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Orrery

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55 Marylebone High Street, W1U 5RB Full details & map

Restaurant: Modern European

Time Out says Rate it

By Time Out Editors Posted: Oct 17 2011

Orrery is a safe haven of excellent taste. It offers the top-end tropes, such as appetisers, pre-desserts and petits fours, even to those on promotional set menus and, while there's not much flexibility in the price of dinner, lunch is a good deal.

Vegetarians get their own menu - goat's cheese bavarois, beet salad, parsley granité, for example. Dishes are elegant and artful, but don't always live up to expectations.

To start: a wonderfully piquant, appetite-sharpening glass of gazpacho under parsley foam; and chicken and mushroom terrine studded with soft baby onions and a ribbon of cabbage, that wasn't as enjoyable as it should have been, despite the obvious effort expended. Scallop mousse on glorious shellfish bisque was less contrived, and more successful.

Precision cooking delivered excellent mains of sea trout à la provençale with black olive crust; and pink slices of rump of beef with peas, girolles and parmesan-rich polenta. Presentation is generally delightful, but a plaster-hard strawberry pavlova shaped like a swan was surprisingly naff.

Staff seem to share diners' pleasure, and the fine wine list is made accessible thanks to approachable sommeliers. Windows and skylights flood the long, pleasing room with light, making this an uplifting place to dine. The rooftop bar is an excellent outdoor eyrie.

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Tags: European, Modern European, Business, Groups, Outdoor : Drinking, Romance, Wines, Central, Marylebone, Expensive, Luxury, Wine bar, Restaurant

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Special offers

Lunch: 2 courses £22.50

...from the set menu (3 courses £25). Includes Vat, excludes service. From 2nd January. Not available on the Terrace.
Offer available Monday to Saturday 12:00-14:30
Offer covers Min 1, Max 8 people
Offer valid until Feb 29 2012

Please book this offer through the booking panel below.

Sunday Lunch: 3 courses and a kir royale £30

...from a set menu. Includes Vat, excludes service. From 1st February.
Offer available Sunday 12:00-15:00 and 18:30-22:00
Offer covers Min 1, Max 10 people
Offer valid until Feb 29 2012

Please book this offer through the booking panel below.

Dinner: 3 courses £25

...from the set menu. Includes Vat, excludes service. From 1st February, not available on 14th February.
Offer available Monday to Saturday 18:30-19:00
Offer covers Min 1, Max 6 people
Offer valid until Feb 29 2012

Please book this offer through the booking panel below.