Restaurants

A Critical Guide

2001

It's a Modern Choice!

[ New restaurants ] [ Reviews ] [ New bars ] [ Competition ] [ Exhibitions ] [ Art news ]

WHAT

WHERE

WHEN

WHY

WHO

HOW

Spoon+

Sanderson Hotel, 50 Berners St, W1

At those prices, whenever you damn well like, I should hope!

Because Philippe Starck rocks. Because there's a purple pool table off the hotel lobby. Because the chocolate fudge pudding comes with a coating of edible [at least, I hope it was] gold leaf. Because the building used to be a carpet emporium which just goes to show.

Alain Ducasse and Ian Schrager

0207 300 1444, Oxford Circus and TCR tubes, but honestly, you haven't got a driver?!

Momo

25 Heddon Street, W1

Work up an appetite ogling the nudes at the nearby Gagosian gallery and then souk up the atmosphere and get stuck in to some indecently good North African fare.

It's the closest you'll get to the exotic bazaars of Tangiers. The air is charged with aromatic flavours from both the hookahs and the open kitchens and Ian Schrager recently compared the basement Kermia bar to Studio 54 in its heyday.

The man himself, Momo, of course

0207 434 4040, a five minute sedan chair from Piccadilly tube

Mash Mayfair

26b Albemarle St, W1

Round the clock from eggs benedict and cinnamon pancakes to seared fillet of beef and whole roasted sea bass

The ceiling of the restaurant is covered with thousands of suspended orange PVC tubes. And that isn't enough to convince you? Well, for all you philistines who doubt in the deity that is Peyton...there's a light box 'happening' on the back wall by rising star, Tiago Carneiro da Cunha.

Oliver Peyton, who else?

0207 495 5999, Green Park tube, just up the road from the RA

Hush

8 Lancashire Court, W1

After dark, it feels more Bond somehow...mine's a martini

Anywhere you get a mini foie gras and celeriac cuppa soup as a muse guelle does it for me. That and an organic cocktail range all the way from San Francisco which guarantees a healthier kind of hangover. Oh yes, and a chance to chat up the owners...me, shallow?!

Geoffrey Moore [son of] and Jamie Barber

0207 659 1500, Bond Street tube

Admiralty

Somerset House, The Strand, London WC2

A hot evening if you want to make the most of the fantastically apportioned river terrace overlooking the Thames but otherwise [this is England for Christsake] the interior of this former tax office is perfectly weatherproof.

'Cuisine du Terroir' [meaning rustic and earthy as opposed to scary, but the size of the chocolate mousse portions will certainly put the fear of god into London's diet conscious]

O****r P****n but don't tell him or he'll just get big headed

0207 845 4646 Charing Cross/Temple tubes, or your own speed boat

Ozer

4 Langhan Place, W1

Ladies who lunch will be cheered by head chef Jerome Tauvron's love affair with 'cuisine minceur'

Modern Ottoman, more of a Franco Turkish fusion than a fashionable sofa. The design team, sought their inspiration in the Mosques and Hammams of Istanbul. The curving blood red walls of the bar area give the impression of being cocooned inside a huge and meticulously conceived womb.

The eponymous Hussyin Ozer, more of an anglophile Turk than a sofa

0207 323 0505 Oxford Circus tube

Montes

164 Sloane Street, SW1

Only at lunchtime if you don't belong to the esteemed members club

It's a well-documented fact, to the initiated, Jamie Oliver is god. And he's in a band, which makes even atheists think he's god, innit? Lovely jubbly, pukka tucker, posh nosh, get sorted, get stuck in there, get some olive oil and basil down ya.

The naked one...sadly clothed

0207 245 0892, by scooter, how else?

Seven

1 Leicester Sq, WC2 - above the night club, Home, 7th floor

Prime tourist season for maximum fun

Those seated at the balcony tables get to indulge in the rather under-rated sport of tourist baiting. Although it has failed, as yet, to gain Olympic recognition, these are the top tables in London from which to lob bread rolls onto the hoards of unsuspecting punters taking in the finer aspects of the night-life below.

The team behind Home, London's first superclub

0207 909 1177, Leicester Sq tube, but give the pavement area below a wide berth

L'Incontro

87 Pimlico Road, SW1

Great for a relaxing lunch, 2 courses are only £14.50

It's all white linen, glass frontage and clean lines, elegantly appointed without being clinical. The private dining room upstairs is designed by David Linley whose emporium is just up the road. Look out for the monster artichokes, they come so beautifully presented you don't know whether to eat or water them.

The Santini Group - with a sister restaurant in Milan, you know you're onto a good thing

0207 730 6327, a taxi from Sloane Sq after a trying morning in Peter Jones

Red Cube

1 Leicester Place, W1

Eat at the restaurant and then burn it off on the dance floor which stays open until 3am

An evening's entertainment is all under one roof, which in view of our recent inclement weather ain't at all a bad idea. The Zebra, Leather and Moroccan Rooms recall the warmer climes of our erstwhile Empire as do the 'colonial' dishes prepared by Michelin-starred chef, Garry Hollihead.

Jimmy Lahoud and Mark Fuller, the pair behind Sugar Reef

0207 287 0101, Leicester Sq tube with an umbrella

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