A quick word on the restaurant: it is a converted three story Mayfair townhouse with a spectacular basement cellar and well-designed dining room on the ground floor, counter dining option on the first floor (overlooking the main kitchen) and high ceiling private dining room on the upper floor.  Next time I go I will be spending a little more time in the cellar which has an absolutely beautiful mini-cave for a pre-dinner drink.  The wine cellar itself has treasures to behold including the fabled Burgundian Pinot Noir from Romanée-Conti, but also some more accessible wines by the glass that my sommelier guided me on very well.  The above is in itself, a testament for this meal, the fact that I am already plotting my next visit.

An array of five different canapés arrived at the table at the start of the meal for both myself and my dining companion to enjoy with opening glasses of champagne.  Mini doughnuts were filled with 36 month-aged Comte cheese and black truffle cheese sauce and topped with 60 months aged parmesan from Bologna and were just the right warmth in temperature and umami.  Delicate croustades made with beer batter were filled with wild yellow tail tuna from Portugal, seasoned with soy and aged golden Oscietra caviar – these were utter indulgence and beautifully done.  A play on coronation chicken saw confit Arnaud Tauzin (producer) chicken legs, Earl Grey tea soaked raisins, apple with Sri Lankan home-made curry powder, topped with almond brittle and pickle apple in a tart shell – a sumptuous bite.  Tartlets of reindeer tart were served in malt tart shells filled with carrot purée, pickle red onion, cured and smoked reindeer heart and fennel flower.  Finally a tart of deer parfait, Sri Lankan kethul (a form of honey), smoked eel and grated foie gras from Landes finished the presentation.  It is not lost on me how much work needs to go in to canapés and these original offerings were all lovely with superbly thin pastry throughout.

The bread deserves a separate mention as it was impressive in its own right.  A home-made steamed onion brioche displayed sheer skill from the pastry chef but was more importantly some of the best bread I have had since enjoying the fabled 2 Michelin starred Ledbury’s onion brioche – and I think this has actually stolen the crown from that version which was in pole position for many years.  The other factor being the utterly exquisite truffle butter it came with, the potency of the truffle essence being judged to perfection.  This was simply bread and butter at the very top grade it can be and a genuine reason to come back for this alone.

The starters chosen were Norwegian King Crab and the otoro.  My dining companion’s King Crab came from suppliers based in Northern Norway (with other seafood is sourced from Tanera Mòr island, in the West coast of Scotland) and was served with micro lemon verbena, a deep mushroom purée, and equally deep bisque.  This was a quality starter.  My full fat tuna (otoro) was diced in to cubes and served with pan fried foie gras and Golden Oscietra Caviar from a private, Parisian supplier.  This was utterly sublime and at first I was concerned that the caviar might be a bit too much (salt) for the dish, but the salt content was beautifully controlled and the flavour bomb that went off in the mouth reminded me of one of the best dishes I have ever had in my life at 3 Michelin starred Victor’s Dining by Christian Bau in Germany.  If I could afford it, I would have a spoonful of this dish every day of my life as the flavour combination is just that magnificent.

The mains were the chicken and beef courses.  Arnaud Tauzin supplied chicken came from Landes, Tanera Island Langoustine, maitake, jus gras (sauce made from roasting drippings) was a showcase of chicken at the height of what it can and should be with wonderful accompaniments.  My course of beef was a similar thing of beauty.  The dry aged Sirloin of beef is from Rolwer Farm, who only supply exclusively to The Cocochine.  This case with BBQ Lobster, a beef reduction and one of the best Béarnaise sauces I have ever had.  The beef very good but but I was mainly in heaven with such a deep jus and a tarragon powerhouse of béarnaise made with wagyu dripping which is another first for me.

