In an alternative world, imagine the London dining scene without JKS. The restaurant chain developed by the Sethi siblings has gifted the city with the likes of Gymkhana, Trishna, Brigadiers, BiBi, Hoppers and more. Diners’ knowledge of the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent would be much the poorer without their outlets. Despite its pretentious name, Ambassadors Clubhouse is a valuable addition to their suite of restaurants. In many ways, it represents the JKS team going back to its roots.
It is roughly three miles from Belsize Park, a comfortably wealthy north London suburb, to Mayfair. Or step out of one of the grand houses close to the euphemistic ‘Belsize Village’ square and you will find Mimi. More than a neighbourhood local, Mimi felt to this reviewer that it would be much happier in W1 than NW3. If glitz and glamour is what you want – without the central London hike – then Mimi is for you.
Few may have heard of Thomas Cubitt, but many may have visited the mini pub chain that is named in his honour. For the unaware, the gentleman in question was a British master builder, renowned for developing much of the late Georgian and early Victorian architecture that defines London. Wind the clock on to the 21st Century and many of his buildings have been reincarnated as up-market pubs.
The dove is often associated with peace and love. The backers of this newly opened on-trend Notting Hill venue perhaps hoped to inspire both with their restaurant. Your reviewer felt neither when visiting last week, even if its potential was evident.
The first thing diners notice when they step into Silva is the light. There’s a feeling of tranquillity. Maybe it’s akin to being in a forest glade, which would not be accidental since ‘silva’ is the Latin word for forest. Readers should get the impression then that aesthetics are a big thing at Silva. The food isn’t at all shabby either. Think of this restaurant as a combination of the refined and the relaxed.
Hopes were high for dining in Chantelle Nicholson’s latest restaurant, Apricity. The chef had built a prior strong reputation for pioneering hyper-seasonal, local and sustainable approaches in her previous ventures in Earl’s Court and Hackney. Critics have mostly lauded her newest restaurant and its whole circular economy angle captures wonderfully the current zeitgeist. Despite such a backdrop, your reviewer and his dining comrade left somewhat underwhelmed.
Put a lower case d and e next to each other in a trendy font and – voila – it resembles a leaf. This is wonderfully convenient for the deliciously Ella brand, which can now be abbreviated just to ‘de’. For the unaware, the eponymous Ella has her products across many supermarkets, is the publisher of several cookbooks and has a restaurant in central London. Its name leaves no ambiguity over what it does: serving vegetarian food which would please even the most hardened carnivore.
Restaurant reviewers by their very nature tend to be a sceptical bunch, with high expectations and hard to please. Just as goalkeepers are often remembered for the bloopers they concede rather than the saves they make, truly bad service always trumps cooking of whatever standard. Even with such a jaundiced world view, Gourmand Gunno can confidently state that his curry at Manthan was one of the best he has enjoyed recently.
Gourmand Gunno has eaten a lot of steak in his life. Despite being married to a vegetarian, there remains something deeply satisfying – primeval even – about tucking into a bit of cow. While diners do not lack options for such an experience in London, it was a pleasure recently to return to Goodman for the first time since before the pandemic. The cooking remains on top form, albeit that you are paying elevated Mayfair prices.
When I first visited Coya, shortly after its opening close on a decade ago, I really did not like it. I thought it too bling, more style than substance. Bigger, bolder and brasher (think Sexy Fish, Amazonico) have come onto the London scene since. At the same time, Coya seems to have matured, with a much greater emphasis on honing both cooking and service. A recent visit served to demonstrate just how good the venue is.
New experiences are good for the soul. What better, from a culinary perspective, than enjoying a sarap lechon? Know your Filipino: ‘sarap’ means delicious and ‘lechon’ is pig. At this pop-up venue on the site of the former Fallow, lucky diners can enjoy a whole suckling pig. Yes, you read that correctly. There is, of course, a caveat: you need to order it two days in advance, require a group of at least six like-minded individuals, and need to stump up £295. It’s not too steep a hurdle to climb and it’s undoubtedly worth every penny.
