaudy signage, so it took us a moment to realize where we were!

Yes, I’m totally blaming the lack of gaudy signage on my decision to attempt to enter a restaurant via a window.

Greeted by three cheerful staff members and retro décor, we chose to sit in a booth dressed in dark wood and leather seating and quickly scrolled through the menu.

Goodness, I hate reading long menus. Like, I love diners and diner food, but I hate reading their textbook menus. I love a great Italian joint, but how many pages listing some form of pasta CAN YOU HAVE?

Because of the location, I half expected my menu to highlight pages of standard Western meals. Thankfully it did not. Reform Social & Grill’s lunch menu is a carefully curated one-pager highlighting their tasting menu, 2-3 course lunch specials, starters, mains and grills, sides, and desserts. A straight-to-the-point, one-page menu. 

It wasn’t very difficult to choose our meals (thanks to our super helpful waiter), other than everything sounding delicious, of course.

Starters at Reform Social & Grill

I’d been itching to try a Scotch egg so choosing the Smoked Haddock Scotch Egg was a no-brainer. Alex, a man who loves his pork, enthusiastically went for the Potted Pig.

My Scotch egg exceeded my expectations. I knew it’d be a boiled egg but couldn’t figure out the concoction for the life of me. Having it up close and personal and perfectly plated answered all my questions. The boiled egg – my fave – wrapped in breaded, seasoned haddock, rested on a bed of watercress with a curried mayo finish. I devoured it in two minutes – okay 90 seconds.

While drooling over my bowl, I hadn’t noticed Alex’s complete silence. He was enamored by his Potted Pig’s perfectly salted, crunchy pork and an unusual glass of multigrain mustard.

A bunch of watercress sat atop the multigrain mustard and it took a moment before we started using it as a dip for the pork and dressing for the watercress. I am still not sure if that’s what it was for but it sure tasted delicious! The waiter came over often to check on us; I’m now realizing we should’ve just asked him.

Mains at Reform Social & Grill

I’ll preface this review of our entrees acknowledging my obsession with starters. It is quite rare for me to love the main more than my starter, but I am always open and willing to try.

For my entree, I chose the Wild Mushroom Stuffed Loin of Rabbit. This choice was significantly heavier than I expected and came out in a cast iron (pot?). While I loved the mushroom, bacon, and base of baked potatoes, the rabbit itself was just “good.” I thought it could’ve had a bit more seasoning or kick to it, as I was still high on my curried mayo Scotch egg. 

Alex on the other hand, loved his main course: Roast Breast of Buttermilk Chicken. Well plated, the breast left nothing to the imagination and gave him what he came for: a hearty meal! Accompanied with a side of wild rice and complimented by sweet raisins, the lightly roasted chicken was moist, tender, and full of flavor.

Dessert at Reform Social & Grill

Albeit full, we made the sacrifice for the sake of this review (I’m such a good person… I know) and shared a dessert. We ordered the Pineapple Upside Cake with ice cream and suddenly our stomachs made room for one last hurrah.

It was the perfect end to a delightful lunch, and I must say that we were so full we didn’t need dinner that night.

Go, go, go. Really. After my meal, I foresaw myself returning to try more delights or even just for an evening Old Fashioned. It’s the kind of restaurant you want to come back to and we will certainly be returning on our next visit to London.

Learn More about Reform Social & Grill

Visit the Reform Social & Grill website for operating hours and the latest menus. If you’ve tried Reform Social & Grill’s menu or cocktails, tell me what you think!

Read about Reform Social and other great things to explore in London on a MAJOR budget in my 5 DAY LONDON VACATION GUIDE.

Thanks for reading!

xx

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