Beck at Brown's Hotel (CLOSED)

[Please note, this restaurant is now closed and has become the Restaurant at Browns. Time Out editors, 2019]

Beck at Brown’s is a high-end Italian restaurant at Brown’s Hotel in Mayfair, a London outpost of renowned chef Heinz Beck’s international empire. Fine dining is the order of the day (crisp white tablecloths and all) but the space is also decked out with comfy seats and tropical wallpaper. It’s refreshingly approachable.

Nearly all the food was spectacular, but fagottelli alla carbonara was the star: small, delicate al dente pasta parcels flecked with salty bacon, their silky egg yolk centres bursting when you bite them. Then there was the perfectly acidic spaghetti cacio e pepe with lemon, pepper and lime scampi; a fragrant summer vegetable salad with pistachio pesto, avocado mousse and crunchy seeds; and crispy aubergine frittelle (warm, deep-fried breaded nuggets of the finely minced vegetable, not unlike dainty croquettes).

While the waiters were charming and attentive when at the table, they often left us waiting aeons for simple things. The food at Beck at Brown’s is great, but if you want the full fine-dining package, visit with caution. There are loads of other restaurants in London offering similar top-notch cooking – and they’ll make you feel like you’re the only girl in the world.