Pied à Terre

A change at the helm after a decade at this highly rated restaurant: Shane Osborn cedes the apron to Marcus Eaves, Osborn's protégé and former chef at sister restaurant, L'Autre Pied.

The kitchen continues to perform, but some other things could do with a tweak. The muted decor in an already awkward space is beginning to feel tired, and the service is capable but lacks a certain sparkle.

On the plate (pretty, textured plates, that is), the house style is creative and complex, employing multiple ingredients, techniques and flavours to generally delightful effect. Bread, including savoury brioche, light cheese rolls and Guinness loaf, is a highlight.

On our last visit, for the good-value set lunch, slow-cooked lamb with smoked garlic, roast shallot and an air-dried herb powder was technical and implausibly flavoursome; plaice with a pistou of white beans, brown shrimps and basil cream sauce had been beautifully plated but was detrimentally over-salted.

We didn't see as much as we'd hoped of Eaves' inspired and delicate presentation, but there were hints of it in the plaice and the hors d'oeuvres (exceptional, notably the sesame tuiles), so it presumably features on the more complex à la carte (sample dish: slow-cooked veal cheek with sweetbreads, grelot onions, morteau sausage and kaffir lime jus).

The wine list is interesting at the lower end and knowledgeable at the upper; the enthusiastic sommelier doesn't discriminate.