The buzzy vibe in Madison London is always off the charts.  From work lunches to girly brunches, it’s always completely packed out for dining throughout the day, and for supper or after work beers and cocktails at night.  Madison’s fabulous interior, with floor length glass windows boasting that beautiful backdrop of St. Paul’s Cathedral, coupled with its ever-changing themed outdoor terrace make it the perfect hang out on every level.

We started with cocktails as a warm up to lunch.  The Madison Sour (with a twist on the New York sour) provided the midday hit we needed and the combination of Plantation dark, Marco’s mix, egg white and Port went down far too easily as we poured over Madison’s new set menu for lunchtimes.

Unlike most lunchtime menus, I felt this offered up far more choice with four starters, mains and desserts to choose from.  From warming butternut squash soup to the healthy quinoa with sweet potato, I felt there was lots of variety – no matter what you fancy.  I decided on the smoked ham hock and pigs trotter fritter.  Pigs trotters are notoriously rich and flavoursome and this fritter was no exception as I cut into the crispy fritter for the tender filling to spill out.  Served with a smudge of smoked carrot puree, pickled carrots and roasted oats, the end result was a dish packed with texture and varied flavours which all went together beautifully.

My friend opted for the carpaccio of salmon – a much lighter starter, yet still plentiful.  The smoked eel and kohlrabi remoulade absolutely made this dish – luxurious and delicate, it was a spot on accompaniment.

On to the main courses and again I was impressed by the offerings.  I loved the sound of the risotto bianco with sauteed girolles and shaved black truffle (I adore truffle!), but felt this might be a bit heavy for lunch, so instead, and staying on the same theme as my starter, I went for pork ribeye steak, which at 200 grams, I felt was the perfect size (and would still leave room for the dessert I already had my eye on!)  Served with shaved apple which always works so well with pork, along with fennel and mustard seeds and apple sauce, my favourite part of this dish were the to-die-for chorizo potatoes.  My friend wanted to try some of these – unfortunately I’d managed to polish them all off before she got the chance, which she didn’t mind, because the corn-fed chicken breast marinated in miso and ginger, served with baked polenta, was the ‘juiciest, tastiest chicken ever’ – her words…

Surprisingly, the star of the set menu came in the form on the passion fruit cheesecake.  It may not sound that amazing but oh my, this has to be one of the top five desserts I’ve had all year.  This deconstructed delight consisted of beautifully crumbled base under a dollop of rich, decadent filling, with a thin almond biscuit balancing on top.  Decorated with raspberries, it was so satisfying to karate chop the almond biscuit and get a bit of all of the separate ingredients onto the spoon, at the same time.  The taste of those combined flavours was heavenly and we both agreed we could’ve eaten another!  We washed down our delightful meal with a good bottle of French Blanc de Blancs.

We finished dinner with more of Madison’s irresistable cocktails.  The Indian Summer – long and refreshing, was just perfect to chill out with as we relaxed after lunch.  Although there were lots of different ingredients in this one – vodka, brandy, apple juice, orange…  the Madison mixologists clearly knew their stuff because it was beautifully smooth.  We finished with the quirky Fair and Square which had a rich, intense flavour and a vanilla foam on top..  We discovered that the more you drink of this one, the better it tastes and bizarrely, the more hazy the feeling when you step into Madison’s lift to the ground floor of One New Change…

Not only is lunch a fabulous reason to visit right now, but Madison’s new alpine inspired winter wonderland is now open, with chalets, twinkling lights and faux fur.  What could be better??

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Written by Luxuria Lifestyle UK’s Ashleigh Whitfield / Photo Credit: Justine Trickett