| Tom Cannavan's wine-pages.com |
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London Fine Dining
Tom Aikens, 43 Elystan St. Phone 020 7584 2003. Tube: South Kensington.
L'Autre Pied, 5-7 Blandford Street, W1U 3DB. Phone 020 486 9696
Tube: Bond Street
The Capital, 22-24 Basil St. Phone: 020 7589 5171. Tube: Knightsbridge
Club Gascon, 57 West Smithfield, EC1A 9DS, Phone: 020 7796 0600.
Deca, 23 Conduit Street. Phone: 020 7493 7070. Tube: Green Park
The Embassy, 29 Old Burlington Street. Phone: 020 7437 9933
The Krug Room, The Dorchester, Park Lane. Phone: 020 7319 7071
The Ledbury, 127 Ledbury Road W11 2AQ. Phone 0207 792 9090
Lindsay House, 21 Romilly Street. Phone 020 7439 0450
L'Oranger, 5 St James'. Phone 020 7839 3774. Tube: Green Park.
Pétrus, The Berkley Hotel, Wilton St. Phone 020 7235 1200
L'Anima, 1 Snowden Street, Broadgate West, London EC2A 2DQ. Tel 0207 422 7000
Tube: Broadgate or Liverpool Street
The Bermondsey Kitchen, 194 Bermondsy St. Tel: 020 7407 5719
Bistro One Ninety, 190 Queens Gate, SW7 5EX. Phone: 020 7584 6601
Banquette, Savoy Hotel, The Strand. Phone 020 7420 2392
Cru, 2-4 Rufus Street, Hoxton. Phone: 020 7729 5252. Tube: Old Street
The Don, 20 St. Swithins Lane, EC4N 8AD. Phone: 020 7626 2606. Tube: Bank
Le Duxième, 65a Long Acre. Phone: 020 7379 0003
Frontline Restaurant, 13 Norfolk Place. Tel: 020 7479 8960
La Famiglia, 7 Langton St. Phone: 020 7351 0761
Mims, 541 Kings Road, Chelsea. Phone: 020 7751 0010
Mosaica @ the lock, Heron House, Hale Wharf. Phone 020 8801 4433
Philpott's Mezzaluna, 424 Finchley Road. Phone 020 7794 0455
Brasserie Roux, 8 Pall Mall. Phone 020 7968 2900
St John, 26 St John Street EC1M 4AY. Tel: 020 7251 0848
Tate Britain, Millbank SW1P 4RG. Tel: 020 7887 8825
Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1 9TG. Tel: 020 7887 8888
Villandry, 170 Great Portland Street, Phone: 020 76313131
This was maybe the 7th or 8th time I'd dined at Tom Aikens and I had a simply fabulous lunch on a rainy February day, which delivered course after brilliant course in Aiken's signature style. The dining room here -
comfortable, spacious and flooded with light - is
one of the nicest lunch spots in London, and Aiken's offering of a £29.00 lunch menu is a bargain. After a fantastically piquant and flavourful amuse bouche of a little jar filled with layers of cucumber
jelly, mousse and a cod and potato cream, I started with a masterclass in how to imaginatively prepare and serve duck. The components included a fine confit, a dark, gamy slice of sausage made from the legs,
two crisply-fried strips of fillet, cut as thin as pancetta, and two little deep-fried livers in a breadcrumb crust. The whole thing was served on a creamy risotto, but the killer for this dish was the yolk of a duck egg,
that presumably had been softly poached so that yielded a beautiful sweetness melding with the saltiness and richness of the other components. My main course of loin of pork was no less complex
and inventive: a wonderful beignet stuffed with a dense, meaty chunk of ham hock sat atop a layer of lasagne filled with more of the pork, on a little sea of silky meat reduction bobbing with
tiny rosemary gnocchi . For pudding another jar echoed the amuse bouche, but this one filled with plum jelly, a creamy baked rice, and a thick, sweet plum sauce. As usual, excellent coffee was
served with brilliant chocolates, tuilles, little spoons of sorbet and ice cream and a basket of fresh from the oven Madeleines. We drank a half of Sancerre from Dezat and a half of delicious Chorey-les-Beaune from Tollot-Beaut,
and the bill came in at £100 ex-service. Brilliant food, and a great overall experience. (2007)
£100 for the set lunch, maybe double for dinner. Closed Saturday, Sunday.
(VF) Being a long serving fan of the Pied-à-Terre, I very much looked forward to trying the new sister restaurant. I was not disappointed. Chef Marcus Eaves had worked with
Shane Osborn in Charlotte Street for 4 years before opening L'Autre Pied in 2007, and within 14 months he has gained his first Michelin star. Marcus is passionate about using
seasonal local produce and ingredients. There are 3 dining options here in the evening, a 7-course Tasting menu with an option to have a different glass of wine with each course, a 4-course Seasonal
menu, or A La Carte. We chose the 4 course menu, but as we were sat next to a group of food and wine enthusiasts who had chosen the 7-course menu with wine, we were able to enjoy a 'virtual' experience.
We started with an amuse bouche of a delicious warm courgette cream, followed by our first course of tzatziki mousse placed on top of Salcombe Bay crab with avocado purée, with a topping of
crispy parmesan tuille. This was a beautifully flavoured fresh and delicate combination of ingredients. Our second course, Cornish sea bream with Cobrey Farm asparagus, new season peas with a
garnish of pink grapefruit, was delightful. The light freshly sautéed bream, together with the fresh peas and asparagus was a clever match. The main course of Cornish lamb, sat
on top of a glazed baby carrot purée with a tarragon potato mash, was a little fatty for my taste, although the flavour combinations were well balanced. Dessert was a very delicate
strawberry bavarois served with a rich blackberry sorbet. We enjoyed a bottle of Olivier Pithon's Cuvée Lais, a super blend of Grenache Blanc and Maccabeu, a Vin de Pays Catalanes, (£52.80)
which matched the 'Taste of Spring' menu beautifully. The eclectic wine list is very well laid out, many wines are available both by bottle and by different glass sizes. The wines chosen by the
enthusiastic sommelier Lena to accompany the 7-course tasting menu were inspirational and very successful. Four courses and service came to £160.00 for two. (2009).
Open Monday to Sunday lunch and dinner. (7-course Tasting Menu £55.00, accompanying wine flight £38.00. Seasonal Menu £45.00).