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.
As soon as your reviewer learned that the JKS Group was opening a new venue in Mayfair, he was excited. For those unaware, the venture has been responsible for hits such as Trishna, Gymkahana and Bridgadiers (plus many more). What’s the winning formula? Employ an A-grade chef , have amazing design and serve up top-quality food.
A decade or so ago, Gordon Ramsay was, arguably, one of the most famous chefs in the UK. He has certainly been responsible for a subsequent generation of culinary luminaries such as Clare Smyth and Jason Atherton. Current consensus, however, veers to the critical for Ramsay – maybe he has lost his touch? – and when Lucky Cat opened in late 2019 (unfortunately just pre-pandemic), critics seemingly rushed to be sceptical. Sure, maybe London does not need another slightly edgy yet still very commercial pan-Asian venture (think Roka, Zuma et al), but my comrade and I were recently impressed by a lunchtime visit to Lucky Cat.
Dining experiences do not come much better than Sketch. One almost struggles for sufficient superlatives. My dining comrade and I spent over four hours in the beautiful Grade II* Georgian townhouse which houses the venue on a recent Saturday night and felt wowed throughout. Since our previous visit in February 2019, Sketch’s fine dining room (where we spent the majority of our time) has gained a third Michelin star, making it one of only seven restaurants in the UK to hold such an honour. Success certainly hasn’t gone to its head, however. There remains the same winning combination of panache, exuberance and class.
With travel to Paris still problematic, what to do if you want old school French grub? Even if it has a certain charm of its own, Mayfair’s Shepherds Market will never be the Rive Gauche, but Le Boudin Blanc gives you a little taste of what being in France could be like. The restaurant is a Mayfair establishment, having been open for almost 30 years…
The dictionary says that the term ‘fallow’ means farmland that has been ploughed and harrowed but is then left for a period without being sown in order to restore its fertility and avoid surplus production. Although an ancient concept, it also has a wonderfully modern resonance, according well with all things sustainable. Fallow, one of the hottest new openings of 2020, takes this idea as its guiding principle and successfully pulls off the act of being both a right-on and very cool venue.
How seriously can you take any restaurant that claims to take guests “on a sensory journey along the Amazon river and through Latin America?” You certainly can’t fault Amazonico for its desire to make a splash on the London dining scene. My recent visit there was everything I expected: big on bling and pricing at Mayfair levels. However, you get what you pay for and the quality of the cooking surprised positively to the upside…
The Taka concept here is to take classic Japanese cooking principles and marry them with locally sourced British ingredients. A more cynical interpretation might be that it’s trying to appeal to as broad a target market as possible. The décor feels distinctly Japanese but the vibe is more London if you actually focus on what you’re eating, then it’s mostly pretty damned good....
Tradition and heritage are all well and good, but just because something worked in 1851 doesn’t mean it still will in 2020. It is therefore highly reassuring to see Scott’s continuing to deliver. It may have come a long way from its roots as an oyster warehouse, while the restaurant proper has migrated upwards from Haymarket to Mayfair, but the title of this review says it all: Scott’s, arguably, does the best fish in London.
For those who can’t or don’t want to get on a plane and head to Nice at present, Nice can come to you. Since its opening in 2007, La Petite Maison has been doing just one thing: serving consistently good Mediterranean food. Neither the credit crisis nor COVID has stopped it in its tracks. You won’t eat cheaply here, but you will undoubtedly eat well.
Hush represented a great place to begin the experiment of dining in the COVID-19 era. The venue remains a well-kept secret, tucked away in a discreet Mayfair courtyard. It was mostly business as normal at the restaurant. Hush has been around for over 20 years simply because it has continued to deliver consistently good - even if far from ground-breaking - food….
For any restaurant to have endured in London for more than 100 years, it must be doing something right. Bentley’s track record dates to 1916. A recent visit served as a reminder that the venue is still going strong, having arguably been reinvigorated since Richard Corrigan has been at the helm. Consider a visit here an experience, as much for the people-watching as for the food.
