The Times
Jay Rayner may have had suspicions ahead of his visit to the London offshoot of a Cannes restaurant named after a billionaire French socialite who numbered among her circle Rafael Trujillo, “the blood-soaked dictator of the Dominican Republic”. If so, they were confirmed as he settled into a room whose design was “apocalypse tech-bro bunker”.
The menu claimed to celebrate ‘the golden age of the French Riviera’, but was “about as French as Dubai” – featuring Australian Wagyu, yellowtail carpaccio with ponzu, and truffled sea bass crudo with passionfruit sauce. As for the cooking, vitello tonnato was a “feeble mess”; pairing gravalax with Aperol and raspberries was a “lousy idea”; and bouillabaisse-style cod was “grossly over-salted”. The dessert soufflé looked “magnificent; so mightily tumescent it could be sponsored by Pfizer” – but the effect was achieved by going heavy on the whipped egg white, masking the flavour of the Grand Marnier base.
On the plus side, pretty well all Jay could offer was that the bar “mixes very good cocktails” and the staff “do a lovely job”.
Jay Rayner - 2025-05-04
Drinks
Extras
