There’s something pleasingly unexpected about finding one of Holborn’s most colourful dining rooms hiding inside a hotel.
Midtown Bar & Dining, tucked inside NYX Hotel London Holborn, is not interested in the typical anonymous hotel-restaurant beige. Instead, think velvet seats, glossy interiors, vibrant art, statement lighting and floor-to-ceiling windows which cry out for Central London people-watching over a long lunch.
There’s almost a touch of Vegas about it – glamorous, playful and a bit OTT – which makes a refreshing change in a part of London better known for offices, theatres and commuters marching purposefully towards the Tube.
The restaurant recently refreshed its menu with a collection of globally inspired dishes and small plates, alongside an outdoor terrace serving an Edinburgh Gin cocktail menu. We visited to put it through its paces – and were more than pleasantly surprised.
First up, the wild mushroom and truffle arancini. Served with basil pesto and Parmesan, they arrive piping hot, cheesy and crisp, making exactly the kind of bar snack you want sitting beside a cold drink.
Even better are the spicy king prawns. Served with avocado salsa and grilled focaccia, they’re easily one of the standout starters: generous, punchy – and we can confirm, a dish that disappears from the table remarkably quickly.
While much of the new menu lends itself to sharing and grazing, Midtown is also very good at the opposite approach: ordering one enormous thing and devouring it with glee.
Case in point: the herb-marinated halloumi burger is genuinely excellent. Halloumi can be a risky burger filling – but here it’s not rubbery at all, instead, arriving stacked with crushed avocado, amarillo yoghurt and roasted Padron peppers inside a brightly coloured beetroot bun. Add fries and it makes for a properly satisfying central London lunch.
Across the table, the Cowboy Burger is equally unsubtle, piled high with onion rings and requiring both hands and a certain amount of structural planning.
A side of truffle Parmesan fries is predictably difficult to stop eating, while dessert brings another joyfully maximalist moment in the form of salted caramel cheesecake, complete with butterscotch and caramelised popcorn – sweet, rich and unapologetically indulgent.
Drinks-wise, the Edinburgh Gin terrace adds another reason to linger here, with G&Ts, Negronis and spritzes joining pours featuring the brand’s fruitier expressions. A classic gin and tonic proved an easy match for the food and, when the weather behaves, the terrace makes an appealing spot for an after work drink.
Service throughout was warm and attentive, but Midtown’s biggest strength may simply be how versatile it feels.
You could come here for a pre-theatre dinner, grab cocktails after work, settle in with friends over several small plates or order a giant burger during a shopping day in town. With Holborn Tube moments away, Covent Garden within strolling distance and prices that feel reasonable for such a polished central London setting, it makes a convincing case for visiting whether you’re staying at NYX or not.
Come for the burger, stay because Midtown makes Holborn feel a lot more fun. After all, Midtown is the kind of hotel restaurant you’d happily visit without ever seeing a room key.
Visit: Midtown Bar & Dining, 50-60 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4AR, United Kingdom
There’s no mistaking what you’ll get when you uncork the latest whisky release from Compass Box. Pointedly named This is a 10-Year-Old Whisky, this limited-edition blend puts the exact age and provenance of every whisky in the bottle front and centre. Made from three single malts, the expression brings together Clynelish, peated Ardnamurchan and unpeated…
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A listening room in Denmark Street, a new Mayfair restaurant, a music hotel on the way and a new rock & roll photography exhibition There’s always something happening in London, and The Luxe Review has the inside track on all the new bars, restaurants, hotels, and divine distractions that make spending time in the capital…
There’s something pleasingly unexpected about finding one of Holborn’s most colourful dining rooms hiding inside a hotel.
Midtown Bar & Dining, tucked inside NYX Hotel London Holborn, is not interested in the typical anonymous hotel-restaurant beige. Instead, think velvet seats, glossy interiors, vibrant art, statement lighting and floor-to-ceiling windows which cry out for Central London people-watching over a long lunch.
There’s almost a touch of Vegas about it – glamorous, playful and a bit OTT – which makes a refreshing change in a part of London better known for offices, theatres and commuters marching purposefully towards the Tube.
The restaurant recently refreshed its menu with a collection of globally inspired dishes and small plates, alongside an outdoor terrace serving an Edinburgh Gin cocktail menu. We visited to put it through its paces – and were more than pleasantly surprised.
First up, the wild mushroom and truffle arancini. Served with basil pesto and Parmesan, they arrive piping hot, cheesy and crisp, making exactly the kind of bar snack you want sitting beside a cold drink.
Even better are the spicy king prawns. Served with avocado salsa and grilled focaccia, they’re easily one of the standout starters: generous, punchy – and we can confirm, a dish that disappears from the table remarkably quickly.
While much of the new menu lends itself to sharing and grazing, Midtown is also very good at the opposite approach: ordering one enormous thing and devouring it with glee.
Case in point: the herb-marinated halloumi burger is genuinely excellent. Halloumi can be a risky burger filling – but here it’s not rubbery at all, instead, arriving stacked with crushed avocado, amarillo yoghurt and roasted Padron peppers inside a brightly coloured beetroot bun. Add fries and it makes for a properly satisfying central London lunch.
Across the table, the Cowboy Burger is equally unsubtle, piled high with onion rings and requiring both hands and a certain amount of structural planning.
A side of truffle Parmesan fries is predictably difficult to stop eating, while dessert brings another joyfully maximalist moment in the form of salted caramel cheesecake, complete with butterscotch and caramelised popcorn – sweet, rich and unapologetically indulgent.
Drinks-wise, the Edinburgh Gin terrace adds another reason to linger here, with G&Ts, Negronis and spritzes joining pours featuring the brand’s fruitier expressions. A classic gin and tonic proved an easy match for the food and, when the weather behaves, the terrace makes an appealing spot for an after work drink.
Service throughout was warm and attentive, but Midtown’s biggest strength may simply be how versatile it feels.
You could come here for a pre-theatre dinner, grab cocktails after work, settle in with friends over several small plates or order a giant burger during a shopping day in town. With Holborn Tube moments away, Covent Garden within strolling distance and prices that feel reasonable for such a polished central London setting, it makes a convincing case for visiting whether you’re staying at NYX or not.
Come for the burger, stay because Midtown makes Holborn feel a lot more fun. After all, Midtown is the kind of hotel restaurant you’d happily visit without ever seeing a room key.
Visit: Midtown Bar & Dining, 50-60 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4AR, United Kingdom
Book a table here
Compass Box tells it like it is with new limited edition Clynelish and Ardnamurchan blended whisky
There’s no mistaking what you’ll get when you uncork the latest whisky release from Compass Box. Pointedly named This is a 10-Year-Old Whisky, this limited-edition blend puts the exact age and provenance of every whisky in the bottle front and centre. Made from three single malts, the expression brings together Clynelish, peated Ardnamurchan and unpeated…
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Torabhaig hs launched The Distillers’ Series, a novel new whisky collection that gives each of its nine distillers total control of the production process, from the choice of malt and yeast through to fermentation, distillation and maturation. The resulting whiskies will be released twice a year, creating a series that reflects the different approaches and…
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