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Sandwich bar and café chain Benugo have taken over the ground floor of the British Film Institute headquarters in Fitzrovia and turned an awkward concrete space into an appealing brasserie. The front now opens up onto the street; at the rear, an outdoor terrace has been added, popular with workers catching a glimpse of sunshine. The menu crosses continents in a suitably metropolitan way: pizza, pork belly, flatbreads, sea bass with salsa verde. Sitting at the counter of the open kitchen we watched the care taken with the assembly of even the simplest of dishes: a house chopped salad with avocado, pecans, bacon and blue cheese dressing. Both this and a tart of the day (lemon) were well made and presented, but slightly dearer than you might expect for a chain restaurant in a slightly so-what location. But for the many film and media people who use this building for meetings, its arrival is like manna from heaven.
By Guy Dimond