Restaurants

Apart from Michael Craig-Martin’s mural of everyday objects, this ‘so modern it’s retro’ room could have come straight from TV’s Mad Men.It makes a glamorous backdrop to an accessibly priced occasion that won’t disappoint. Low-backed banquettes give an uninterrupted vista of architects Stiff + Trevillion’s glorious design and, on our visit, of Harold Pinter – adding gravitas to a restaurant that already oozes class. Here, modern Mediterranean dishes are often stripped of carbs to highlight great ingredients combined with precision and subtlety. Or there are wood-baked pizzas, pastas and a risotto. Juicy gobstopper-sized olives, great breads and terrific olive oil augur well; details are spot on. Dishes like sautéd mussels with chilli, garlic and spring onions, and squeaky green beans with smoked ricotta and black olive dressing, are simple and irreproachable. Pollack ‘a la plancha’ with deliciously crispy skin, atop a stew of Spanish white beans and piquillo peppers, is one of several dishes featuring sustainable fish. As a final flourish, puddings like perfect blood-orange jelly or a pistachio ice-cream melting into zabaglione, come in martini glasses. Wine by the glass was poured by a Rhys Ifans-lookalike sommelier. This place doesn’t miss a beat.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009