The desserts were a vanilla ice cream dessert and chocolate cremeux.  The latter had a decadent texture and softeness in its 66% dark chocolate strength served with a small biscuit, golden oscietra caviar, chocolate feuilletine and creme fraîche Ice cream.  In case you are new to the concept of caviar and chocolate, it serves the same principle of salted caramel in combining sweet and salt and this was an indulgent version.  However, it was my dining companion’s 100% Tahitian vanilla pods ice cream that was the absolute star of the sweets.  This dessert was served with chocolate and caramel opaline and a fabulous, jaggery caramel sauce, but it the sheer creaminess of the ice cream which had what I can only describe as rocket fuel of vanilla flavour throughout and I cannot think of where I have had better vanilla ice cream anywhere else in the world.

An array of petit fours graced the table during our coffee from Difference.  Pinenut financiers had milk chocolate and pine ganache; a kalamansi tart was made with hazelnut sable, kalamansi cremeux, hazelnut praline and kalamansi jelly; Florentine tuiles had milk chocolate, almond nougatine, orange zest and Maldon salt and the piece of cake was cloud berry: a mini almond cake made with Chantilly and cloud berry compote.  Cloud berry incidentally is a Northern Norwegian berry that only grows for 4-5 weeks of the year from mid-August to mid-September.

In summary everything was deeply satisfying and it is wonderful to have such a generous a la carte menu and simply being the food that you would want to eat.  I do like the ethos of this restaurant – from the absence of supplement charges, to the fact that the head chef forages all of his veg, fruits, herbs and flowers from Rowler Farm (in Northamptonshire) and whose 1,100 acres are are not treated by any chemicals or substitutes within the land or feed. Great care clearly goes in to the sourcing of ingredients at this venue which is at the very top levels that a restaurant can do.

As a conclusion, this first visit demonstrated food quality, skill and judgement that was not only in the strongest of 1 Michelin starred playing fields, but there were several moments that sat very comfortably in the 2 star zone and held a near-3 star moment.  Our bill came to £284 each and that was with some extensive wine choices throughout, so the bare £145 on the meal as a whole at this quality level for ingredients and execution I think is an extremely good return.  For all the above reasons I am more keen to get back here over visiting any other place I need to do for this year – that’s a good sign!

Food Grade: 86%

Firstly, the service here was very good and the decor looks great, much more in keeping with its brand.  It does have the distinctive counter dining option, complete with snack menu, but this seemingly does not have the pre-theatre menu anymore and are only just a few snack options.  Once one steps inside and seated in its lovely setting, the champagne trolly soon wheels up towards you and was lovely to have this as the familiar opening.

What was a little shame was having to wait a good 2o minutes for the just the bread as all at the table were hungry and very ready for food.  Once arrived, it was frankly wonderful – from the sausage bread and croissant twirls, to the mini cheese baguettes, and squid ink milk breads, all warm and served with wonderful butter.  A great start once it arrived.

The opening amuse bouche was a replacement (to the usual foie gras cream, cranberry gel and parmesan foam) and was a ‘Mushroom Royale’, made with cep, parsley puree, chopped grilled mushroom and diced crouton.  The custard texture of the cep and general lightness of the amuse bouche was pleasing but sadly this had no inherent flavour and was therefore a major let down from the fabled shot glass of foie gras cream that has worked so well for so many years.  Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of innovation and new ideas which are utterly necessary, but when they are absolutely a notch downwards to the original, there is literally no point in changing for the worse.

The cheese soufflés arrived which I was eager to try having never had the Robuchon version of and I had high expectations.  Sadly, these were short lived as the general density of the soufflé was no where near the iconic levels of that served at Gavroche and certainly not comparable to Martin Wishart’s version in Leith, as well as being without much depth of cheese flavour.  Above all they were stone cold, which was a surprise as the cheese sauce would have had to be heated to be melted and served.  The manager on hearing this kindly removed the soufflés off the bill as it was not explained that this is the way the kitchen intends them to be served which I was very grateful for – had I known, I don’t think I would have ordered and I honestly can’t order again as this was the way ‘in which it is intended’.  I would honestly love to teleport the kitchen team to the above two restaurants I’ve mentioned and ask them to try those versions to show how I think it honestly works better, but c’est la vie.

