St. John Hotel, London

This is not a big restaurant. It's like someone has taken St. John and tried to squeeze it into my living room (and how I wish someone would!) Once you are in (I suggest having any coats on the pegs along one wall to save space) the menu looks like a mini St John too. The range isn't there but the core concepts are the same -- nose to tail, off cuts, offal and game. A nice touch is that there's usually a main or two designed for sharing (a pheasant our on thus day).

I had the bone marrow and was delighted to find it identical to the dish served at the main restaurant.

Hake to follow with tiny shrimp. Crisp and very tasty indeed.

Finally chocolate pie (it's a tart IMHO) with ice cream. Rich but manageable.

Since prices are much like St. John (reasonable) then I'd say the main restaurant is the first choice but if you need to eat in the west end St. John Hotel holds its own rather well.