For our second night in London, our pre-theatre dinner was to be at Hard Rock Café, it was to bring back lots of memories and I couldn’t wait.
I am staggered to learn that Peter Morton and Isaac Tigrett established the first Hard Rock Cafe in London in 1971. I first went there in 1988 whilst living in London. I say “went there” what I actually did was ring them up, place an order for burgers then we jumped on my boyfriend’s motorbike and picked them up (it felt so good walking passed the long line of people snaking along Old Park Lane in Mayfair to get in!)
We whizzed back to his flat in Chelsea and cosied up with a bottle of plonk whilst watching Miss World on the tele. At that point I thought it was a fairly new, trendy place to eat and actually the mere fact that they were open to random take-out services says a lot about their business plan and foresight. So, it’ s no surprise to me now that they are still going as strong as ever.
Today, Hard Rock International is one of the most globally recognized companies in the world and has venues in over 74 countries: Cafes, Casinos and Hotels. Hard Rock is also known for its collectible fashion, music-related merchandise and memorable dining experiences. There are Hard Rock Live performance venues and more. Congratulations Messrs Morton and Tigrett I say!
Husband Graham and I (the husband not of Chelsea living, motorbike riding fame – that’s a story for another time), went for a pre theatre burger fest before heading off to see another show. Warmly greeted by front of house, shown to our table in the window, menus perused, drinks ordered and now we have time to sit back, relax and look around.
Dining here is an immersive experience as there is so much to see and take in! Whoever has the task of curating the collections in the Hard Rock venues has a dream job in my opinion. It was whilst discussing Eric Clapton’s guitar, which proudly hangs above the bar and has done since 1971, that our lovely waiter gave us a snapshot of Hard Rock’s incredible heritage. Yes, the staff are all trained, fully versed in all aspects of your experience from the food, drink and music to the artefacts that surround you. The loos downstairs are well worth a visit as even the basement has something to look at. There’s a fabulous sparkling red jacket formerly worn by Elton and more.
At 5pm on a Wednesday afternoon the place was busy and with LIVE music due to start at 7pm the place was literally buzzing. There’s still a need to book this place if you’re on a deadline to avoid standing in line at busy times. I recall people standing in line for hours back in the day as it was THE place to be seen and you never knew if you might spot a rock star or two . . . honestly!
The menu is pretty much as you would expect in both content and pricing and is available online, so I won’t delve into too much detail. It’s reasonable, it’s predictable but has a few surprises and they supply the calorie counts which are sobering but hey, this was a special treat and we haven’t been out much in the last two years!
There’s the recently launched Messi Burger– greatly named after the footballer (nice endorsement Mr Messi!). It’s priced at £11.00 and it is HUGE! Calorie count not included and we gave this one a wide berth (pun intended). It has everything on the menu literally on it and it stacks very, very high. Not for the fainthearted or those on a diet but I would imagine great fun.
We shared a starter of One Night in Bangkok Spicy Shrimp. Delicious and enough for two. Graham had Grilled Salmon and I simply had to repeat my order from 1988, Swiss Mushroom Burger. It was memorable then and it was just as good now!! We had wine by the glass and even the glasses are interesting. Stemless with guitars etched into them. Forgive me for being impressed by these little touches that take Hard Rock above the ordinary. With no room for pud Graham had an Americano and as we were clock watching to get to Frozen, we had to depart earlier than we would have liked.
As we were leaving, we noticed a sound tech setting up two mics near the bar and I had to enquire. Hard Rock Cafe supports artists the world over and every Wednesday evening in London they give the mic over to ICMP (Imperial College of Music Performance) and I managed a brief chat with two young musicians who were about to take to the Hard Rock stage. How fabulous is that!?! We weren’t quite ready to leave but Anna and Elsa beckoned.
We’re planning a trip to London with the grandchildren and this will be a destination restaurant for us all as it’s chilled, there’s lots to see and yet the food takes centre stage.
This is relaxed dining with something to please everyone. It’s a shame that Hard Rock Cafe Mayfair celebrated its half century during a turbulent time last year however I will just say “Congratulations and here’s to the next half century!”
Reviewed by Deana Morgan @deanamorgandance (some images are Deana’s own)