I was similarly hoping for comfort with the famous mini burgers as has been a long time since we have had these, but I was genuinely stumped on how completely bland the meat patties were.  Not only slightly dry, there was not enough seasoning and the beef was only so so in flavour.  There also seemed to be less foie gras on top of the mini burger than had on previous visits when the Atelier was in West Street and the chips were so thin that the majority of them were almost crisp-like rather than with inner potato.  Again, these use dot be crinkle cut which had lovely, fluffy potato with just enough inside, with a lovely, crisp coating – these were in danger of being plain sticks, albeit served with a pleasant, ginger and aromatic BBQ ketchup.

Speaking of potato, the highlight of any Robuchon visit, whether one star, no stars or three stars is the fabled Robuchon mash which is a staple in the global food arena. It was therefore a huge shock that this was far thicker and less indulgent as is the norm.  You may think by now that I have it in for this branch, but I assure you this is not the case – I have just had this very item in the Michelin starred L’Atlier in Paris at its second (of two) branches and there it was puree like, as it has been on all my visits.  I have no idea why this version is served differently and I was frankly gutted at this stage.  It was good to see the customary style of the foie gras quail dish, but somewhow even this was unflattering in flavour to past examples enjoyed.

So, in summary I have no option other than to write this was actually a huge let down and it is not a good sign when the highlight of a meal is the bread which, was the case on this visit.  I have no doubt the dishes can reclaim their former glory, but when the bill is £324 for four just for some small plates to share, I have to ask myself when the right / safe time to try again may be.  I hope it is better for whenever I do give another go.

Food Grade: 62%

Once things were ordered, the espuma amuse bouche arrived with bread and butter offerings to keep busy whilst waiting for the first, selected course of l’oeuf – egg “en cocotte” with cream corn and iberico ham which was wonderfully light and rich at the same time from the perfectly confit egg.  This was the upgraded version however with white truffle shavings which, although small in quantity was actually pitched perfectly as the aroma was one of the strongest I have ever experienced and I didn’t even have to lean forward much at all to be hit in the face with the power of the truffle.  I recall having to put my nose right up against a truffle in a three Michelin starred restaurant in London and still struggling to gain any form of distinct truffle smell.

I couldn’t resist the signature le foie gras dish which is seared Duck Liver, with a quince gel, shaved stick of apple and almond crumbs on top.  I have had seared foie gras with an almond foam as one of the best I have ever had elsewhere and this was a lovely reminder of that and there is no doubt how sumptuous this dish is – the quince giving just enough acidity to balance the inherent fat, along with the apple and almond crumb for texture.  The mash on the side needs no further introduction and I genuinely wanted to have another bowl, but I am also trying to regulate my intake these days – wish me luck!

I was sat next to some charming US guests who kindly let me take some snaps of their dishes as they were just so pretty.  The mini burgers with foie gras are just superb, which I have had several times in London’s former L’Atelier location and it was also lovely to see the six choices of mini ice creams (€19 for the six) which again, the guests to my left seem to enjoy very much when having a very pleasant chat with them.  That is also one of the lovely things that can happen when counter dining – I wasn’t expecting to chat with others or wishing to invade anyone’s discussion, but was a lovely bonus to happen naturally at the bar which, I was all too happy with.

I was also very happy with my signature chocolate dessert entitled le chcolat tentation made with smooth araguani chocolate, cocoa nibs and oréo biscuit.  This was as smooth as they come and thankfully not in a huge portion size to tempt overeating.  Coffee was served but sadly I had been excluded the petit fours for some reason, which I had to effectively ask permission for and that combined with a couple of poor service episodes meant that the only negative of this meal was not being made to feel truly welcome by the staff – a first for me being a fan of Joel Robuchons, having been to their 3 Michelin starred branches in Hong Kong, Macau and Las Vegas as well as other Ateliers.  For clarity, specifics of the poor service included being told at the beginning of the meal that the waiter’s English was not so good, so he ignored the water request instead of trying to find help and interactions of one staff member who seemed utterly frustrated at having to take orders when busy.  C’est la vie.