"Intimate" is probably the first word that springs to mind when you walk through the doors of this bijou townhouse hotel mid-way between Harvey Nichols and Harrods. The
Capital is time- and space-warped within a secluded, peaceful atmosphere of luxury. With only a dozen tables, the restaurant must be one of the smallest to hold two coveted Michelin stars, but it feels airy and spacious
with large shuttered windows and high ceilings adorned with elegant crystal chandeliers. This is a mini-review really, as I was guest of Dirk Niepoort at a private dinner party that
had taken over the room, and we drank Niepoorts excellent wines and Ports with a specially prepared menu. The food at the Capital struck me as simply brilliant: remarkably unfussy
and honest, yet luxurious and constructed with love and flair. My perfectly seared scallops came in a little risotto-like bowl of tiny tubetti pasta and a rich, dark, langoustine
cappuccino. Though now a staple of gastro-pubs everywhere, there are lamb shanks and there are lamb shanks. The Capital's version were slow cooked and served in a
dramatically dark and exquisitely intense reduction, with a generous spoonful of silky olive oil and garlic mash. With not an ounce of fat or gristle, the meat was melting and fantastically
succulent. After some fine English cheeses, a dish of vivid green apple and red berry sorbets rounded off a perfectly pitched meal. This deceptively simple dinner was one of
the best I have eaten in the UK for some time. (2007)
Open daily. Around £180 for dinner. Restaurant available for private hire
Tube: St Pauls/Barbican
Club Gascon is the Michelin-starred top tier of a small group of Gascon venues that includes a bar and bistro within the same vicinity near Smithfield
market and the Barbican. The space is cosy, intimate and smartly minimal, with a bar at one end and plenty of wood, stone and natural
textures. A seasonal tasting menu is offered for the whole table, but we ate a la carte from a small selection inspired by southwestern France.
But this is not the place to come for rustic cassoulets and steaming bowls of boulliabaise (and nor is it the place for vegetarians). Rather, Club Gascon offers
very precise, sophisticated haute
cuisine. A small procession of canapés and amuses arrived before the main event, and from a menu that features
eight variations on a theme of foie gras, I started with a grilled version, deliciously topped with caramlised grapes and sitting on
a mound of sweet onion compote. My main course was a slightly odd dish. King scallops were the main ingredient, and delicious they
were too, sweet and just crusting on the outside, an accompanying oyster was meaty and delicious, but then a pungent, herby little soup
was difficult to eat with a fork and flat 'pusher' spoon. Pudding was less of a challenge, and very delicious, little constructions of white
chocolate served with a boozy, aromatic cherry sauce. Coffee and petits-fours rounded off a really interesting and generally delicious meal,
and washing it all down with a bottle of Charles Hours Jurançon brought the bill to less than £80 per head, including service and bottled
water, which seems OK for food of this quality and invention. (2008)
Monday-Friday lunch and dinner, Saturday dinner only. Closed Sunday.
A recent à la carte lunch at Deca was terrific I must say. Just off Bond Street, the small restaurant spreads over three floors, including a private dining room.
This is a Nico Ladenis restaurant, under Chef Paul Rhodes - formerly Head Chef of the three Michelin-starred Chez Nico. Decor is bright, chic and fairly minimalist with
polished wooden floors, simply-dressed tables and leather seating. This is a businessy place, with lots besuited groups enjoying the bargain-basement £12.50 set lunch on
my visit. I ate a couple of signature dishes; the first being a lobe of absolutely superb foie-gras entier, cooked to buttery perfection and served with a simple garnish of
Sauternes jelly (£18, but you get what you pay for as always). My main course was stuffed saddle of lamb, and it really was good; the meat succulent and medium-rare in
the middle, charred black on the edges. Really good chips and a well-flavoured spinach salad accompanied it very nicely. I did not have pudding, and
didn't see the wine list in detail, but I hear it is extensive and has standard mark-ups for a place like this. Deca is a smart place for expense account dining, but it is also a
little oasis of good food and polished service just off the frantic shopping heart of Bond Street and Oxford Street (2004).
£110 a la carte, but set lunch nearer £50 for two. Closed Sunday
Tube: Piccadilly Circus
I first visited the Embassy in early 2002 when it was the hottest new luxury dining room in London. My lunch was excellent in terms of food quality and presentation, the
restaurant delightful in
terms of ambience and décor, and the happy picture was let down only by rather slipshod service that rankled by the end of lunch. On my return the lunchtime menu is
still a terrific bargain at
£16.95 for two courses, £19.95 for three. I enjoyed a roast breast of corn-fed chicken with baby onions and chanterelles in a rich red wine jus. For pudding,
a banana tart tatin was served with a jug of caramel sauce and some fine cinnamon ice cream. The wine list covers one side of a large card, and has a few good
by the glass options. Illy coffee is served with little Madeleines. The service? Impeccable on this occasion, so a big thumbs up for a very reasonably priced,
central venue (2003). £65 for lunch, £100 for dinner. Open Monday-Saturday.
Galvin at Windows, Hilton Park Lane, W1K 1BE. Phone: 020 7208 4021
Tube: Hyde Park Corner or Green Park
On the 28th floor of the Hilton, with absolutely stunning 360 degree vistas over London from full-height windows, my lunch here on a brilliant winter's day would have been exceptional for the views alone. However,
Galvin at Windows quickly seduced me with every other aspect of its operation, from the friendly and professional staff, to the beautifully cooked food, to the terrific value of its lunch-time deal. The space is cool and
contemporary, with lots of polished wood, soft, shimmering gold and cream colours, and a raised central platform so that everyone enjoys the views, not just those lucky enough to be by a window. A tiny criticism is
for the club-chair seats, which are simply too low to accommodate a 6'1" frame comfortably. But the food: first up, the set-price lunch at £25 for three courses is a cracking deal, made
more so by a promotion running when I visited offering a free glass of Champagne too. From a short set menu, I chose a terrine of foie gras, chicken and bayonne ham that came in beautifully dense yet light layers,
and was served with a sensational caramelised hazelnut dressing. I followed with slow-cooked breast of lamb, rolled and served on a bed of spinach and a rich jus. A pungent little quenelle of tomato and aubergine relish and a
melt-in-the-mouth miniature bubble and squeak cake created complex textures and flavours. For dessert, a very dark, bittersweet chocolate fondant was well cooked, and served with vanilla ice cream on honeycomb, and a little
mound of PX-soaked raisins. Delicious coffee cost £4.75 per cup, but was served with madeleines and chocolates. Along with a glass of Cahors and Sancerre, both pricy at around £11 for a 175cl, I was
extremely happy with a £90 bill for two that included 13% service charge. The wine list is very good, with a decent slection of glasses and half bottles, and bottles starting around £20 for a Touraine
Sauvignon or Minervois red, and plenty of big names like Vega Sicilia (£395 for the 1990 Unico) and Château Ducru-Beaucaillou (£400 for the 1992). (2008)
Lunch £100 (closed Saturday); Dinner £180 (closed Sunday)
Le Gavroche, 43 Upper Brook Street. Phone: 020 7835 0874. Tube: Bond Street
My dinner in October 2007 was probably the eighth or ninth time I've eaten in this wonderful restaurant, which more or less defined modern gastronomic London, though the majority of my previous
visits were to partake of their superb value lunch menu. The Roux brothers opened their clubby basement restaurant just off Grosvenor Square 30 years ago, immediately setting the standard by
which all that followed would be judged. For the past decade or so, Michel Roux junior has been at the helm, and he worked the tables on my recent visit as always, helping set the scene on a very personal,
relaxed dining ambiance. We chose the eight-course Menu Exceptionnel at £95, that started with a wondefully pungent and zingy tartare of tuna, doused with a ginger, sesame oil and pimento dressing that
really got the gastric juices in tune. A classic Gavroche dish of Petit Soufflé Suissesse followed, an impossible balancing act of feather light and decadently rich cream and cheese. Other highlights in
a hugely long and enjoyable evening where an escalope of seared foie gras served with a crispy duck pancake, and noisettes of venison, with wild mushrooms in a vivid pepper and cranberry sauce. One of two
desserts was memorable layers of pear and puff pastry, laced with a salted butter caramel and pistachio sauce. The wine list is enrormous of course, but is not difficult to find wines to suit most budgets,
including some fine by the glass selections, like the Mas Amiel Maury we enjoyed with the "other" chocolate dessert. Le Gavroche is classic, bourgeois French cooking at its absolute best, enlivened by unexpected
twists, and presented with consumate charm by the front of house team. Superb. (2007). £100 for lunch for two, £250 for dinner. Closed weekends.
