After six years away from a permanent restaurant kitchen, Romy Gill MBE is back. And for her return, the chef, broadcaster and cookbook author has taken over The Pem at Conrad London St. James, bringing her deeply regional take on Indian cooking to Westminster.
Open from today, 17 September, the restaurant marks a new chapter for Gill, whose cooking has long been shaped by the food of her childhood, her travels through India and the women who taught her to cook.
Gill is also stepping into a restaurant with a history. The Pem is named after suffragette Emily Wilding Davison, who was known to her family as Pem. The feather in the restaurant’s branding was inspired by her feather boa, while the quill represents authorship, courage and creative expression.
The menu starts with memories
Gill’s own story inspired the menu, from the food she grew up with to the places she has travelled. It moves through Punjab, Bengal, Kerala and Rajasthan, while giving British produce plenty of attention too, with Gill working closely with British farmers and producers to put the best of what’s grown here on the plate.
It is also a menu designed to be shared. Gill has named it Neemat, her own spelling of a word associated with blessing, bounty and abundance, with the double ‘ee’ a nod to her daughters. The idea carries through to the food, with generous plates that are best shared across the table.
For starters…
We’d be quite happy to just order all the starters and make that dinner. There are some fabulous flavour combinations here, with a beautiful mix of Indian and British ingredients. The samosa chaat is the perfect place to start the odyssey. Inspired by Gill’s childhood, it smashes a crisp samosa with spiced chickpeas, yoghurt, mint and coriander chutney, tamarind, pomegranate, sev and chaat masala. There’s no toning down the spices either.
If you want something a little more posh, there’s the Panch Phoron & Tamarind Octopus, alongside stunning British seafood including the Orkney hand-dived scallop, served with kasundi, green chillies and mustard seeds, and the tandoori king prawns, charred and spiced with seasonal chutney and fennel and apple salad.
For mains…
Mains include Gucchi gosht, a slow-braised lamb shank with Kashmiri morel mushrooms and ground fennel, and lamb biryani – fragrant basmati rice with tender lamb, caramelised onions and warming spices. The much-loved butter chicken gets the Gill treatment too, with chargrilled chicken in a creamy tomato and cashew nut sauce.
There’s plenty beyond lamb and chicken, including hake moilee, with pan-fried hake in a light coconut and curry-leaf broth, and prawn masala, with roasted prawns and a punchy sukha masala. Vegetarians are well catered for too, with plenty of meat-free starters and mains including baingan masala, aubergine cooked with peanut and spices, lentil-based dal makhani.
For dessert…
And then there’s dessert:
- The quince tart comes with chai-spiced ice cream
- The rose and pistachio cake is a light, milk-soaked sponge with fennel and cardamom mousse;
- The saffron and black cardamom pear is gently poached and served with saffron ice cream.
- The fennel and ajwain churros, with warm chocolate dipping sauce
Don’t skip the cocktails
You’ll beat yourself up if you overlook the drinks menu. A few standouts include the Anarkali, which combines Opihr Oriental Spiced Gin and Campari with homemade vermouth infusion, pomegranate molasses and pomegranate syrup (absolutely heavenly).
The Amrut Old Fashioned is made with Amrut Indian single malt and cardamom bitters, while the Coconut & Spice Highball mixes coconut with cumin syrup and sea salt.
There’s also a Pomegranate Negroni infused with cinnamon which is just the perfect autumnal cocktail, particularly if you’re a fan of this velvety three-spirit-combo.
Plus, every cocktail can be made alcohol-free. The tea list focuses on single-estate teas from Anandini in Himachal Pradesh, and the wine list spotlights women-led producers from Europe, South America and South Africa.
After six years away, Romy Gill is back in a restaurant kitchen. The Pem is her latest chapter – and judging by the menu, an extraordinary one.
Key details
Address: Conrad London St. James, 22–28 Broadway, London SW1H 0BH
Website: romygillatthepem.com
Socials:@thepemrestaurant
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