Moncks

Please note, since this review was published, Moncks Brasserie has relaunched as 'Moncks', an all-day restaurant and bar. Time Out Food editors, FEBRUARY 2020.

Named after the seventeenth-century lord Christopher Monck, this European brasserie is housed on his former Clarendon Estate, which later became Dover, Albemarle and Bond Streets. More noteworthy is that it’s from the team behind Park Chinois, the glam spot originally launched by Alan Yau. What’s also fun is that there’s a steep stairway that connects the two venues through the cloakroom (our waiter gleefully showed us). And while its interiors are different to those of its Cantonese cousin, they’re no less swish: all marble, oxblood-red leather accents, pleated William Morris-style wallpaper skirting the ceiling and bold, modernist prints on the walls.

Food-wise, expect an unthreatening selection of brasserie classics. The butcher’s burger with sweet-sour caramelised onion relish ticked all the boxes, while the steak tartare was brilliantly textured, if a little under seasoned. It was a pity that the rosemary chips were chronically oversalted and lacking the promised herbs.

Veg-based dishes provided some salvation: truffled asparagus had a tangy mustard dressing and buttered spinach was, well, buttery. The kitchen struggled to match the splendour of the interiors, but I’d happily return, if only to be treated like the Mayfair local I’m not.