Tube: Hyde Park Corner or Marble Arch
The Krug room is a luxurious private dining room situated deep within the Dorchester. Formerly The Chef's Table, it is within the hotel's master kitchens, and diners are led there through the passageways of the
Dorchester by a member of staff. The room itself is a comfortable, contemporary space (with a wall of opaque glass that becomes transparent at the flick of a switch), and which offers views of some of the Dorchester's
100 chefs at work. I was guest of Krug at a lunch here, but well-heeled individuals can hire the room on exactly the same terms: menus are personally prepared by Executive Chef Henry Brosi, who joins you
briefly before each course to discuss its philosophy and preparation. Wines, including Krug of course, are supplied matched to the food. I believe the cost is around £100 per person for food alone,
and the room will take a party of up to 12. On my visit, cannelloni of Dover sole was absolutely beautiful, the fish sweet and soft, and an accompaniment of herb gnocchi, sweet pea foam and aged balsamic dressing
all provided vivid, definite little points of flavour without overpowering the fish. Scottish turbot was gorgeous, cut as a perfect little rectangle and topped with truffled leek, a masterful, blancmange-like slab of comfort food.
This dish also came with crayfish, broad beans and a caper hollandaise. Finally, a delicate, light and fresh dessert of tiny wild strawberries in a mille feuille came with a miniature crème brûlée, flavoured with ginger.
Excellent food and an extraordinary experience - and if anyone has a few thousand to spare to throw a party, I'd be happy to go back! (2008).
The Krug room may be booked by appointment. There was some vagueness about total cost, but I heard a rumour that a total spend of £3,000-£4,000 was expected to hire the room.
Tube: Westbourne Park.
The Ledbury opened in summer 2005 and earned plaudits and respect from critics and diners alike.
The Ledbury has a cosmopolitain feel, with plenty of light and space, a monochrome colour-scheme
and expensive fixtures and fittings. There is a also a broad pavement terrace under a canopy for summer lunches. The Lebury's food is
hugely impressive: very fine, French-inspired cuisine, where prime ingredients are layered with subtle textures and flavours. On my most recent summer 2008 visit
we chose the £60 tasting menu, which commenced with some delicious amuses-bouche, before kicking off with the first of around nine courses,
a beautifully summery salad of pea shoots, beans and asparagus, served with a softly-poached pheasant's egg draped in slices of truffle. The very rich
egg transformed into a luxurious emulsion with the fresh, crunchy salad. Another highlight was a tranche of foie gras entier, seared and
topped with a crunchy breadcrumb streusel, sitting on a bed of stewed apple purée, and served with a Banyuls reduction.
Main course of roe-deer (shot by the chef three days previously, according to our waiter) was served with sweet potato, the meat being softly delicious and just gamy enough. Best of two desserts was a
really beautiful passionfruit soufflé, one of the lightest yet creamily rich examaples I've had for some time, especialy once a generous quenelle
of Sauternes ice cream had been spooned inside. We drank a half bottle of 1er Cru Chablis La Foret from Dauvissat at £32 and a
half of Morey Saint-Denis 1er Cru Les Ruchots from Frédéric Magnien at £48, from a fine list. If I have any complaint, it is that the fabric of the restaurant is starting to look just a tiny bit tatty; some of the pale cream leather
chairs appear slightly grubby, and there was a large iron-burn in one at the next table. Not what one expects when handing
over £250-plus for dinner for two. (2008)
Around £200 for dinner for two, drinking modestly.
Tube: Leicester Square.
Formed from an elegant 18th Century townhouse, Richard Corrigan's Michelin-starred restaurant is split into separate, small dining rooms. Each is decorated
in understated creams and golds, with lovely old fireplaces and casement windows. The food could probably be categorised as modern British, with very traditional
ingredients. If you are averse to liver, kidney, black pudding or game, you will hopefully enjoy fish and seafood, which is the other train of thought running through the menu.
The tasting menu of multiple small courses is probably the ideal way to eat here, where unexpected combinations are executed with terrific skill. A
case in point was a beautiful tartare of mackerel with beetroot and pickled cucumber, that was intensely fresh. A summer casserole of roasted lobster was a little pot
of flavourful stock containing chunks of lobster tail. Another lovely dish, that smacked of classical French influence, was a saddle of rabbit, rolled with black pudding and
stuffed with confit of garlic. Instead of a cheese board, a blue cheese soufflé was warm and earthy, served with a spiced pear and walnut salad. I ate here as part of
an invited group, but I have heard good things about the 200-bottle list. One thing is certain: I will return (2003).
Closed Sundays. Around £110 for dinner, cheaper lunch and pre-theatre
Almost next door to Berry Bros. wonderful 19th Century premises at the bottom of St James', I first visited L'Oranger about seven or eight years ago, when the young Marcus Waring was behind the stoves before he became
Gordon Ramsay's number two and established Pétrus. It remains one of the nicest dining rooms in London, albeit a rather sombre, wood-panelled affair, looking out onto the atmospheric Pickering Place, the smallest
square in London. It was full of pin-striped businessmen on my lunch-time visit, lapping up the rather bourgeois, solidly French menu of classically-trained
Laurent Michel that has little truck with nouvelle cuisine or "fusion food". This is essentially very simple, but sophisticated food based around fish, meat, game and
offal and very good it is too. The wine list is hefty and dominated by France, but there are good half-bottle selections. With a Michelin star, everything in L'Oranger is very pleasing and very comfortable, even if the venue and
innovation in the cooking are not going to set the heather on fire. The £25 lunch is a real baragin. (2006)
Closed Saturday lunch and all day Sunday. £80 lunch, £120 dinner
Tube: Hyde Park Corner
N.B. This review was written in summer 2003, whilst Pétrus was still located in St James's. Before he joined Gordon Ramsay as his right-hand-man, chef/proprietor
Marcus Wareing cooked at L'Oranger, where I had enjoyed some terrific food. So, I accepted the nasty
two-sitting regime on a packed Friday evening and ate early, with the reception pointedly confirming "your reservation is between 6.45 and 9.00pm" which sounded less than
relaxing. Pétrus young staff were welcoming and efficient, and worked the rather narrow room well. The wine list is dominated by French wines,
including an amazing vertical of Pétrus, but I chose the single Austrian on the list, a Grüner Veltliner from Schloss Goblesburg.
