One key rule in marketing is that if you name something with a homophone then be prepared for the obvious jokes. Mour, a new Mediterranean restaurant, is not a homage to Moorish cuisine but an abbreviation of the street (Seymour) on which it is based. If its website is to be believed, “life is better with more.” Your reviewer agrees with this sentiment and did enjoy Mour but was left wanting – cue the inevitable punchline – more.
Mour is onto something potentially good. Mediterranean food is having a moment in London. The Leonard Hotel’s restaurant also needed a spruce up. So, some clear skating where the puck is going. They’ve done a good job of creating a convivial and sophisticated dining space with a beautiful hidden terrace at the rear. The white-washed walls and furnishings really could make guests feel as if they were in the Mediterranean. Baking temperatures on a recent July lunchtime added to the impression. It was a pity we were the only guests to experience it.
Admittedly some other diners were perhaps not so foolhardy to brave the searing temperatures, but the heat seemed to have got to the staff too. Everything was well-intentioned but somehow fell wide of the mark. Your reviewer has little time for the ‘teething problems’ or ‘finding your feet’ notions that often accompany recent restaurant openings (Mour is but three weeks old). Surely you want to be on your A-game at launch?
Don’t build a website that not only promises “more of what matters” but also goes on and elaborates that the restaurant will deliver (among other things) “more flavour” and “more wine poured.” Several of our dishes were dull. No effort was made to up-sell or even inch us towards another bottle of drink.
The menu embraces the current zeitgeist of sharing, with the scope to mix and match across bites, salads, small plates, pasta dishes and larger plates. We were broadly left on our own with no guidance from our server. This did not bother us but may concern some less experienced (and more price conscious) diners. Salads and pasta probably represent the best value options on the menu.
My dining comrade and I ordered one salad, two smaller plates and a larger dish. All arrived somewhat unfortunately at the same time. Our server seemed flummoxed when we suggested that some might want to be returned to the kitchen. This haste seemed all the more inexplicable since the venue was hardly rushed off its feet. When we eventually got to our aubergine and beef carpaccio opening plates, it was a tale of two dishes. The first promised much (combining baba-ganoush, sesame and salsa verde) but underwhelmed, devoid almost entirely of flavour. The latter was more of a conventional classic but executed superbly at Mour. Plaudits to the Caesar salad, enhanced by some wonderful smoked pancetta.
The seared sea bass with avgolemono (Greek egg-lemon) sauce sounded enticing and perfect for the occasion. A wait in the kitchen, however, did not improve things. The sauce had congealed, undermining the entire effort. The accompanying charred broccoli had dried out. Eating it felt like a chore. Such an outcome speaks of ineptitude rather than inexperience.
Mour somewhat redeemed itself with a pleasing strawberry and basil dessert offering. For many, the battle would almost certainly have already been lost. We enjoyed ourselves despite Mour’s evident failings, but good company and conversation can travel anywhere. It is unlikely we will return to this restaurant.