Nevermind, as usual it does not detract the food grade being where I think it deserves to be and these were wonderfully enjoyable dishes; the only lesson from this visit to this Atelier is possibly avoid when very busy and make sure that you can either speak French, spend a lot of money or be very well known to the staff – if you have any of those, I doubt you will have any staffing issues at all.  In summary, wonderful and seductive dishes via a winning formula and was superb to be open on a Sunday on a lucky extra day in Paris.

Food Grade: 83%

The meal started with a series of canapés including crab tacos with mayonnaise and Granny Smith apple and pale ale crustades with a delightful Berkswell cheese and onion ketchup inside.  Whilst the sourdough was more brown breadlike in its boule form, it was a good vehicle for the sensational butter that was subsequently hoovered up very quickly.

The table tried as many dishes as possible.  First up on the starters was Chalk Stream trout, golden beetroot tartare with an elderflower and sour cream on top which was a great, new combination not had before and worked very well.  The Devon smoked eel and tenderstem broccoli had a delightfully light preserved lemon foam around and the eel held a very good balance of saltiness.  

The aged striploin tartare was another very good starter served with red pepper, orange and a glorious pine nut oil with a few pine nuts as well; this was a brilliant version of tartare for flavour combinations and nicely diced.  Monkfish came with cocoa pod glaze, a lovely Jamón butter sauce and maitake mushroom – the Monkfish itself was cooked perfectly with a lovely, crisp exterior.  In short I thought all starters were actually all knock out and a very good intro to the meal.  An interlude course of Sea bass came with a smoked Espelette butter sauce and cocoa bean cassoulet which was very enjoyable, with quite a strong kick of espellette for two of the diners; perhaps if this was toned down even more it may be even more of a delicate dish.

The mains chosen were very tender Iberico pressa, artichoke, king oyster mushroom.  The meat was melt in the mouth and the accompanying jus was deep and rich. Guinea hen, with thin and crispy skin, parsnip, black truffle likewise came with a superb jus that made the dish.  Hereford cote de boeuf for two, came with a Béarnaise sauce, oak leaf and Lollo Rosso salad which was a very welcome bit of veg that was also a lovely salad with dill and garlic cream and dried onion sprinkled on top.  The beef itself didn’t create fireworks in comparison to other cuts enjoyed at other options experienced at places such as Smith and Wollensky or The Cut at 45 Park Lane, but was cooked perfectly and came with a very generous helping of béarnaise.  All was served with boulangère potatoes to share which is always a lovely touch for a table and looked very pretty.  No skimming on the portion size here and the caramelised onions provided much sweetness.  

The desserts were a pleasant mix. Coffee and Manjari delice with macadamia and coffee liqueur was a creative dish with snow-like textures.  I thought the miso and brown sugar brulee was sensational made with mandarin and excellent gingerbread pieces.  The custard was beautifully set with delicate sugar roof and a wonderful flavour combination with the miso and the lightly gingered bread pieces.  The Colston Bassett, Pink Lady apple tarte tatin with lemon verbena was a fun dish to combine blue cheese with a dessert albeit being a little out of kilter.  Cheese will always be good with a selection of sweet chutneys, fruit or sauterne jelly, so no issues with the two being together, but it was a little unclear whether they were to be combined fully or had separately (the blue cheese being quite overpowering for the available sweet) however, it was a fun and new dish. 

Petit fours included passion fruit and misu macron along with hazelnut and chocolate chocolates.  Such is the family orientated homeliness of Hampton Manor, we were ushered to having these by the fire in the main Manor drawing room which is also where we enjoyed a lovely welcome glass of sparkling wine when we arrived for staying over.  This is such a simple and effective touch.  Smoke is a short walk away from the Manor House, as is Grace and Favour, the latter having its own accommodation.