A little complimentary cup of Jerusalem artichoke velouté was
outstanding, before my first course choice of pan-fried red mullet, served with a bouillabaisse. This was quite brilliant: crisp-skinned, just-cooked fish and an earthy yet
delicate soup. I stuck with fish, moving on to a wonderful seabream served on a bed of langoustine, saffron potatoes and a tongue-tingling escabèche dressing with
sliced black truffle. Dessert was an absolute highlight: a mind-bogglingly precise block of Seville orange parfait with dark chocolate and
caramelised kumquats; one of the most dramatically bittersweet desserts I've ever eaten. Coffee is served with chocolates and petits-fours. I would have liked to linger
an extra half-hour rather than having to take coffee in the bar, but Pétrus does offer a brilliant food experience (2003). £200 for dinner, cheaper at lunch. Closed Sundays
Gordon Ramsay, 68 Royal Hospital Rd, Chelsea. Phone: 020 7352 4441
Tube: Sloan Square.
I ate here in early summer 2007 and will update the review below at some point, but meanwhile, these are the thoughts of wine-pages occasional
contributor Andy Cook, with which I concur, His review dates from 2005 - Tom
Gordon Ramsay's original Chelsea restaurant is, without a doubt, the complete dining experience. The food may not be the most innovative, the wine list may not be the most
comprehensive, but we left here feeling like we had been hit by a gastronomic juggernaut.
From the moment Jean-Claude welcomes you in with his slightly-mad-Frenchman demeanour, to the last sublime liquorice-caramel petit four, your ears strain to hear the wheels of
this perfectly-oiled food machine working.
Whilst Mr. Ramsay has courted some bad press recently - mostly for his foul mouth - it is evident that such standards both front- and back-of-house require a hugely driven,
talented and egomaniacal creator at the helm. A little less f'ing and blinding, and Gordon could have been the foodie hero for a British generation. His menus are wonderful in
their precision, and disciplined in their textures, flavours and colours.
Our first course of many was a perfect example. Fois Gras Terrine with wonderful marbled layers of smoked and confit goose, surrounded by delicate morel mushrooms.
Not the craziest mixture of flavours, but my God it was well done, and looked stunning too. Six more courses followed, with plenty of 'intermission' bits and bobs too.
None really disappointed, and even when I didn't take a great shine to Bream in a Cos lettuce sauce, I had to argue that it was still a good recipe well-cooked, it just
didn't float my personal boat. Canon and leg of lamb was painfully good meat cooking, with its wide spectrum of textures, and the strawberry soufflé is simply the best
I have ever tasted. The cheese board groaned under around fifty cheeses, all displayed in complex matrices of strength, texture and origin. The wine list starts at £12 a bottle,
which is not bad for, according to a couple of prestigious guides, the third-best restaurant on the world. Obviously, you can move well into five figures if you which, but
we found plenty of interesting choice in the £50-100 bracket. The only wine we spent over £100 on, Bonnes Mares 1997 Drouhin-Laroze, was a disappointment.
My lasting impression, as the airlock style door clinked shut behind me, was that Gordon Ramsay Chelsea is like your rich uncle. He's bigger, cleverer and more stylish than you
will ever be, and he knows it. But Uncle Gordon welcomes you with open arms. (2007)
Closed weekends. Tasting Dinner Menu £85.00 for seven courses
Theo Randall at The Intercontinental, Park Lane. Phone: 020 7409 3131
Tube: Hyde Park Corner
By Natasha Hughes. I think it's important to get my cards on the table right from the start - I am not, nor ever have been, a fan of hotel restaurants. There's something a bit soul-less about even the very best of them that makes them less-than-convivial places in which to break bread.
In this respect, Theo Randall's restaurant on the ground floor of Park Lane's Intercontinental Hotel ticked all the disappointing boxes you might expect, at least initially. The restaurant is accessed from an impersonal hotel lobby (no separate entrance), the décor is tastefully beige and the great majority of my fellow diners seemed to be expense-account eaters.
But the quality of the food we ate lifts this restaurant out of neutral gear and propels it into the fast lane of London's top dining destinations. A plate of antipasti reveals impeccable sourcing: sweet prosciutto di San Daniele, Swiss chard with a citrus-tinged dressing and the creamiest mozzarella I think I've ever tasted was accompanied by sublimely chewy bread.
A starter of fat white scallops was served with capers and chillies, along with a salad of deep-fried Jerusalem and globe artichokes was an exciting combination of flavours and textures, and worked wonderfully with the Tocai Friulano suggested by the sommelier. A rich risotto larded with chestnut, pancetta and parmesan was rich and warming, with a touch of nutty sweetness.
Mains of lamb with roasted root vegetables and Anjou pigeon with Castelluccio lentils and braised cavolo nero didn't disappoint, and a bottle of Pinot Noir from Au Bon Climat slipped down easily with both (although it was a slightly better match for the lamb than it was for the pigeon, which made the wine seem rather ostentatiously fruity). We rounded the meal off with a lemon tart whose zesty filling was encased in crisp pastry, and an unctuously moreish chocolate cake.
Throughout the meal, the quality of both the cooking and the ingredients sang out; so much so, in fact, that readers of this review might be wondering why Theo Randall's name isn't more familiar. The clue lies in the restaurant's
Italian theme - Randall was, for a decade or so, the River Café's head chef. His decision to set out on his own and make a name for himself in his own right is, possibly, a risky one, but it's a decision that deserves the
encouragement and support of all right-thinking foodies. I urge you to brave the lack of atmosphere (take your own oxygen mask if you must) and book a table at the latest challenger for the title of London's top Italian
restaurant.
Open seven days lunch and dinner. £150 for dinner
Rhodes W1, Marble Arch, Great Cumberland Place W1 4RF. Phone 0207 479 3737 Tube: Marble Arch
(VF) I always enjoy visiting a new restaurant. The excitement of a new look, new décor, interesting wine list and eclectic menu salivates the taste buds. I was not disappointed. There have been mixed reviews of the décor, in particular Kelly Hoppen's choice of the glittering Spina chandeliers which I in fact found to be quite charming. We were warmly welcomed by restaurant manager Sebastien Dupont, who then left us to peruse the excellent wine list, which included 20 wines by the glass and 15 half bottles, and the a la carte and 'small tasting dishes' menus. We were immediately served an amuse bouche plate consisting of a small ginger toast and foie gras, puff pastry tartlet containing gouda with truffle and smoked fried eel with a horseradish crème. We opted for the 'small tasting dishes' menu, and chose the white asparagus risotto with goat's cheese hollandaise and the pressed foie gras with duck salad and maple syrup vinaigrette to start. In the meantime, a bottle of Blenheim Sparkling water (£4.00) and Clonakilla Viognier 2005 (£66.00) arrived at our table with an additional amuse bouche of crab salad on avocado with a grapefruit and chive garnish. So far so good! Our next small dishes consisted of double oyster ragout with samphire and fresh herbs and warm scallops and langoustines with caviar hollandaise. Both dishes were beautifully executed by chef Brian Hughson. We continued on the fish theme with lobster and jersey royal salad with pistachio butter and lobster vinaigrette, and steamed turbot with buttered baby leeks and mackerel ravioli, the fish in both dishes was cooked to perfection and the accompaniments added good textures and flavours. We ended the meal by sharing the French and British cheese plate, an excellent assortment, and the caramel chocolate mousse millefeuille with lemon sorbet, scrumptious! This elegant 40 cover restaurant should do well.
