Club Gascon

Diners need a sense of adventure at Club Gascon, as well as deep pockets (it's unsettling to hear a £23 dish described as a 'taster-size plate'). Still, it's a pleasure to sit back and enjoy the ride.

Ignore some of the odder bits of crockery and decoration in the low-lit room and focus on the south-west France menu. This is divided into sections ('La route du sel', 'L'océane' and so on). From 'Le potager', watercress quinoa risotto with pine sauce and baby cress was sublime, as was pressed duck foie gras piperade with roast crab (from 'Les foies gras'), though the crab seemed a bit of a spare part.

Meat dishes were a little disappointing. Barbecued rack of lamb (which arrived still cooking) was good, but accompanying violet mustard fritters (odd-tasting, unappealing cubes) and tempura caperberries weren't; French rabbit ballotine with octopus and fennel salad and braised chorizo lost points thanks to a bland bunny.

An exquisite pudding (gariguette strawberries with izarra parfait and java pepper sorbet) and a charming cheese course (ossau-iraty, a ewe's milk cheese, beautifully laid out among grapes made crunchy with muesli and verjus) restored our faith in chef Pascal Aussignac's alchemy. The extras - bread, amuse-bouche - are also praiseworthy; we particularly loved the chocolate petits fours, served on a lacy web of chocolate. If you're straying beyond the selection of wines by the glass, consult the sommelier.