All in all, Smoke is a lovely and originally rustic restaurant with some quality dishes.  I would recommend staying over at Hampton Manor if you are driving a distance to get to the restaurant as this is likewise a lovely place to stay as well – a spot of electric charging wouldn’t go a miss for a 5 star hotel, but then again I would say this driving one! I will be very happy to come back and try Smoke again in a different season.

Food Grade: 74%

The meal started at the bar downstairs where the amuse bouche was offered: Gambret (thigh) from Aquitaine pigs was served as Charcuterie (from SW France), fed on acorns, similar to Belota pigs from East Spain (Iberia).  Mixed vegetable and herb bouquet was offered to be brushed in an asparagus vinaigrette with koji which had a very gentle and aromatic aroma and taste. The butters were wonderful – burnt leak, cultured and chicken butter served with spelt rye sour dough.  Serious effort had gone in to these small, introductions which is always a very good sign and sets the tone frankly for the whole establishment.

Moving upstairs, to the kitchen, I was introduced to the head chef, Theo Clench who introduced me to the first bite of aged blue fin tuna Otoro (deliberately 9 days of ageing as opposed the longer times of 40 days) from Spain on heated Himalayan salt with a ponzu sauce.  The fresh wasabi was from Japan, giving a lovely and more gentle spice, with umami from the aged foie gras from Londe and melted for extra fat with shiso flower and a cherry blossom vinegar juice to finish. All very delicate and a very nice presentation to be given in the kitchen.

Once sat in the illustrious, private dining area I was able to look at the wine list which is strongly influenced from the biodynamic and organic echolocation of wine making.  What was also very pleasant to see was 171st edition cuvee of Krug (based on the 2016 vintage) served by the glass at £49 which was a no brainer.  Not many places will serve Krug or Dom Perignon by the glass because of the risk of losing the remaining content obviously, but it is lovely to see when this is done and especially when I believe exactly the same stratosphere of Krug is served by the glass for £90 in Raffles, London for example.  The premium Rosi Schuster, Grüner Veltliner from Burgenland, Austria at £25 for the glass was a fairly pleasing option, but in retrospect, I should have bought a bottle of more normal champagne and offer what I wouldn’t be able to  finish / other half of that to the staff.  My sommelier kindly arranged a number of tastings however, to try and gain the best match without any frustration, which is another sign of a quality restaurant. 

Back on to the parade of canapés: a 36 month Comte and pickled walnut canapé was lovely, with just the right hint of vinegar to balance the fatty and slightly chewy, warm Comte. Raw hamachi (yellowtail tuna) came with sweet and sour pear and sesame which had an umami, fatty and lovely sesame finish.  Duck liver and red pepper was an absolute knock out moment with superb, brittle crispy outer shell and deep flavour – beautifully done. 

BBQ eel from Devon came with a warm cucumber sauce, herb oil and N25 caviar – this was a variation from oyster and had a wonderful amount of umami, salty creaminess and sweet from the buerre blanc with very well sourced caviar (one of the best suppliers).  Beremeal, sourdough was a take on soba noodles made with a rare wheat only grown on the Orkney Islands for thousands of years. The broth from all sour dough, chive, hazelnut and roe was not my favourite initially in its graininess, but enjoyable as something different nonetheless less.

Confit scallop (from the Isle of Skye) came with tomato, Myoga (type of Japanese ginger),  confit in wagyu, fermented tomatoes, shellfish sauce, roe of scallop powder on top.  A lovely, foam sauce decorated this scallop. Turbot from an 8Kg Brixham fish came with lettuce, sake lettuce sauce, fish bone and caramel sauce.  This was one of the prettiest and clean-cut dishes I have seen for turbot and the sauces went superbly together without drowning the magnificent piece of turbot that it was, all able to be mopped up with a beautifully light, mini white loaf on the side.

Hereford beef was 70 day aged and served with a sea buckthorn, preserved winter truffle (from Australia), BBQ Maitake mushroom was frankly a masterclass of umami beef dish in every way.  There was nothing to not love here and the surrounding elements complimented the beef superbly.