Four tasting courses, plus coffee and service came to about £210.00 (06/07)
Lunch Tue to Fri (2 courses £22.00), Dinner Tue to Sat (2 courses £39.00)
London more casual dining
(VF) Newly opened Italian restaurant L'Anima is lively and bright. Francesco Mazzei a 34 year old Calabrian chef, together with his head chef Luca Terraneo, manager Patrick Oberto and Sommelier Gal Zahor all left St
Alban in St James, to open in this quiet city area. The décor is startling, 3 walls of glass and one of French limestone, cream marble floor and crisp white linen and crockery, with matching white leather and chrome upholstery
both in the extensive bar area and in the large well spaced dining room. The lighting is modern, elegant and discreet.
The menu is versatile, with an eclectic choice of modern Italian cuisine, 6 starters, a range of 7 soups, pastas and risottos, 8 elaborate main courses, 6 grill options, side dishes and salads, 8 desserts and 4 Italian cheese
offerings. Portions are very generous!
The wine list is compact but well focused on Italian wines listed by region, with a few wines from other European countries and a token listing of wines from the New World. There are a dozen wines by the
glass ranging from £5 to £15, including a new Rosé Prosecco from Bisol. There is a small but selective list of Fine Wines including 'Super Tuscans' and French 'First Growths'.
We started with a Wood Roast Aubergine and Burrata (mozzarella filled with fresh cream and mozzarella strips) deliciously light and creamy, and a Black Angus Beef Carpaccio with pickled vegetables and slivers of
Parmigiano, a very delicate and spicy dish. We followed with a grilled swordfish and a grilled veal T-bone paired with side dishes of sauted potatoes and peppers and a tropeo onions and tomato salad.
We really enjoyed the simplicity and freshness of our salad and the grilled dishes. Dessert was a sampler of sorbets (lemon, peach and strawberry), a poached peach with passion fruit, amaretto and
lavender, and a rhubarb tarte with a rhubarb sorbet. All were scrumptious. With sommelier Gal Zohar's help we chose a fruity and aromatic Chardonnay Vigne Frissonnière from Les Crêtes in Valle D'Aosta (£39.00).
This was an excellent match for our disparate dishes.Despite only being open for 5 weeks, the restaurant is buzzing and alive, with a good atmosphere and great food and service. We must try breakfast or lunch soon! (2008)
Dinner for 2, £130.00. Open for breakfast 7.00 am to 11.00 am, lunch 12.00 noon to 3.00 pm and dinner 5.30 pm to 12.00 midnight, Monday to Friday. Set lunch from £20.50
Over the few months before I visited, Arbutus was the name quoted to me by several people when the subject of the hottest new places to eat in London came up in conversation. Indeed, the word of mouth seemed to be
confirmed in January 2007 with the news that Arbutus had gained its first Michelin star. First impressions on my visit where favourable: the dining room is bright, contemporary and bustling, with un-napped tables setting a casual
tone, and the chatter of happy diners filling the room. The menu has around half a dozen choices at each course, and the wine list covers two sides of an A4 sheet, but almost everything is available as a 250cl carafe, which is
a very nice touch. Despite the Michelin star there were no little freebie amuses guelle, so it was straight into my first course, a delicious platter of wafer-thin slices of belly of pork, marinated in a piquant, tart apple sauce and
served warm on the plate. The belly of pork was streaked with plenty of fat, but the meat was delicious and the slices so thin that the whole effect was melting and sweet in the mouth. For my main course I chose rabbit
cooked two ways, with a loin of rabbit rolled with some gamy liver, and sliced on the plate over a meaty jus. A little iron pot was served alongside, with a wonderful potato-topped rabbit stew, rich with chunks of white and
darker meat and root vegetables. This was a complex and entirely successful dish. We finished with cheeses to share, which at £2.95 per portion were slightly disappointing, a Lingot goat's cheese about the pick of the
bunch, though the walnut and fruit bread served with them was excellent. Again, I was mildly disappointed to find that the very good espresso and mint tea ordered by my party arrived without trace of a truffle or petit-four,
so the £2.75 per cup seemed expensive. In all I enjoyed Arbutus enormously. The total bill of £110 for two including coffees and a bottle of Shadowfax Pinot Noir was very reasonable, but perhaps just a few more of the Michelin-style
refinements - for all that they are a bit old-fashioned - might heighten the sense of occasion. (2007)
Tube: London Bridge
A short walk from London Bridge station, the Bermondsy kitchen is a great south of the river choice, with its casual, busy bar and open-plan restaurant space, and its short, seasonal menu of Meditterranean-flavoured dishes.
I started with a salad of Feta (it was supposed to be mozzarella, but that had run out) with roasted sun-dried tomatoes and plenty of herbs and leaves. It was fresh, very flavoursome and had a fine piquancy
with notes of citrus and chilli. For my main course, poached cod was served in a slightly too watery broth, with a ladelfull of mussels and chunks of quartered fennel that had been braised. The fish was lovely,
but the whole dish perhaps slightly sloppy and lacking in a bit of flavour. Good espressos, and an interesting wine list - we drank a fine Martin Codax Albariño for under £20 - completed a very satisfying evening
with a good ambiance, friendly service, and food a cut above the average. (2007)
£100 for dinner. Lunch and dinner Monday to Saturday, lunch only on Sundays
Tube: Gloucester Rd/South Kensignton.
The really good neighbourhood restaurant remains an
almost mythical beast. In Paris every single Quartier
overflows with casual places offering excellent food at
moderate prices, but why are they so difficult to find
in major British cities?
The lucky denizens of South Kensington have
just such a place on their doorsteps. Bistro One
Ninety is the ground floor dining room of The
Gore, one of London’s most idiosyncratic but
delightful hotels. The clubby bar next door was
thronging on my visit, and whilst still alive with
happy chatter, the Bistro is a more traditional
setting with Victorian plasterwork and tall windows
giving a sense of occasion.
This is ‘comfort’ food done
with panache and a modern twist. A starter of ham
hock terrine consisted of a meaty slice of coarsely
shredded ham that retained plenty of texture, with
piccalilli and a pungent mustard sauce. My partner’s
Caesar salad was a ‘proper’ one, with plenty of
croutons, garlic and Parmesan.
My main course of roasted duck breast was cooked
as well as any Mallard of my acquaintance: just pink
and tender, with a crisp, moreish skin. The
accompanying shredded red cabbage was superbly
sweet and spicy, and - holy of holies - a perfectly
cooked fondant potato. Braised in stock and butter,
fondant is one of my favourite ways with a spud, but
restaurants don’t always get it right.
Sticky toffee pudding to finish was heroic: heavy
with dates and spices, it was served with home-made
ice cream topped by a textural spoonful of streusel - the sort of small touch the shows a chef who is really
thinking through his dishes.
A bottle of Six Vineyards Pinot Noir from
Oregon at £40 was my choice from an excellent
wine list with moderate mark-ups. All in all, a huge thumbs-up for very fine
food served in a friendly setting. (2006)
Dinner menu £24.95, a la carte around £30 per person.
