Mayfair, French Restaurant Guide

“The food is sublime”; “exceptional service” is “very friendly and interactive”; “… but WOW! the bill!!” – that’s the headline story this year on this famous French chef’s London outpost in this most blue-blooded of hotels. Despite numerous “exquisite” dishes featuring in reports, very many reporters feel “the costs verge on criminal” (and that “once you have seen the prices, it’s difficult to get past them as the food just doesn’t compensate for the full-blown attack on your wallet!!”). It doesn’t help that the restaurant was recently elevated by Michelin to three stars, and that an “interesting but not amazing” experience can now seem well below par (“how this dining room has the tyre maker’s top rating is beyond us”). And those seeking an old-school Mayfair environment should also look elsewhere: “the days of the Connaught of old are well and truly over”, with “a conscious decision to move away from the previous old-style look” – a move dismissed by critics as “suburban lounge décor in what used used to be one of the handsomest dining rooms in London”.

2021 Review: In a Mayfair townhouse that was formerly the short-lived Babel House (RIP), this ‘contemporary bistro de luxe’ features a southern French menu from chef Thierry Laborde, and opened in mid-2019, too late for any survey feedback. In his early review, The Evening Standard’s David Sexton focused on its handsome design, variably realised and expensive cuisine, impressive wine list and bargain set lunch (£25 with wine).

2021 Review: An all-day brasserie-concept from luxury Mayfair restaurant Park Chinois: the 92-cover venue launched in July 2019, with chef Gennaro Vitto, who was previously a pastry chef at Park Chinois, at the stoves.

“A real gem in the heart of Soho”, this little slice of Belle Époque Paris serves small plates of “proper bistro food in a proper bistro setting” – “not fancy, but delicious”. Founded by three French brothers and named after their mother, it celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

“Asia meets France” at this Mayfair yearling from French TV chef Cyril Lignac, named after his Paris restaurant in St Germain des Prés. “There’s a large team of sushi chefs and the place has a lively, Parisian feel”, with “French desserts, which are superb” – as they should be, given that Lignac trained as a pâtissier. It’s no shock that the place is pricey, but fans say it’s worth it: “absolutely top class, can’t wait to return”.

The Côte d'Azur comes to Mayfair at this glamorous, “super-slick” and “always busy” operation, tucked away near Claridges, which – since 2007 – has led the way with its “fantastic, light small plates”: “not your typical French, heavy, creamy food” but heavenly dishes that “leave you feeling like you ate healthily”. Even those rating it “outstanding all round” can find it “overpriced” – a better verdict would be “expensive but worth it”.

2019 Review: “Hope they can get their act together...” This year-old London outpost of a models-and-celebs hangout in Paris’s 1er arrondissement (where Kim and Kanye are apparently regulars) has failed to inspire much gastronomic excitement for its international comfort food since landing in Mayfair’s cute Shepherd Market.

With its marble bar and banquette seating, this gracious venue (which opened in late 2019) near Shepherd Market is the London flagship for the late Joel Robuchon’s global luxury restaurant chain (Robuchon International). It inspires curiously little feedback for its luxurious, rather safe, modern French cuisine (‘Le Burger’, £36; ‘La Sole Meunière’, £59), but all reports are uniformly upbeat. Top Tip – “good-value fixed lunch menu with generous courses”.

2019 Review: For a taste of ‘la vie en rose’, head to this atmospheric Shepherd Market bolthole – “a reminder of bistros in small French towns years ago”. “The cooking is simple traditional French, with some depth of flavour”, while “the wine is very reasonably priced, especially for Mayfair”.

2022 Review: Following closure of L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon and the death of the man himself, this Picadilly café is now one of two London ventures opened in late 2019 by the group he founded. It’s all very chic and continental, but you don’t come here for culinary adventure – but to buy or snack on everyday staples (lots of tempting patisserie and viennoiserie, lasagna, club sandwich, Caesar salad…).

“It was a lovely meal, no doubt… but it was nothing particularly memorable… far from mind-blowing… certainly not worth 3 Michelin stars… really quite overpriced”: this has too often been the story of this Mayfair dining room, fêted from its 2010 debut by Michelin on the strength of carrying the name of arguably France’s most famous chef. To be fair, this luxurious chamber does also have its fans, for whom executive chef Jean-Philippe Blondet’s menu is “simply the pinnacle of modern French cooking” (with a wine list to match); and “a real treat, from the moment you are greeted at the entrance to the last second as you leave”. But this year, as every year, it is concerning just how many reports say “it’s just not up there with the best…”; “…nice but very unremarkable”.

“In an utterly fairytale setting full of glamour, you can’t help but feel a sense of occasion” on the “unbelievably OTT” top floor of this grand Mayfair palazzo: “from the entrance to the fine-dining experience, it makes for a fabulous date night!” But its “pocket-bursting prices” are a source of widespread complaint, and one or two reporters feel that its elevation by Michelin to its highest echelons was misjudged (“three stars! REALLY? Nowhere near”). While converts are “over the moon due to the stunning reality” of the “joyful intricacy of the cuisine” from a “wacky but delightful” menu designed (from afar) by Gallic superstar Pierre Gagnaire, others discern “a confusing medley of French fiddliness that feels rather outdated”. Service is “faultless” on most accounts, if “in the breathless French-formal style”. Top Tip – “best to go for lunch if you want value for money”.

You pay top dollar to eat quite literally inside an art installation in this room within Mourad Mazouz’s idiosyncratic Mayfair venue, where artist Yinka Shonibare’s pan-African vision replaced the former lurid pink-walled David Shrigley showcase in spring 2022. It makes for “great artefacts to look at”, while the food – either a lavish all-day ‘afternoon tea’ or dinner – is “very, very good”. “But my word it’s expensive” – even “unbelie overpriced” – is a repeated lament even from very enthusiastic reporters.

Still no news on an opening date at this two-storey French/Mediterranean restaurant takes over the former Kallos Gallery; it's the project of French businessman Jean Philippe Kley, who already part-owns a local members' club. Originally due to open in 2021, it will feature a secret tunnel for members to access the club.

Set to open in the second half of 2022, on a Mayfair site that was formerly a branch of Richoux – this collaboration between Claude Bosi and Samyukta Nair will ‘pay homage to the coastal towns of Cannes, Marseille and Nice, with an emphasis on French-Italian style dishes and wines’. It will all be more homespun than Bosi’s Bibendum, apparently, with rustic options like rabbit with garlic cited as typical of the fairly traditional fare.