Restaurants

The white-on-white room off Harvey Nichols food hall takes monochrome to clinical extremes; but while staff from the beauty counters downstairs wouldn’t look out of place here, it’s priced beyond their means. Lunch is the raison d’être of the restaurant, and when everyone’s gone home it can feel a little out of hours, with some dishes looking distinctly dainty for dinner. Consolation comes from terrific springy bread insistently flavoured with apricot, fennel seeds and rosemary, and nice nutty chocolate truffles. Jonas Karlsson’s daily-changing menu, featuring charcuterie terrine, loin of wild boar and a ragout of cannellini beans on our visit, sounded earthy but the execution was deft. An ‘assiette’ of milk-fed goat consisted of tiny cutlets, a kidney, cherry tomatoes stuffed with goat’s cheese, tiny shallots, baby leeks and green beans – beautiful, but an itty-bitty collection of size 0 parts. Monkfish with baby leeks, chickpeas and chorizo was put together with flair. For somewhere so ladylike, puddings aren’t especially tempting and a lemon millefeuille with lemon sorbet and jelly proved rather pursed-lipped. Perfect perhaps during daylight, but a little lacking in soul and substance at night.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009