One day we’re moaning about the price of everything going up, and the next we’re squinting as we open our eyes after travelling through a dining time portal, waking up in 1994.
Where is the entry to the portal? At the iconic London restaurant, St John… naturally. At their original Smithfield site, they’ll be rolling back the years to celebrate their 30th birthday by cooking up their most beloved dishes at 1994 prices.
You’ll be able to dine at pre-Y2K prices at St John for a three-week period between September 9-27, though weekends are excluded from the celebrations. You’ll also have to pay 2024 prices for your drinks, but since we’re (sadly) used to those by now, the sweet food discount will be welcome enough at a restaurant of St John’s quality and esteem.
St John, 1994
So what delightful delicious and devilishly cheap dishes will you be able to tuck into at St John? Their trademark roast bone marrow and parsley salad, which usually flies out the kitchen for £16, will be priced at £4.20. Their plate of apricots on toast, as opposed to their current offering of peaches on toast at £10.20 a pop, will be going for £3.20. In 1994 prices, their tripe and onions would be £7.80; their Eccles and Lancashire £4; and their Welsh rarebit £3.50.
While the prices may be shifting, the way things operate at St John will not: menus are still changing twice each day as the team works the same methods to produce food at the highest quality.
If you want to book a spot at St John at 1994 prices (food only, not drinks), you’ll have the chance to book through OpenTable on August 22 at 10am, for dates between September 9-27 (weekdays only). Find St John at 26 St John Street, Barbican, EC1M 4AY (nearest stations are Barbican and Farringdon).