I was a bit nervous when I went in to St John's for dinner last week. All that I knew about the place (beyond the fact that it had a sterling reputation) was that it did "snout to tail" eating which often included various bits and pieces of animals that were not a part of my usual repertoire. I wasn't necessarily terribly eager to devour the spleen or gizzard or whatever of just any animal (although I know that my squeamishness is a bit unsophisticated), but fortunately this didn't turn out to be a problem at all! While St. John's does indeed specialize in offal and other awful sounding bits of meat, it also does a lot of exceptional (and straightforward) cuts of meat as well.
As some have noted, the place has a very scrupulous, yet plain, decor. It does indeed resemble an old abattoir (without the blood-splattered walls) and has a large dining room situated slightly above an equally impressive bar area. Good drinks on offer (including some tasty beers on tap) and an impressive French-heavy wine list.
Service was quite good and attentive, happily explaining some of the less familiar items on the menu for us. We also were provided with several jugs of water without a fuss, which is nice in a world of increasingly expensive bottles of water at fine restaurants (if I ever get handed a 'water menu' again I might flip out). The food itself was delicious, with my pork loin full of juicy goodness and delicious sticky cracklings surrounding it. Three of my dining partners split a special of the day, kid (it took a bit of explanation for me to learn that this was not a cannibal dish, but instead an adolescent goat) which was quite tasty (I know, because I stole a few bites) as well. Desserts were fine, but not necessarily amazing, although one dish was an incredibly heavy and intense cream dish that was so fatty and amazing that none of us could handle more than one spoonful.
St John's certainly deserves its reputation as a top place to go for meat dishes, and it should be noted that there are indeed vegetarian and fish dishes as well for those who are a bit put off by hogs feet or brain dishes as well. I'd recommend St Johns for a special dinner (although depending on the stage of your relationship it might be an odd choice for a date), or even to pop in to the bar for a dish or two as well.