Wells Gives One Star to The Peacock & The Shakespeare

Although someone spilled a beer on him during one of his visits, Pete Wells likes the The Shakespeare and The Peacock in The William Hotel. The former is a casual pub, while the latter is a sit-down restaurant, and both serve food from English-born chef Robert Aikens. Soggy Pete has a better time in the formal restaurant upstairs:

Details elevate dishes like an honest chicken soup, or grilled Spanish mackerel on toast: the velvety, chardlike softness of the wilted spinach; the sweet-tart tension of the sherry vinaigrette; the crisp snap of the bacon.

Roasted chicken came with a terrific plank of fresh pork-and-sage sausage and a run of gravy that neatly managed to taste rich but not oily. I appreciated the robust and musky spices and the fluffy grains of biriyani rice with a lamb curry straight from the kitchens of the Raj.