Tube: Covent Garden/Charing Cross.
Banquette sits above the bar in the Savoy
hotel, with always fascinating views of the hotel's entrance courtyard through long picture windows. Banquette is a slick, modern dining room with off-white leather furnishings
and un-napped tables. The menu and wine list are short and no-nonsense, with really good takes on classic American diner food - sandwiches, burgers and salads - and
traditional British Fare. My Goat's cheese salad with roasted beetroot was delicious: a large bowl of mostly cos lettuce and bitter leaves, with creamed goat's cheese as
part of the dressing, atop a bed of sweet red onion and roasted beets. Shepard's pie was brilliant and simple: a good-sized gratin dish filled with lovely quality lamb,
classically seasoned and topped with creamy mash. I had a spoonful of my partner's sticky toffee, pear and date pudding which was yummy comfort food, like
the rest of the desserts: rice pudding, bread & butter pudding and so on. The wine list has pretty stiff mark-ups, but a bottle of Valpolicella Classico from Allegrini was
very enjoyable at £25. Coffee is served with petit-fours. I really enjoyed this meal and it is great to have such a flexible menu available day and night (2004). 
Returning in late 2006 staff were in a hurry, prices are creeping up, a £2 "cover charge" has appeared, and the wine list mark-ups seem less reasonable. Still a good casual spot, but my enthusiasm is rather blunted. (2006)
Open noon till midnight ever day except Sunday. Around £85 for dinner, cheaper lunch
Le Cafe Anglais, Whiteley's, 8 Porchester Gardens. Tel: 020 7221 1415
Nearest tube: Bayswater, Queensway
(NH) Apart from the high ceilings and Art Deco windows, there's nothing too exciting or glamorous about the décor of the Café Anglais. But maybe chef Rowley Leigh prefers a neutral backdrop to enhance the brilliance of his cuisine.
Chef Rowley Leigh is a follower Escoffier's dictum: 'Faites simple'. His menu could have been written by Elizabeth David, with its assortment of classic hors d'oeuvres, simple starters and pared-down main courses. Not for Leigh the contemporary elaborations of froths, foams and fusion cuisine.
Instead, you can kick off your meal (as we did) with a small pot of Parmesan custard and anchovy toast, a sublime combination of salty umami flavours with creamy and crunchy textures. Less successful were the salsify fritters, which had a touch too much batter to allow them to be as crisp as they should have been, although their shortfalls were redeemed by a meltingly sweet, fatty rabbit rillettes, which was put into focus by a side of pickled endive.
We gave the starters a miss - a shame, because the risotto with pancetta and artichokes sounded wonderful, as did the sea kale with poached egg and truffles - but we wanted to leave room for our mains. This proved to be a good decision as the plateful of sea bass with salsa verde was generous, as was the serving of red mullet with purple sprouting broccoli and anchovy butter. Both dishes were sublimely cooked, allowing the sweet fresh flavours of the fish to really stand out. A side of roast aubergine with new-season garlic and cherry tomatoes provided just enough vegetal vim and vigour to complement the fish.
The wine list reads like a tour through some of the best appellations of France, Italy and Germany, but rigorously excludes other countries. Still, you hardly notice the lack of Spain and Australia when faced with the option of selecting Jasmin's Côte Rôtie 2002 at £50 or a carafe of Bonneau de Martray's Corton Charlemagne 1998 (£35). Service was of a piece with the Café's ethos: elegantly restrained, engaged and informed.
Our waiter brought us coffees, but seemed disappointed we didn't want a dessert. The truth is, we did: the dessert list looked great. But we decided to leave wanting more. In fact, as we left, my fellow luncher stopped by the reception desk to book a birthday dinner for his partner the following week. And, as far as I'm concerned, any restaurant that makes you want to book your next meal as you're finishing off the crumbs of your first, has to have something pretty special going for it.
Cheneston's, the Milestone Hotel, 1 Kensington Court, W8 5DL
Phone: 020 7917 1000. Tube: High Street Kensington
The Milestone is a wonderful five-star hotel tucked discretely inside a beautiful 1880's building immediately opposite Kensington Palace. The hotel is the antithises of the soulless corporate five-star, with picture-perfect,
cosseting
rooms and very personalised service. Fine dining is provided by the small Cheneston's restaurant, in an ornate Victorian dining room that is cosy with seating for only around 30 people, yet has plenty of elbow room between
tables.
I ate at one of their regular wine-matching dinners, where merchant The Vineyard Cellars where presenting the wines of Terre Rouge in California alongside a set menu of five courses. A little seared scallop wrapped in apple-smoked ham
was a delicious appetiser, followed by an open ravioli of Maine lobster and crab, in a fragrant lobster broth scented with ginger and coriander. This was a delightful dish, served with a weighty Roussanne. Prime fillet of beef with hash browns and
creamed corn was simple and straightforward - just as it should be - arriving sizzling on the plate, the beef seared but pink in the centre. A twice-baked Monterey Jack soufflé continued the thoughtful and very nicely realised
American theme, the soufflé flavoured with a chive and celery sauce. It had the correct, nutty flavour profile to match with the fruity Easton Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. Finally, a baked American cheesecake was good,
if not quite as densely-textured as the best New York examples.
Sommelier Nicolas Clerc has put together a superb 400-bin list covering France, and a world of carefully chosen wines. Nicolas was awarded second place in the 2006 Ruinart Sommelier of the Year competition. Cheneston's may not serve the absolute peak of 3-star cuisine, but it offers a delightful package of food, wine, ambiance and service. (2006)
Open every day, dinner around £100
Just around the corner from the White Cube gallery in the achingly trendy Hoxton Square, Cru occupies a converted warehouse space with decidedly urban and modern styling.
I liked the casual, New Yorky ambience, and with the large open kitchen and a cage-like wine cellar given centre stage, there was
an immediate suspicion that this place took its food and wine seriously. In fact my meal here was just terrific; one of my most refreshing and enjoyable dining experiences of recent times,
when a succession of Gordon Ramsayesque restaurants - though very good - had started to feel just a little safe and formulaic. My starter of a Lobster, lemongrass and pearl barley
risotto immediately set the tone for an eclectic, globe-trotting menu. Served with a tomato concasse, it was a lovely dish with lots of piquant flavours. My main course
wood-roasted chump of lamb was served with sweet and sour turnip. This was a beautifully slow-cooked dish with wonderfully textured lamb and a fine, earthy quality. To
finish I choose a green tea and vanilla panacotta, which came with a sour fig coulis and pistachio biscotti. This was a sophisticated and balanced meal, where the
complex construction of the menu may have overloaded on ingredients, but kept the cooking and presentation simple and wholesome. Wines are reasonably marked
up and there is a lot available by the glass (2003). £80 for dinner.
In a lane close to Bank Station The Don occupies the atmospheric old Sandeman Port cellars, where sherries, madeiras and ports were bottled for 200 years.
