When your reviewer was at primary school many years ago, he was told to avoid using the adjective ‘nice’ whenever possible, since it was a bland filler. We were instructed to try harder. If you’re launching a restaurant and even if you wish to show homage to a major city in the south of France, just don’t put the word nice in your name. It also opens the way for reviews titled “not so.” My hackles were therefore raised from the outset. Much of the crowd dining there (showy, glitzy, with their fast cars parked very nearby) didn’t do it for me either, but the overall experience was… pretty nice.
With Cipriani London opposite and La Petite Maison just around the corner, Mister Nice knows its target market. Take the clientele from the former and the culinary approach of the latter and voila, you have your recipe. The venue is billed as offering all-day dining, bringing “an elegant touch of Paris” to London. Sure, the design is classic – mirrors and monochrome with pavement-side dining for people-watching – but the vibe felt more Dubai than France.
We were greeted effusively and offered a choice of tables on arrival, a touch which is always appreciated. Amidst the talk of new Ferraris, holidays in the Maldives, AI unicorns and VC funding we settled in and reviewed the menu. It’s classic French, but pimped for the target market. Economists have the term ‘Giffen Good’ to explain circumstances where as prices rise, people want to pay more. Mister Nice is about Giffin galore; if you have it, spend it. A smoked salmon starter at £28 will obviously taste better when a caviar supplement at £50 is added. Should black truffle be your thing, then why not top any of your foie gras, beef tartare or rigatoni with it for a mere £30? You get the idea. Although it’s easy to scoff – and surely capitalism is all about demand and supply finding its clearing price –the food we consumed at Mister Nice was actually very good. Since this was a working lunch, there was no scope for photography, but both presentation and taste were superlative. Your reviewer kept is simple with a bean and artichoke salad to begin. The kitchen certainly can source top ingredients and employ them artfully. Next came beef tartare (sans truffle). The dish is a perennial favourite of your reviewer’s and this iteration – with a rich, smoky, spicy depth – would rank in the premier league. Madeleines were a nice finishing touch, as a coffee accompaniment. We just stuck to water, but a brief perusal of the wine list would suggest a thoughtful approach, sticking with well-known and surprisingly affordable icons. Go on, it’s a nice place to visit, even if just once.