Fitzrovia, International Restaurant Guide

Glasgow chef Nico Simeone’s distinctive concept has grown into a national chain with 11 restaurants (including Fitzrovia and Canary Wharf) in just six years, offering a quick-changing succession of themed six-course menus for under £50 a head. It’s widely seen as “fantastic value” and has a sizeable fanbase amongst reporters (“every six weeks, the menu renews and for me, it is something to look forward to…”; “we simply love it and we’ve yet to miss a menu!” – “the Tokyo menu was so good we went back a second time”). Only a tiny few say, “you can feel you’re on a conveyor belt with lots of upsells”; or that the whole thing is “a dystopia of where restaurants will evolve”.

“Buy your ticket and wait and see… the chefs give their all and I’ve never had a disappointing evening!” – typical feedback on this Fitzrovia venue, whose “signature is a rotating selection of outstanding chefs cooking at the top of their game, for just a few weeks at a time” from the open kitchen. “It is a showroom (or perhaps a labour exchange!) for the rising stars of international dining… often the room is full of extra affection and praise as the chef’s family or colleagues from past brigades offer enthusiastic support. The courses are skillful and generous, and stints reflect a wide range of global experience”. “It’s hard to compare the different chefs, but the standard generally is so high and service is very well done”.

2021 Review: Limited-but-upbeat feedback on this new hotel dining room: “an oasis of calm near Euston station (an area short of nice places to eat!)”. Ethical sourcing and African influences in dishes – as well as Asian ones – help take it slightly out of the mainstream, and one or two early reports say it’s “a hidden gem”.