Nobody does a power restaurant to ‘see and be seen in’ quite like Caprice Holdings or Chris Corbin & Jeremy King, and both launched new restaurants at the end of 2011 that will no doubt become firm favourites throughout 2012.

‘34′, located just off Grosvenor Square in Mayfair was Caprice’s first new restaurant launch, which adds to its portfolio of power restaurants including The Ivy, J Sheekey’s and Scott’s. 34 specialises in meats and seasonal game but also offers lighter dishes, fish and shellfish, all to the glorious sounds of a live jazz quartet in timelessly elegant surroundings.

The Delaunay, new sister restaurant to The Wolseley from Corbin & King, has opened on the corner of Drury Lane and Aldwych and already has the familiarity of an institution on the London scene. The restaurant is open seven days a week serving breakfast, afternoon tea, and à la carte lunch and dinner menus inspired by the grand cafés of Europe.

With every celebrity, socialite and restaurant connoisseur already firmly ensconced, be prepared to sell your prized possession – kidney, trust fund or mother in law – to secure that reservation.

The best affirmation that a restaurant is doing something right is if a guest books a return visit. Within minutes of leaving dinner at Alyn Williams at the Westbury (which opened quietly at the end of 2011 from Alyn Williams, who was previously head chef at the two Michelin starred Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley), my client had emailed with three further booking requests for the coming months – a sure sign that this restaurant is on to a winner.

Another former Michelin darling to set up on his own is Ollie Dabbous, formerly of Texture, with his new restaurant ‘Dabbous’, which opened on Whitfield Street in Fitzrovia at the end of January, in partnership with mixologist Oskar Kinberg, formerly bar manager at the Cuckoo Club.

Spread over two levels, the restaurant and bar has an industrial feel with exposed brickwork, sheet metal and copper pipes.

While the restaurant features a modern European menu of ‘clean flavours and seasonal ingredients’, the basement bar offers a menu of classic drinks and signature cocktails that is ideal for a group of friends or a first date.

Thompson Hotels’ first hotel outside of North America will open in Belgravia in early February with 85 rooms and an 80-seat restaurant from celebrated chef Mark Hix. Hix Belgravia will feature another outpost of Mark’s Bar, his popular bar from his Soho restaurant, as well as a cigar garden. Although the menu will still be British focused, it will have more of an international feel, based on the chef’s travels across the globe.

While the onslaught of Mexican burrito bars might still not have ended, this year it will be time for Peruvian cuisine to take the limelight. ‘Ceviche’ promises to be London’s first Peruvian restaurant in Soho, hotly followed by LIMA in Fitzrovia, both of which will also feature a Pisco bar. Grab a Pisco sour and meet me at the ceviche counter.

Refurbishment and reinvention seem to be popular themes for the start of the year from some of the city’s celebrated chefs.

Tom Aikens has recently reopened his eponymous Chelsea restaurant after a large refurbishment to create a more relaxed atmosphere. There is an à la carte menu and a series of tasting menus, including six, eight and ten course options that are also available with matching wines.

The 52-seat restaurant features broad-boarded oak floors, custom-designed hand-made wooden chairs, a variety of mismatched oak tables (no tablecloths), and has ‘evocative quotes about food and wine’ written on the walls.

Over in Soho, Quo Vadis has undergone (another) refurbishment, this time to mark the occasion of a new partnership with Jeremy Lee who had previously spent 16 years at the Blueprint Café.

There’s a lot to digest as we look forward to another sterling year for the London restaurant scene, but if you’re interested in a one-off charity event with some of the biggest names in cooking, check-out the ‘Who’s Cooking Dinner’ charity event on 5 March at the Four Seasons Park Lane.

20 top chefs will prepare dinner for 200 guests, who can also bid for the chefs to cook dinner in their home at a later date, all in aid of Leuka. Each chef will create a four-course menu for one table of ten people with accompanying wines. Here’s the twist: only after a draw during the pre-dinner reception do guests discover which chef is cooking for them.

The restaurants taking part include some of London’s most sought-after tables, such as Scott’s, Dinner by Heston, Zuma and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay – so perhaps no need to sell your kidney after all.

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On a quiet night in January we zipped through The Westbury hotel and straight into the more glamorous bar of the hotel’s new flagship restaurant, Alyn Williams. The restaurant is oriented around a private room encased by floor-to-ceiling glass wine cabinets.

The décor is luxurious and chic; wood panelling, muted hues of creams and browns and a plush silver-threaded carpet (although get the interior designer back to match up the pattern). The atmosphere was hushed and perhaps a little cold, certainly as a result of dining out on an unseasonal mid-week night when sensible people were home digesting the festive excess.

Given the sybaritic tendencies of my companion, we eschewed the three-course á la carte (£45) and opted for the seven-course tasting menu, which was very reasonably priced (£55) for fine dining in London and indeed Mayfair. The menus list out the primary ingredients of the dish (for example “Cod/seaweed butter/beach vegetables/cockles”) in a similar form to Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, perhaps unsurprising given Alyn was head chef there in a previous incarnation.

