From cult magazine to mini restaurant chain in the space of a decade is an impressive achievement. Noble Rot – the term relates to the natural decay on some vines that allow for sweet wine to be produced – started out writing about the wine industry. Recently, it opened its third restaurant venue. Visiting, however, is not just about partaking in a glass or two. There is good food and a top ambience to enjoy.
Noble Rot has sought to repeat in Mayfair the successful formula it deployed when launching in Soho in 2020. Here, the business took over an iconic building (the site of the former Gay Hussar) and laid its own inimitable stamp on it. Now, the group has done the same at a new site. What used to be the Boudin Blanc has been transformed. The site, in Shepherd’s Market, dates to the 1600s and its corner location makes it propitious as a dining venue. There’s ample outdoor seating (which my dining comrade and I enjoyed on one of the last warm days of the summer) as well as three floors available inside for wine sipping and dining. The main room has strategic views over the corner of Mayfair in which it sits and is decked out stylishly but simply. Think dark wood contrasted by floor-to-ceiling windows and artwork taken from the covers of their wine magazines.
Food-wise, diners can be delighted with a couple of set menu options. At £22 for two courses or £26 for three, those lunching in Mayfair can afford a large grin. It’s harder to find many other similarly good options at this price point. Since our meal was more celebratory, we opted for the a la carte, which comprises sections of snacks, starters, mains and desserts, each with around six options. Pricing here is more what one might expect for the district, although both my comrade and I blanched at grouse listed for £52.
The chefs seek to keep it simple, taking British classics but nodding too to our neighbours across the Channel. Everything we ate was executed with panache and presented beautifully too. Your reviewer has always been a sucker for beef tartare. This iteration had to be among the best recently sampled. It was rich, gooey, decadent and very tasty. My comrade’s opener of stuffed squid in a chorizo sauce (pictured) was both an aesthetic masterpiece and tasty to boot. For the mains, we both ended up choosing the same: an on-trend monkfish offering, here complemented with girolles, sweetcorn and clams. The dish achieved good balance with wonderful contrasts of flavour and texture. We opted for a cheese board to conclude matters. This was paired with a wonderful glass of Madeira. Previously, we had enjoyed a Garnacha Blanca from Aragon. For oenophiles as well as foodies, this is a winning venue.