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Daphne's closed because of a fire in February 2014, but reopened in June 2014. The review below refers to Daphne's before the refurb. Time Out Food editors
Service here is a strong point, honed by years of attending to the well-heeled regulars, who knock back watermelon daiquiris and bottles of Bolly. Get a table in the overstated faux-Tuscan dining room instead and you may feel like distant relatives at an Italian wedding.
Unfortunately, the food is rather pedestrian and overpriced. A two- or three-course set menu offers simple samples of it. Summer minestrone loaded with seasonal beans and vegetables had the evocative tomato flavour of cucina povera, but the base was too delicate. Caprese salad looked impressive but its tomatoes were wet and watery, and the mozzarella unequal to that served in many London competitors. Mains of chargrilled chicken breast and roast salmon were perfectly pleasant but lacked lustre or oomph – rather like Daphne’s itself really.
Still, it’s worth leaving room for the desserts: our yoghurt ice-cream with blueberries and peach crostata with elderflower ice-cream ended the meal on a reassuringly high note.