Mayfair, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

Ivan and Manuela Wirth (the art world's famous couple behind Hauser + Wirth, and owners of The Fife Arms in Braemar) are re-opening this large tavern in partnership with Fortnum & Mason's CEO Ewan Venters. Architect Luis Laplace, who designed and restored Roth Bar & Grill and Hauser & Wirth Somerset is leading the revamp of the five-storey building, including the restoration of many features lost during WWII. Opening is contemplated in autumn 2022.

2021 Review: Approaching its 300th birthday, this Mayfair pub is more stylish than most in the West End, partly due to its history of celebrity ownership (it was part of Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s divorce settlement, with Ritchie getting The Queen of Pop’s share when they split). Foodwise, it’s also been a decent bet in recent times (although it did receive one ‘off’ report from a former fan this year).

Although it is branded under the famous ‘Connaught Grill’ name – which ran from 1955-2000 and was presided over for 26 of those years by the legendary Michel Bourdin – this new dining room, which opened in early 2020, is a total break from the past. With Hélène Darroze occupying the Grill’s old site, this reincarnation inhabits former private rooms elsewhere on the ground floor. John Heah’s sleek design for the interior – with much bespoke woodwork – is a world away from the ‘period piece’ decor of the former grill. The same could also be said of NYC chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s menu, much of it produced from the rotisserie and a wood-burning grill. Where, in days of yore, you might have enjoyed Consommé ‘Prince of Wales’, followed by Médaillons de Cailles ‘Belle Epoque’, you can now have Sashimi, followed by Wagyu Beef Fillet.

For a posh coffee (caffeine aficionados Difference coffee supply the rare beans), a civilised bun, breakfast, lunchtime sarnie or simple supper (complete with cocktails), this August 2020 newcomer is worth remembering. It’s the passion project of sisters Victoria and Grace Sheppard, whose successful careers elsewhere finally led here.

A new era beckons for this once-legendary brasserie. Created in 1976 out of a partnership between actor Michael Caine and the late Peter Langan, it was the A-lister magnet of its days (and the cradle for the careers of some of London’s leading restaurateurs, including Christopher Corbin & Jeremy King). In recent years, it risked sinking into self-parody as an old-school haunt for senior business suits loyal since its glory days. Now – from mid-October 2021 – it’s to relaunch with each of its three floors having a completely new identity from designer and ‘master of metamorphosis’ Peter Mikic. The new owners are Graziano Arricale and James Hitchen – the former includes a stint as operations director of Birley Clubs on his CV, while the latter is a former chief executive of East Coast Concepts.

Chef-director Adam Byatt (of Clapham’s exceptional Trinity) is the latest incumbent of this splendidly traditional panelled chamber in one of Mayfair’s landmark hotels, which has seen a succession of occupants come and go over the years. On its 2019 launch it inspired up-and-down press critiques, but all our (admittedly limited) feedback in the current survey was very complimentary about Matthew Starling’s modern European cuisine, and in September 2021 a long-time maître d’ at Le Caprice, Jesus Adorno, joins the team to add further sparkle.

2021 Review: “Outstanding cooking, with first-class service” consistently hits the bullseye at this relatively unsung venue, tucked away at the back of a luxury Mayfair hotel. There’s a “thoughtful” approach to the meal, with “chefs coming out to tell you about dishes” – while some diners are “invited into the kitchen to meet Alyn”. It’s a “very comfortable” set-up and “the space between tables is incredible by modern restaurant standards, which creates the intimacy that a romantic meal requires”. And, especially at lunch, the elegant room’s lack of windows and natural light adds to the cocooning nature of the experience.

“Buzzy but relaxed”, this 1920s-themed bar/bistro for the Mayfair crowd is known for “lovely courtyard dining in the summer months” – “it’s right in the middle of town but feels away from it all”. It is also well connected: co-owners include Evgeny Lebedev, the Evening Standard owner elevated to the House of Lords by Boris Johnson.

This “romantic destination restaurant” – named after an 18th-century courtesan remembered in a nursery rhyme – makes the most of its location in Mayfair’s cute-but-seedy Shepherd Market. “Cramped, yes; too noisy, yes; too close to the Bunch of Grapes, yes; sometimes hard to get into, yes; but very fine food, the most charming front of house team, and an atmosphere that is intimate but animated”. Top Tip: “how they get their crispy potatoes to taste like that is beyond me – one portion is never enough”.

