Scott's
A Posh Mayfair Seafood and Oyster Bar in London, UK
Heading to another storied seafood restaurant in Mayfair, we decided to revisit another old favourite, Scott’s.
There’s a story behind Scott’s. The first time my companion came to London for work alone, she found an amazing seafood restaurant near her hotel. It was so good, she kept on going back repeatedly and she told me to make a reservation next time I was in town.
When back in London, without thinking, I made a reservation, wearing shorts, t-shirt, a baseball cap and expecting a casual affair. They were kind enough to seat me when I got there, but I clearly stood out in the crowd - luxury cars and their drivers parked outside waiting for their patrons, beautiful women in evening dresses, men in suits and ties discussing business, and me, seated at the bar in gym clothes reading on my kindle.
Nonetheless, I had a great meal, and next time I met up with my companion in London, we decided to visit Scott’s together.
There’s a long history of Scott’s, starting in the 1850s with a oyster warehouse founded by John Scott, a young fishmonger. Originally located in Haymarket, Scott’s moved to Mayfair in 1967, and was bought by Caprice Holdings in 2006. After a significant renovation, new head chef David McCarthy reopened the restaurant in November 2006 in its current iteration.
The storied premises has featured in both history and fiction over the years. It was a favourite of Ian Fleming, and was a set piece in one of his Bond novels. Ian Fleming also had the bright idea of taking two prisoners of war to the restaurant and treating them to a heavy meal and strong drink to convince them to turn over German military secrets, doubtless as an excuse to have his employer foot the bill. It was also a dream destination for two prisoners of war in the movie, The Great Escape.
It’s obvious to understand why. We arrived just as the restaurant opened at noon, and a doorman welcomed us into a rather narrow cloakroom, and a sharp right took us to an equally tight reception. We were quickly checked in an offered a seat by the window, but we asked to be moved further inside given some construction happening on the street outside. The staff gladly obliged, and passing the giant bar counter and the heaping display of fresh seafood over crushed ice, we moved into the interior dining room.
The restaurant is classic old school British, with wood paneled walls, mood lighting from wall sconces adding to the offset ceiling lighting. There was a largely array tasteful piece of art hanging from the walls, mostly black and white, but we were seated underneath the only colourful piece of pop art piece in the room.
Coming to an oyster bar, we naturally got the oysters. Clockwise from the lemon:
An Achill Rock from Ireland. It’s actually a pacific oyster that was introduced to Irish waters in the 1970s and farmed there ever since.
A Gillardeau from France.
A Loch Ryan from Scotland, where the Wallace family have had a Royal Charter for over 300 years to maintain and fish the oyster beds.
A Jersey Rock, just off the shores of Jersey.
Louet Feisser, from Carlingford bay in Ireland.
La Speciales de Claire, a uniquely shaped oyster, more rounded like a clam than an oyster, from the Marennes-Oleron region of France
A side of wild boar sausage came with the oysters. Gamey, and very similar texture to a soft chorizo.
Next some seared scallops with the skirt still attached, served in an aji amarillo chili and lime butter sauce and garnished with some toasted corn. Fruity and slightly hot, with a bit of texture from the corn. It reminded me a lot of Mexican and Central American flavours.
Next, a half order of shellfish bisque split between my companion and I. Fragrant, rich and briny.
A surprise hit, monkfish cheeks sauteed with bacon in a strong bone marrow bordelaise sauce. Served with a piece of toasted garlic baguette and two piece of rich bone marrow. Rich, lavish decadent. I was warned beforehand that this dish would be heavy, but I underestimated the richness of the bordelaise sauce, and wasn’t expected the bone marrow toast
The main next, half a grilled lobster, topped with sauteed Agretti, an Mediterranean vegetable also known as “Monk’s beard” in a lemon butter sauce. Pretty simple, and pretty hard to beat.
Sides of triple cooked chips, a gem heart salad with a champagne dressing, and some tenderstem broccoli with chili and lemon zest. It’s pretty hard to find bad chips in Britain, and these ones were scuffed up well in cooking, leading to a crispy coating with a soft mealy center. The salad was forgettable, a bit heavy-handed with the dressing. The tenderstem broccoli was the standout, cooked just enough to be tender without getting mushy, coated with contrasting chili and lemon zest. Delicious.
Comparing Mayfair seafood restaurants, Scott’s is a more posh, more modern, less touristy restaurant compared to to Bentley’s nearby. The menu at Scott’s more varied, but both do the basics well. Given the overlap between the dishes we ordered, Scott’s tends to have a slightly wider range of oysters, while Bentley’s does more preparations with the oysters it has - more baked and cooked varieties. The bisque was better at Bentley’s although it’s not a like-for-like comparison - we did the shellfish bisque at Scott’s and the lobster bisque at Bentley’s. The scallop was significantly better at Bentley’s, one large perfectly-done scallop cut into four pieces done simply versus three slightly overcooked smaller scallops with a bit of a random flavour profile. Pretty evenly matched on the mains and the sides.
My companion preferred Scott’s, while I preferred Bentley’s. Fortunately, this isn’t a democracy, so I’m giving this round to Bentley’s. I look forward to returning to both for a rematch in a few months time.
Total damage: 210 GBP/2 people.