Restaurants

Nearly two years after its planned opening, a fine dining restaurant has joined the Rhodes W1 bar and brasserie (make sure you book the right one). It’s the restaurant Gary Rhodes ‘always dreamed of’ – and boy, is it good. Glamorously decorated by Kelly Hoppen, the room secreted behind a forbidding black wooden door that (if you have the courage to push it open) leads along a darkened cellar-cum-foyer and into a bright, sparkly world of fun for the monied and greedy. Every table has its own Swarovski crystal chandelier; a semi-private dining room with camply decorated antique French chairs is set behind a silky taupe curtain. Food is suitably stunning; while the menu’s not quite as flag-waving as one might expect from the man who kick-started the British food renaissance, local, seasonal and traditional ingredients are treated with a light, inventive touch. Service is friendly, but also very formal. Seafood dishes stole the show on our visit. Deep-fried pieces of smoked eel served with horseradish cream; mackerel ravioli with steamed turbot and buttered baby leeks; and ‘double oyster ragout’ (poached oysters with ‘oysters’ of dark chicken meat and samphire) outclassed an underseasoned suckling pig ravioli with bramley apple sauce. A predominately French wine list starts at £18 and swiftly moves higher. The brasserie, as you’d expect, is more laid-back; a vast, lobby-like space where you can eat in jeans and T-shirt. And the food, while good, is simpler fare (grilled steaks, seafood pasta, white chocolate cheesecake), though the brasserie name is misleading – prices are restaurant-high. It came as no surprise when Rhodes was awarded a Michelin star in January 2008.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008