A new project from Wonderland Restaurants, in collaboration with Warner Bros, Park Row opened in Soho last year, taking over the former MASH steakhouse site on Brewer Street. Named after the ‘Crime Alley’ neighbourhood of Gotham City, Park Row is heavily inspired by DC Comics, with specific focus on Batman, billed as the world’s first fully-immersive DC-inspired experiential dining concept.
In the Grade II-listed building’s huge basement space, Park Row is home to various restaurant and bar areas each inspired by a different Batman character, including Pennyworth’s, Iceberg Lounge and Rogue’s Gallery, while The Monarch Theatre offers a unique, multi-sensory dining experience. With a 20-seat table at its core, The Monarch Theatre employs state-of-the-art floor-to-ceiling projection mapping, which joins a 10-course tasting menu with matching drinks. Each course is inspired by a specific character from the DC Universe, priced at £195 per person for dinner.
Still lending a sense of occasion typical of ritzy fine dining establishments with polished service and luxurious interiors, the main restaurant space at Park Row is more accessible. If you’re after Batman nods, however, they’re far more subtle in the main restaurant besides the names for each section. There are various easter eggs referencing Gotham and its villains, but they blend into the décor without seeming gimmicky. Past Pennyworth’s bar with its repertoire or brown spirits and a unique decanter that pours perfect measures, the Iceberg Lounge bar acts as the room’s key centrepiece. A clear penguin sculpture sits above the bar, wearing a top hat and sighing dry ice into the air. The main area’s dining tables are situated nearby, following a similar theme, with plush seating arranged to face a stage where live music is performed each night.
As for the food, the menu at Park Row is a mixed bag of brasserie-style classics and more adventurous dishes. A burger and fish and chips are served, possibly for curious Batman fans less concerned with the food; available alongside the likes of seafood platters, steaks, orange blossom and honey-glazed duck breast, or wild sea bass with caviar and razor clams. Some molecular gastronomy nods also add a fun slant to the experience, including edible balloons and nitro popcorn intended to give ‘dragon breath’.
A recent dinner began with a round of deep fried oysters cloaked with a thin, greaseless batter. These were returned to their shells for serving, sat atop a nest of bright celeriac remoulade and topped with a whisper of honey and black truffle: a gorgeous, well-balanced dish. To follow, USDA beef featured in a chunky steak tartare, featuring beef that was hand-cut as opposed to minced, far more suitable to the corn-fed USDA beef’s soft texture, contrasted by paper-thin fried beef tendons to bring crunch, while confit egg yolk brought a sense of decadence and enhanced richness. A starter comprising potato croquettes with Aruga caviar and poached native lobster was quite absurd, but also profoundly delicious with the croquettes more like tater tots. It’s elevated, private jet comfort food at its finest, albeit pricey at £19.
For mains, ordering the chicken is often seen as the bland, unadventurous choice – unless you’re at an actual chicken restaurant. At Park Row, that’s not the case. For two people to share, an entire Goosnargh chicken arrived at the table, portioned and glazed with truffle and madeira, its skin shining as though lacquered with hairspray for an M&S advert shoot. While the additional jus made the dish a little overbearing, the dish – as served – was practically faultless, with perfectly cooked chicken joined by a silky pomme puree spiked with more black truffle.
If you’re after a more immersive experience with plenty of Batman nods, The Monarch Theatre may be more suitable, though Park Row offers a glamorous, more accessible experience with a considered menu of fine dining staples.
Park Row can be found at 77 Brewer Street, London, W1F 9ZN.
Related: Review: The Monarch Theatre