Upstairs is a bright, bustling dining room with large picture windows to the lane, but there is also the option of dining downstairs in the barrel-vaulted cellar. Food is Gallic-focused comfort food
with dishes like Soupe de Poisson, Saddle of Rabbit and Roast Suckling Pig. I was guest at a private wine dinner, with a menu that included
some flavoursome smoked salmon, nicely marinated and rich in lemony, herby flavour and roast rack of lamb, served juicy and pink, with slow-cooked lamb breast with a roasted aubergine mousse.
The quality of ingredients and cooking was very good. Prices are moderate with starters at around £10, mains at £15 - £20 and puddings at £6.00.
A handy place to know in the City. (2009)
Tube: Covent Garden
It's very handy to have a really good, moderately priced and "proper" restaurant in this touristy area of central London. Le Duxième is perfect
for pre- or post-theatre dining (special menu available), though equally suitable as the destination for a leisurely meal. The decor is simple but stylish, with well-napped tables and chic feel to the
small dining room. The menu is very reasonably priced. I started with a tempura of freshwater shrimp, which was excellent with real crispness to the batter, good-sized shrimps and a piquant
Thai dressing that hit a lovely sweet/sour balance. My main course halibut was plump, sweet and cooked just nicely. Friendly staff, good bread and coffee, and a moderately
marked-up wine list complete the picture of an honest, good-quality dining experience carried off with some style, just round the corner from Covent Garden (2009).
£80 for dinner, open 7 days for lunch and dinner.
Tube: Paddington
With five hours to kill between flights at Heathrow recently, I decided to forsake the pleasures of terminal one and instead take the express train to Paddington station, and find
somewhere to eat locally. At around 6:00pm I stumbled across Frontline, a very obvious choice in the sea of fast-food and chain restaurants that surrounds any major railway
station. With its exposed brick, warm, chocolate brown leather seating and walls adorned with blow-up
news photographs (there's a story here - visit www.frontlinerestaurant.com) it has a chic, but very
warm and welcoming atmosphere. The £15.00 pre-theatre menu suited my perfectly, and the food was excellent: a Caesar salad was classically rendered, topped with fresh
anchovies and plenty of shaved parmesan. The addition of cubes of avocado added texture and succulence to the dish. Pork and leek sausages came in a very nicely
reduced meat-stock and herb gravy, and a leek and olive oil mash was silky yet firm. Frontline has a subtle Middle Eastern slant to much of its menu, and dessert of
really thick and decadently creamy Greek yoghurt was dressed with honey and figs. With a large glass of Henry Pelle's Petit Bourgeois Sauvignon blanc,
water and Illy espressos, the bill for two came to £47.00. What a terrific little find so close to Paddington. (2004)
Lunch Monday - Friday, Dinner Monday - Saturday
Tube: Fulham Broadway
(VF) Expecting a quiet Monday evening's casual dinner at a local restaurant off the Kings' Road, I couldn't have been more wrong. The atmosphere was electric, laughter and conversation pervaded this bustling
Tuscan eaterie, owned and managed by Alvaro Maccioni. La Famiglia has been a leading destination for foodies who love genuine, quality regional Tuscan cuisine since 1975.
The menu has classic dishes with seasonal specialities. Whilst reading the menu we nibbled at delicious "Bruschetta alla Romana", toasted bread drizzled with olive oil and freshly chopped tomatoes with basil, and "Crostini
di Pollo", The Tuscan speciality of toast, topped with chicken liver pate, capers and garlic. To start we chose "Fiori di Zucca", deep fried courgette flowers, which was really delicate and crisp, and "Mozzarella di Bufala e
Pomodori", the lightest and most flavourful Buffalo cheese I have ever eaten, together with more basil and fresh tomatoes. For the main course I had "Calimari e Seppie in Salsa Nera e con Spinaci", squid and cuttle fish
with ink sauce, garlic, and chilli, served on a bed of spinach. The fish was seriously good. The squid melted like butter in my mouth, but I felt the dish had a little too much inky sauce. The other main course was "Pesce
Spada all'Agrodolce", swordfish with onions and courgettes in a balsamic vinegar sauce, which had excellent flavour and texture.
Portion size is on the large side so we abandoned the scrumptious looking traditional dessert trolley, in favour of some vin santo.
The 40-bottle wine list is thoughtfully chosen, ranging from £16.50 per bottle to £350.00 for a 1997 Solaia. Bisol Prosecco was elegant, followed by a fruity Pannizi Vernaccia di San Gimignano for £27.50. (2004)
About £80 for two. Open 7 days a week
Lundums, 119 Old Brompton Road.
Sadly, Lundums appears to be closed as of Spring 2008.
Tube: Fulham Broadway.
I ate here with a bunch of visitors to wine-pages.com on an organised "off-line" event in February 2004. One of the main attractions is that Mims allows BYO,
but I'd also heard good things about the food. The restaurant is modern and bright, with light colours and an airy feel to it. The menu, with around five choices at each course,
was immediately striking for its inventive dishes. My smoked haddock starter was ample, with chunks of flaky fish on a bed of sliced new potatoes, smothered with an hollandaise-like
mustard sauce. For a main course I had breast of duck, roasted and served with a confit of leg, along with rather dramatic towers of roasted vegetables: parsnip, sweet potato and
carrot. This was a really good dish, with the duck cooked just pink, and plenty of flavour. For dessert I chose and intriguing date and milk soufflé pancake, that
was quite delicious. For central London it is inexpensive, with good food and friendly service. Unfortunately a report has reached me that the restaurant wasn't keen on a repeat
BYO booking recently, which would be a pity (2004).
£65 for dinner. Closed Mondays
Tube: Tottenham Hale
(VF) Mosaica is housed in a modern yellow building adjacent to Tottenham Hale tube station. The ground floor restaurant is simply decorated, and by Chef and owner,
John Mountain. The Mediterranean-style menu changes daily, with a choice of eight starters, (£5.00 to £9.00) seven main courses (£13.00 to £16.00) and six desserts
(£5.00 to £7.00). My partner opted for marinated artichokes with pesto to start with, I had seared scallops with black pudding. Both dishes had good flavour and texture.
I followed with roast John Dory with warm Mediterranean vegetables and Jerseys, which was a delightful blend of subtle tastes, my partner had swordfish on "Caesar(ish)" salad.
Dessert for me was a panacotta with an espresso topping - unusual but fun. The wine list needs some work here. 15 well-known commercial wines start at £13,
and a dozen fine wines range from £20 to £50. We dived into the fine wine list, and Rene Mure's Alsace Riesling at £19.50 complemented our menu choices well.
Three courses plus coffee and service came to £85 (2004)
Open Tuesday to Saturday for lunch and Dinner
Tube: Golders Green
(VF) This neighbourhood restaurant is always busy. Chef David Philpott and manager Alex Ross have been here for 4 years. In that time they have built up a
great reputation for good quality Mediterranean-style cuisine. Two thirds of the well-chosen wine list is Italian, with interesting offerings from the rest of the world (£13 to £75) and
a reasonable choice in half bottles. We squeezed into the last available table at 9.00pm on a Saturday night for a monthly-changing menu. I started with grilled asparagus with
parmesan and a balsamic and olive oil dressing. My partner had a roast pepper and truffled pecorino bruschetta with a marinated anchovy salad. Both starters were excellent,
the flavours worked well. To follow I had guinea fowl brassalo with salsice and barolo sauce which was delicious. My partner thoroughly enjoyed his steak with gorgonzola
mash and red onion salsa. We indulged in a bottle of 1998 Pio Cesare Barolo at £72 (it was our wedding anniversary!) which complemented our meal beautifully.