A pre-dessert of apple, olive oil and shiso pre-dessert was an extremely good palette cleanser – fresh, vibrant and the way it should be done.  The actual dessert was a 70% Chocolate tart with raspberry sorbet in the form of an aerated and mousse like chocolate on pastry with an intense and smooth raspberry sorbet.  I thought these worked very well together.  Petit fours were likewise very well presented with a lovely canelé with brown butter mousse (superb), a fermented raspberry fudge sandwich (fine) and an agreeable 30% Dark chocolate Bon Bon.  All came with Difference coffee, again, one of the best suppliers in their field.

The bill with premium drinks by the glass came to £315 which can be toned down from the wine selection. Be prepared to pay upfront to gain your seat here and you will have a very good return on skill, ingredient sourcing and flavours.  The price tag perhaps prohibits going for date night here each week for most (including me!), as each outing would probably be £600 for the host of two, but I think is worth it for pushing the boat out if you desire well-executed dishes of quality that in the main create some serious moments.

Food Grade: 87%

The menu started with a trio of canapés including a spring roll of pickled vegetables in miso which had a lovely texture and was refreshing; BBQ mackerel was fresh and a wanton of crab came with kohlrabi with fermented rhubarb which was super.  A tempura maitaki mushroom with a pickled gel was served last and was very good of the team as I was avoiding the mussel on this occasion.  The tempura itself was very exceedingly light and a pleasant change from numerous examples of tempura I can think of not being done as it should be.

Squab (pigeon) was cooked Peking duck style and served with beetroot tartare pickled roses and came with a pistachio praline stuffed onion and savoury butterscotch dusted with dehydrated rose powder.  The smoked leg of pigeon was succulent and lovely, the main pigeon itself being absolutely succulent and all elements working well together.  Normally, pigeon is not a favourite of mine which I don’t proactively choose, but this was done very well and not as ‘gamey’ as pigeon can be.  

The next course was cod (brined for 10 mins), served with buckwheat risotto, green strawberries pickled asparagus, bbq asparagus sauce and a dashi-buerre noisette sauce.  This was a beautiful combination with cod that was cooked perfectly.  The belly of cod also had whipped cod’s roe with a fermented cep gel and chive oil.  A small interlude followed which was a braised ox cheek dumpling with chicken sauce from the beef bones with soy ginger and citrus (including grapefruit, yuzu, orange and lemon). This was a lovely sauce to go with a well-prepared dumpling.

The main course was Lake District beef.  This was dry-aged sirloin with pickled trumpet mushrooms, black garlic and vegetable XO purée (again reduced from the beef bones) with madeira.  A barbecued short rib came with charred leaks, hazelnut, marigold mushroom with aged soy and nasturtium leaves.  The beef had moderate flavour, with a lovely sauce and with other sauces which, on reflection but not necessary.  The aromatic black garlic purée was not my favourite accompanying beef sauce and with the other sauce elements it felt like there was a little too much richness all round for the beef.  An aromatic herb leaf bouquet garni at the end had a powerful aniseed aroma from the fennel.

Pre-dessert was a barbecued fruit compote with sorrel jelly, granita pine and sorrel with a Jasmin infusion.  There was an underlying tone of savoury within this pre-dessert and whilst this is not uncommon for pre-desserts, this one simply was not a favourite combination tried.  The main dessert however, was much more successful in my opinion.  The main dessert was a white chocolate and pumpkin parfait with chocolate soil, toasted vanilla ice cream garnished with burnt hay, miso and pumpkin butter scotch sauce (hot and cold).  The parfait has lovely texture and the combination of the butterscotch and toasted vanilla was new and a very good combination.  I enjoyed this dish immensely and was pleasing to finish on a high note.  Coffee was Difference company coffee which is a high-end brand and likewise good to finish the meal on, served with a petit four of woodland mushroom fudge with cep powder.

