Eat, drink, sleep, repeat: London restaurant hits and misses from Martin Williams
It’s been an exciting week for the Evolv Collection. Basking in the glory of having four of our venues shortlisted in the upcoming Toast the City Awards (Angler, Liverpool Street Chop House & Tavern, Madison and Vinoteca). We have also been preparing for the grand re-opening of Quaglinos, the most exciting re-imagined restaurant in London this year, eclipsing even Simpsons.
‘Quags’ is 97-years-old, and can uniquely boast it was the first restaurant ever dined in by a reigning monarch: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II hosted her coronation ‘after party’ at Quags and it has remained a favourite of the Royals ever since.
Restaurants come and go in London at an alarming rate. Governments past and present have created numerous headwinds that make it a challenging sector. However, some new openings are clearly here to stay. Here’s my take on three of the latest.
CAFÉ CLEMENT
The ground-floor restaurant of the newly opened St Clement Hotel, this is the first notable solo restaurant from Nick Jones, the man behind Soho House and The Ned. Nick spotted my well-known dining partner and came to say hello, and he also kindly pretended to recognise me, while clearly having no idea who I was. Humbling times…
Located at Temple Place, by the back door of the Savoy, it boasts both a front terrace and a garden at the back. The menu is broadly European, overseen by ex-River Café head chef Danny Bohan. It has become one of the hottest tables in town, as Jones invites his black book of celeb friends to check out his new toy.
The venue reminds me of the excellent Dover, or The Maine – it feels almost like a Manhattan restaurant but with additional European influences coming through in the design and details. Billie Holiday and other legends of yore dominate the soundtrack, while the table settings are eccentric, uniforms are DVF signature side-tied dresses, and waiting staff are modelesque (a young Eddie Redmayne served us with personality and warmth; the OG Mr Redmayne will no doubt be dining here himself in the near future).
Food is generally very pleasant, Devon crab with fennel was fantastic, but the ‘Rowley’s scallops’ – a tribute to Rowley Leigh – were small and overcooked. Big fish and large steaks are clearly aimed at corporate and celebrity spending accounts.
Overall, Café Clement is a super-slick restaurant that any hotel would be delighted to house. Time will tell if it has enough substance to attract the more discerning Londoner over a sustained period.
EVE BAR
Minutes away from St Clement is the redesigned Eve Bar, located underneath Adam Handling’s excellent Michelin-starred Frog (where, incidentally, he is pairing up with my Orrery executive chef Pierre Minotti for a ‘four hands Michelin dinner’).
The new setting is a world of smoky mirrors, dusky pink seating, art deco details and a striking marble bar. The basement bar is now based around a “Three Cs” concept: caviar, Champagne and cocktails. Eve’s signature order is a martini and caviar flight, pairing miniature martinis with spoonfuls of Handling’s new Ahrelia caviar. The cocktail and Champagne offerings each have a suggested caviar pairing, all very fairly priced. Perfect for pre-theatre or post-dinner japery – and the service, as at all of Handling’s venues, is exemplary.
FENIX
Mayfair has no shortage of glossy dining rooms, some good (Lilibets, MA/NA, The Maine), some bad (Sheesh, Gaia, Shanghai Me). Fenix opened in March this year, a Manchester born, modern Greek affair from Adam and Drew Jones, who also run Tattu. In the land of the new Number 10 North; Tattu and Fenix are among the hotspots of hospitality.
The jury is out on whether either brand will translate to a London audience. At Fenix Mayfair, it feels as though the design, which was innovative in Manchester two years ago, tries too hard. At first glance, the food and wine menus are also unimaginative compared to competitors.
I visited Fenix with legendary Chop House (and TV) chef Mike Reid. The dinner began as we shared a passable watermelon salad and a tuna tartare topped with something fishy that claimed to be caviar but was not comparable with other Mayfair sturgeon selections.
Next was moussaka, a strange cheese custard sitting on pulled short rib and aubergine slices. Mike is the king of beef, so we chose a slow-cooked Wagyu stifado (£70), which was sadly forgettable apart from some unidentifiable spume and some lovely spicy corn.
Landing a great Greek (or any) restaurant in the capital is difficult. I recently reviewed both Zylia in Covent Garden and Krokodilos in Kensington and found them both magical. Despite universal acclaim, the latter only lasted 18 months. London is filled with great restaurants, but as I say to my team, only those that strive for excellence will survive and thrive.
• Martin Williams is the CEO of Evolv Collection