Desserts included a simple but tasty pistachio ice cream. Three courses plus coffee and service came to £135 (2004)
Open Tuesday to Friday and Sunday for lunch, Dinner Tuesday to Saturday. No smoking. Air-conditioned.
Tube: Holborn.
There are branches all over Britain, but Coptic Street - one of the originals - is still by far and away my favourite. A huge corner site with
white-tiled walls and high ceilings, the restaurant is busy and bustling. Staff are cheerful and competent and the food is exemplary
of its type. My favourite is the pizza Fiorentina, with mozzarella, parmesan, spinach and a free range egg cooked in the middle.
The house wine - a Montepulciano from Zonin - is fruity, gutsy and perfect at £13 a bottle. Coffees are really good - even the
espresso decaff. I never book, but just turn up and join the short, good-humoured queue if necessary.
A great antidote to too much high-class eating (2006). £35 lunch or dinner, open 7 days.
Tube: Piccadilly Circus.
(VF) This 100-seat restaurant, opened two years ago in a tall, spacious room that was once a bank. It is part of the Sofitel St James hotel, close to theatreland and serves pre-
and post-theatre meals at great value. A Sunday jazz brunch is also popular. The inspiration for this eatery came from Michelin starred chef Albert Roux who envisioned
classic French cuisine in an elegant, but environment. The menu is relatively simple and offers a choice of traditional brasserie dishes: eight cold starters and
eight hot starters (£6.00 to £8.00), 16 main courses (£8.00 to £22.00) and eight desserts (£5.00 to £8.00), plus daily specials. We chose pike quenelles lyonnaise and boudin
noir with apple and sage sauce to start. Both were well presented dishes with good flavours and textures. We followed with sea bass fillets served with sautéed potatoes, bacon
lardons and red wine jus, and croustade of veal kidneys with mushrooms, French beans and Madeira sauce. Another excellent choice, it encapsulated the French brasserie
style, especially when we finished with a selection of cheeses from Maitre Vernier, all beautifully ripe. The wine list "Les Grands Vins du Monde", an eclectic assortment
of both French and worldwide wines. The enthusiastic sommelier knew his list, and helped us choose Leon Beyer's 2002 Pinot Blanc at £19.50.
Three courses plus coffee and service came to £85 (2004)
Open daily. Theatre menus 5.30pm to 7.00pm and 10.45pm to 11.30pm
Tube: Barbican
St John is a London institution and pioneer in the revival of British gastronomy and the championing of British ingredients. A thronging bar and lively dining area, where
white-aproned waiting staff bearing groaning platters of superb food squeeze between tightly-packed tables, it is not the venue for a quiet tete-a-tete, but St John has
a terrific atmosphere to match the quality of the food and wines. On my most recent visited I started with an old favourite: roast bone marrow served with toast and parsley
salad. A tray of bones is brought from the oven, and a long, skewer-like fork used to scrape and cajole the comforting, creamy marrow onto the toast, to be topped with a
pinch of sea-salt, handful of piquant salad, and devoured. I followed with pheasant and pig's trotter pie: a beautiful pie, with buttery but short pastry, filled with chunks of
meat in a delicious gravy. All meat is off the bone of course, and the flavour is robust yet delicate, earthy yet clear. To finish, a plate of wonderfully tangy and dry Lancashire
cheese was served with Eccles cakes - flaky, sugary pastry cases crammed with spicy dried fruits. Wonderful food, that evokes the best of traditional British cuisine,
accompanied by an interesting, good value and exclusively French wine list (many imported direct by St John), makes for a unique dining experience. Highly
recommended. (2007)
£120 for dinner. Lunch and dinner Monday to Friday, dinner only Saturdays.
Tube: Pimlico/Vauxhall/Westminster
The restaurant at Tate Britain has a much more grown-up feel than the Tate Modern (below) and a renowned wine list, thanks to a fine wine buying policy started by sommelier Hamish Anderson. The dining room is one large, busy space,
reminiscent of a great Parisien brasserie, the mood set by the bucolic Rex Whistler murals around the walls. To be honest, I was rather disappointed by the food one recent Sunday lunchtime, where a tranche of
foie-gras terrine was excellent, but the layers of black truffle through it overpowered the flavour the presentation was rather artless with two chunks of cold brioche piled on the plate. Main course roast beef was flavoursome, but probably 60% fat, and my dessert of a spiced tarte tatin was good, though a little stodgy from being reheated in a microwave I’d guess. But that wine list... It is a formidable and beautifully balanced list offered at rock-bottom prices (for London) and withan excellent selection of half bottles. We drank a half of Chateau Suiduraut from the excellent 1990 vintage for £38 with the foie-gras and dessert, and a half of Dujac’s 1999 Morey St Denis in the middle for £22. With many mature bottles, it really is a mouthwatering wine list. Summing up? The food is ok, the surroundings quite striking, the staff friendly and the wine list just brilliant. Given that you can also take in the permanent and temporary exhibitions of the Tate too it is still a great way to make a full day out - especially for the dedicated oenophile.
£140 for lunch with wine. Open Every day for lunch only.
Tube: Southwark/Blackfiars
I often enjoy a lunch in the restaurant on the top floor of Tate Modern, with its quality comfort food and glorious views over the city. A large, quite noisy and bustling space, the tables to hold out for are by the plate glass
windows facing a stunning skyline panorama. The menu is short and punchy, featuring smaller plates and a succinct a la carte selection. Most recently, I started with some Mezze, with warm flat bread
served with a selection of dips and salads. For my main course, traditional fish and chips with mushy peas was excellent. The haddock was very crisply fried in a puffy batter and the chips were cut thick and delicious. Both
tartare sauce and guacamole-like mushy peas are home made and very tasty. The wine and beer list is put together by Hamish Anderson and is very good and well priced. We drank a bottle of Raats unwooded Chenin Blanc
from South Africa, for just £18.50. A lovely way to spend a lazy Sunday lunchtime. (2008)
£80 for lunch with wine. Open Every day for lunch, dinner Friday & Saturday only.
Tube: Great Portland Street
I've eaten in Villandry several times and first reviewed it in 2002. Much more than a restaurant, Villandry also comprises a buzzing bar,
flower shop and one of London's most interesting food halls, featuring the best of domestic and imported luxury foods. Villandry is also a Traiteur, selling up-market ready-made
meals in the tradition of France's top gastronomic temples. The restaurant is through at the back of the shop, simply furnished with wooden table tops and chairs, and large picture windows.
Recent reports had suggested that a change of ownership had seen the restaurant go markedly downhill. I popped in for a simple two course lunch in the bar in January 2007, and found
the atmosphere had changed a bit - it was rather less "foodie" and more touristy I felt, though my lunch of risotto and a pear and frangipane tart was pretty good. The jury is possibly out
on this one until I have the chance to visit the restaurant again. (2007). £90 for dinner, open 7 days, until late Monday-Saturday.