Service and hospitality was very good throughout with the chefs and sommelier being very engaging and hospitable. That said, my other observations from this visit are that it is very cramped and it did feel like I needed to eat with my elbows glued to my sides to not risk brushing either of the diners to my left and right and whilst the music was upbeat, I thought the loud, expletive hard-core music on occasion could have been replaced by something a little more appropriate.

Ultimately this was a menu that was carefully prepared which on the whole I enjoyed. I would manage expectations of space and a potentially cramped pub area to wait for your seat if you are early, but it is an enjoyable menu.

Food Grade: 72%

TAKU Mayfair, which opened its doors in November 22, offers an impressive selection of sushi dishes.  The meal started with sea bream with white soya sauce, which was fine, followed by some very pleasant akami bluefin tuna from the east coast of Spain that had been aged for 10 days, served with ginger and garlic.  This was very good.  Char-grilled sea bass was served on beautifully vineyard sushi rice (from Spain) and decorated with trout roe.  When mixed altogether, this made a very well seasoned and enjoyable dish and was nicely done.

Next came a lobster claw adorned with a delightful egg yolk-based sauce, flavoured with vinegar and was another enjoyable dish.  Turbot was then offered within a broth with thin noodles and is something not usually seen within a sushi menu but had good depth of stock flavour and with perfectly cooked turbot within and noodles that were just right.

Then came the parade of sushi dishes, including Yellowtail tuna, cuttlefish, trout, more wild turbot, Otoro (fatty tuna), scallop (which was sublime) and mackerel served within seaweed.  All of these were served with very pleasant rice served at the perfect temperature together and were a complete pleasure.  The only one I found slightly lacking was the mackerel which did not appear to have as much of a deep and oily mackerel flavour as has been enjoyed at say, Endo at the Rotunda.  The pickled ginger that was served for cleansing the mouth in between courses was nicely done and it was good to have genuine wasabi for all courses which was sourced from the Wasabi Company in Hampshire.  A seafood soup was also offered for all as part of the menu.

For dessert, the lemon pie is a refreshing option with pleasant biscuit crumbs on the base, but the real standout was the strawberry ice cream made with strawberries from South France, matched with a gorgeous vanilla-based custard. The financier with miso and nut was a great combination with a slightly umami/salty taste as a different take on salted-caramel for example, and whilst matcha is genuinely not my favourite flavour, it is traditional and this piece had very good texture.

Overall, I was very pleased with TAKU Mayfair and was not a disappointment. The food is well-presented with good interaction from the staff and the atmosphere is sleek and modern.

Food Grade: 78%

The opening rice cracker with black ink was feather light; the dried tempura sauce made from fried rice, vinegar hint of spice; the prawn tempura beautifully succulent (fried, rested for 10 seconds and then refried for optimum texture), all served with a garlic and ginger sauce as well as peppercorn sauce.

Wagyu tartare from Kagoshima black cows right in the very south of Japan was a sumptuous start. This was very good A5 genuine Wagyu made with anchovy mayonnaise and yuzu mayonnaise and fresh, genuine wasabi from Japan as well.  Baby yuzu chicken was lightly marinated in yuzu black pepper, soy sauce and sake, served with grilled lime, pickled radish and yuzu mayonnaise.

But perhaps the abs0lute gold was the A4 genuine Kobe gyu served with garlic & ginger sauce and Himalayan salt; simple, brilliant produce such as this does not need anything else and took me right back to Kobe.  This was followed by the less prestigious but very tender and beautiful Kagoshima beef.  Both these were utterly delightful and you know you are in good food company when you are savouring every mouthful with as many chews as possible to prolong the experience for as long as possible. The accompanying sake was also a pleasure and the Bottle of Asahi ‘Dassai 23’ Junmai Daiginjo 300 ml at £90 was frankly worth pushing the boat out for.

I would recommend here for a reliable and friendly Japanese experience in the heart of London, but I would also put a reminder in your calendar to save up a little prior to visiting so you can enjoy properly.

Food Grade: 74%