Bam-Bou

Large Buddha carvings and mahogany-framed traditional Chinese paintings - washed over with Sino-Balearic chill-out muzak - are standard issue these days for contemporary pan-Asian restaurants. In this respect, Bam-Bou offers no surprises, and attracts a buzzy crowd of West End shoppers and polished Charlotte Street denizens. What might distinguish it is the high-quality service from attentive, polite and professional staff.

The menu, including a good-value set meal, encompasses influences from China to Vietnam, and adds distinctively modern accents; the deep-fried soft-shell crabs with chilli mayonnaise are a digit-sucking case in point. Slow-roasted duck thigh was crispy and fragrant, enhanced by a deliciously salty and tangy plum dipping sauce; yellow curry with sweet squash and meltingly soft aubergine was gently spiced if slightly cloying.

Like the decor, however, the exotic fruit platter - with pineapple, mango and melon - wasn't as exotic as it pretended to be, and the crumbly, unremarkable petits fours weren't the meal's strongest point. Yet in a city where broadly oriental food is commonplace, Bam-Bou (which belongs to the group that runs Scott's and the Ivy) succeeds in offering something a little more elevated in terms of flavour and service.