“An absolute find in the middle of Mayfair!” Having just escaped Borough for Osea Island last year, Imogen Davis and Ivan Tisdall-Downes returned to London in April 2021 to set up this newcomer in the fashionable Browns store on Brook Street. Good move, as it’s had utter raves from all and sundry for its “really brilliant food, with original food combinations” upholding the couple’s zero-waste, ethical ethos featuring hyper-seasonal, freshly foraged dishes (“Ivan must spend every waking moment conjuring up new creations”). It helps that “Imogen is a terrific front of house” and that it has the benefit of a 40-seater courtyard (lovely for this bit of town and “a gift during semi-lockdown”).

When it opened in April 2019, this heart-of-Mayfair restaurant aimed for a blend of British Modern cuisine with accents of West Africa, but nowadays a more confident Pan-African narrative is dominant, both in the styling and cooking. No survey reports as yet; online feedback has its ups and downs, but – for anyone interested in African cuisine – this is London’s most poshly located destination.

“A wonderful situation opposite Green Park” with “marvellous views” adds to the high lustre of this luxuriously spacious first-floor venue, found up a beautifully carved wooden staircase from the cheaper ‘Hide Ground’ below. As you might expect of somewhere under common ownership with the well-known Hedonism Wines, it boasts an “incredible wine selection”, which is set off to good effect by Ollie Dabbous’s “exceptional and innovative” cuisine, boasting “unique dishes and combinations that you won't find elsewhere”. And “the great care and professionalism of the warm and welcoming staff” is mentioned in numerous reports, too. You can guess the catch! – if you are counting the pennies, cross the street to avoid the place (and its harshest critics find it “so overpriced”). By most accounts, though, “the whole experience is absolutely phenomenal!”.

The “wallet-friendly lunch” in the ground-floor dining room constitutes a welcome invitation to this otherwise eye-wateringly expensive venture opposite Green Park from chef Ollie Dabbous and Russian tycoon Evgeny Chichvarkin (owner of Hedonism Wines). “Once inside, it feels as though you’ve stepped onto the set of an ultra-chic modern-day remake of Alice in Wonderland”, with “fantastic food and ambience”. Top Tip: “Since lockdown, they’ve reduced the wine prices by £20 a bottle so it’s now perhaps the most exciting wine list in London AND at a very reasonable price – long may that last”.

Tom Booton, the 27-year-old head chef, is helping breathe new life into this stately Mayfair chamber, which received nothing but upbeat reviews this year, driven by “modern British cuisine at its best”. This is one of the capital’s grander traditional dinings rooms and, if he keeps this up, deserves to recapture the destination status that’s sometimes eluded it in recent times. In particular, it’s a venue that’s evidently “great for business diners”. But you don’t have to be carrying company plastic to appreciate the “amazing lunch menu”: “at £30 it’s arguably the best value in London”.

2021 Review: In the bowels of the RA, this subterranean venue (with bar, garden and dining room) is praised by fans for providing “reliable food in a civilised space”. Typically for Peyton & Byrne though, it doesn’t impress everyone, with the odd report of some “terrible” dishes.

“The place to go to impress anybody!” – Corbin & King’s “elegant classic” next to The Ritz remains a superb choice for most kinds of rendezvous, including a business meal for which it is yet again the survey’s No.1 choice. A “sumptuous-looking” chamber – originally built as an Edwardian car showroom (whose brand survives only in the restaurant’s name) – it is styled as a Continental “Grand Café”, and the “large open space has an old-world glamour”, whose “buzz makes for a very memorable occasion”. Despite the pressures of such a big venue, service typically is “smart and crisp” and immaculately besuited owner “Jeremy King walks the floor and has a wonderful memory for regulars” (many of whom are famous faces). “So long as you don’t expect haute cuisine”, the brasserie fare is “generally sound”, and at its best is “comfort food done really well”. (Do not go anticipating any culinary fireworks!). An archetypal London experience – it offers “the epitome of all-day dining”, from its “classic old-school breakfast” onwards (for which it’s also the survey’s No. 1 choice) and is “just the place to take an out-of-towner for brunch”. “Afternoon tea is an absolute bargain too – particularly as they will bring you more cakes if you ask!” (“Crikey, we missed The Wolseley during lockdown. It feels even more special now!”)

2018 Review: Xavier Rousset, of the hugely successful Blandford Comptoir and Cabotte, opened a third venue, this time near Bond Street in May 2017; an all-day brasserie, cafe and wine shop (open from breakfast on), it features over 2000 wines.

Opening in October 2021, an enormous, American-style, 350-cover brasserie, split over three levels, residing in one of Mayfair’s only surviving Georgian Grade II listed buildings (which dates back to 1720, and is the former home of the Duke of Montrose). Its backer is Joey Ghazal, who has blown in from Dubai, where he has three venues, and aims to bring some life to slightly dead Hanover Square. The PR announcement said it will be a ‘blend of old-world British elegance, New England extravagance, and subterranean decadence’. Can’t wait!