It was not the most auspicious of starts. When my dining comrade and I descended on Bellazul it was pouring with rain. We arrived soaked. Welcome to England in April. It’s about as far from the Mediterranean as one could imagine. Open only for two months, Bellazul has the laudable intention of transporting diners to the sunnier climes of southern Europe. The venture is well-intentioned but does not totally succeed.
If New Quebec Street in Marylebone were my local high street, then I would be delighted. Luckily it is close to where your reviewer both lives and works. Zayna has been a long-standing favourite for curry. There’s also a great wine shop, a fishmonger and more. In addition, Boxcar is located on this street. Open since 2017, Gourmand Gunno corrected a long-standing anomaly by visiting it recently. Billed as a ‘neighbourhood restaurant’, it certainly constitutes a wonderful addition to the street, for both food and vibe.
From a modest café that opened over a hundred years ago, to a Michelin-starred celebrity hang-out, the history of the Ivy has been both varied and colourful. The brand remains an enduring one in the culinary world despite having opened Ivy spin-offs across the country, in towns such as Guildford. Its most recent venture has been to create an Asian sub-brand. Trading partly on its name, the ethos at Ivy Asia is full-on decadence with decent enough food to match.
A visit to Horma Ondo is an experience. Take in the views, enjoy the food and wine. This is the sort of place where one could comfortably spend a whole day. It’s located in the hills outside Bilbao and easy to miss if one does not know the way. Fortunately my host was a local to the area and successfully navigated the winding road up to the venue. Once there, we relaxed and enjoyed the restaurant to the full.
Reviewers that see any restaurant describe itself as “eclectic” have good reason – often through bitter prior experience – to be sceptical. When your venue has an absurdly pretentious name and is located on an expensive street in Mayfair, then the trepidation should mount further. MiMi, named with yet more absurdity in homage to a fictional empress who travels across China, is however worth a visit. There is substance behind the show.
It was not the most auspicious of starts. When my dining comrade and I descended on Bellazul it was pouring with rain. We arrived soaked. Welcome to England in April. It’s about as far from the Mediterranean as one could imagine. Open only for two months, Bellazul has the laudable intention of transporting diners to the sunnier climes of southern Europe. The venture is well-intentioned but does not totally succeed.
Mayfair lacks neither glamorous restaurants nor private members clubs. Into the fray comes the Twenty-Two, located – you’ve guessed it – at 22 Grosvenor Square. Tucked into a listed Edwardian building, there is a restaurant upstairs and club below. There are also rooms to stay. It is a welcome addition to the existing plethora of similar nearby options but could be summarised more as accomplished than ground-breaking.
There was one particular moment at Humo when your reviewer had to struggle hard to keep a straight face. The server was introducing our trout and caviar starter. He highlighted how the trout had enjoyed its life in a river in Hampshire before meeting its death in an Ike-Jine Japanese fashion which is supposed to minimise pain by paralysing the nervous system. Conveniently for diners, it also preserves the quality of the fish fat. Said trout is then smoked over oak. It is next topped with 3-month aged caviar, which is stored at exactly minus one degree in order to promote freshness. Perhaps it was the earnestness of the description. Maybe it was the length of time it took. Sure, we all want to be entertained when we go out – and have no doubt, there is no shortage of quality on show at Humo – but it was hard to escape the notion that the venue just took itself a little bit too seriously.
Step into Socca and you can almost kid yourself you might be in the Mediterranean. Sure, no expense has been spared at this venue (as is evidenced by its prices), but it is testament to the team that they have been able to create a warming vibe at Socca, from décor to ambience via its food. Think of Socca as an updated take on La Petite Maison, taking the culinary genius of Claude Bosi and the design aesthetic of Samyukta Nair (Koyn, Jamavar etc.). It has all the hallmarks of a Mayfair classic in the making.
We all probably have a somewhat idealised vision of what we our perfect neighbourhood restaurant ought to look like. 28 Church Row (its address as well as the restaurant’s name), located just off Hampstead’s main drag, is a strong candidate, offering generally comforting food in an intimate but relaxed setting.
My mother always told me that you should just a venue by its toilets and in this respect – as in many others – it is hard not to be wowed by Isabel. Each is lavish in its size and decoration, with wallpaper, gilt and multiple mirrors. Take these as a microcosm of the broader restaurant. It’s all about opulence, but done in a classy and tasteful fashion. Of course, this being Mayfair, the prices are correspondingly elevated – but the experience is certainly worth it, especially if someone else is paying.
With half a dozen restaurants and a similar number of books to his name, as well as a regular newspaper column, superstars in the culinary world don’t come much bigger than Yotam Ottolenghi. He has arguably done more to change eating habits in London over the last decade than any other figure, making the fusion of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food mainstream. Nopi, his relatively upscale Soho venture, hits all the spots in terms of both vibe and food.