The staff were warm, courteous and informative, offering to swap dishes between the menus should we wish, and after one or two substitutions we were off.

We started with canapés over a glass of bubbles at the table:  truffle arancini were delicious and just as good as those at Marcus Wareing. Fourme d’Ambert gougeres were light as air while packing a cheesy punch. Deep fried sea bass belly with tom yum jelly on prawn crackers were unusual. Bread is made in house and was near perfect, including star anise rolls, lavash flatbread and (a slightly heavy) potato bread, served with an excellent whipped caraway seed butter.

A particular highlight on the menu was a deconstructed onion soup served in a martini glass along with crab meat, melting onion and jellied beef with a potato wafer with gruyere on the side – a very innovative take on a familiar dish. The main course allowed a choice between Cotswold chicken with smoked egg and charred leek or Devon beef sirloin.

My companion opted for the latter and, before I even had a chance to sample, reported that it was very flavoursome. I had been too distracted with my Cotswold chicken, served with a perfect smoked egg yolk that sauced the meat as I pierced it with my fork. While the meat was verging on the edge of translucency, the dish was as tasty as it was beautiful.

Courses were perfectly balanced and despite being rather full, we foolishly opted to add in a cheese course. The trolley was excellent as was the knowledge of our waiter, who was very accommodating and offered to bring my favourite cheese (Vacherin) from the kitchen. No need at all and my tour of goat’s cheese was beautifully presented on slate with crackers or bread (we were too full to accept the latter) accompanied by chutney and a honey gel.

Desserts reached similarly heady heights: pre-dessert of crème Catalan with pear granita was subtle and refreshing (although the pine sugar was perhaps a little too subtle) and dessert of chocolate mousse with caramel and peanut butter consisted of a rich, dense chocolate “finger” with a caramel core and a peanut butter ice cream. Heavenly. This is slick, elegant and contemporary cooking, as handsome as it is delicious.

We managed to finish off dinner with truffles and then rolled out of the restaurant. Alyn Williams at The Westbury may not have opened with a prestigious named chef on the door but this is certainly prestigious cooking. Bring on the Michelin stars and go now before they put the prices up.

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You can join the hunt, picking up clues along the way – collect your map or download your app, gather your family and friends and get cracking to solve the challenge. The event aims to raise £1m for the children’s charities, Elephant Family and Action for Children.

English interior designer Sophie Conran has decorated an egg which will be on display at Jumeirah Carlton Tower, Knightsbridge, and set designer Rhea Thierstein has designed an egg to be displayed at Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel in Belgravia for the duration of event. Both hotels will also launch specially created ‘Eggs menus’ with a donation from each dish sold going towards the two charities.

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Dishes on offer will include sticky desi pork back ribs; seared sea bass with aubergine-potato crush; and vindaloo of ox cheek. There will also be range of Indian-inspired ‘balls’, such as crab cake and Bangla-Scotch egg; and exotic pies, such as Keralan seafood and rogan josh.

Address: Cinnamon Soho, 5 Kingly Street, London, W1B 5PF
Phone: 020 7287 6080

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A former 13th-century hunting lodge is now home to Lime Wood, one of the UK’s chicest boutique country house hotels, a mere 2 hours from London, in the New Forest Park.

The interiors, from celebrated designer David Collins, involve a modern take on the traditional country house style: effortlessly luxurious, striking a perfect balance between being cool, modern, classic and sophisticated.

The main house perches ceremoniously at the end of a long, sweeping driveway, with beautiful manicured grounds leading the way. The 29 rooms and suites are split between the main house and the various outbuildings – the Coach House, Crescent and Pavilions – ranging from the entry level ‘Cosy’ (Cosy in Lime Wood’s definition means spacious and extremely comfortable) through to signature Forest Hideaway Suites. Our Crescent duplex suite was a delight with a wood burning fire on each floor – a real treat for us city folk!

The rooms of Lime Wood’s main house are a series of cosy lounges with plump couches and roaring fires, which are inviting at any time of day – from reading the morning papers with the sunshine streaming through the windows, to taking afternoon tea or sipping the final glass of port after dinner.

There are plenty of logs by each fire and the relaxed feeling of the house means you are free to feed the fire on your own and truly feel like the lord of the manor. Service at Lime Wood is seamless – the staff, dressed in fashionable country clothes, are ever present but never noticeable, which is a difficult thing to master.

There are two restaurants on offer: The more informal Scullery, which, with its whitewashed wooden floors, flower pots and condiments on show, could only be described as ‘country house chic’, and the main restaurant, The Dining Room, which provides an informal setting for serious cooking and a perfectly glamorous night out, once again highlighting the hotel’s ability to be both luxurious and relaxed at the same time.

Organic and locally sourced seem to be high on the priorities for both restaurants – wild mushrooms, garlic, local venison and home-reared beef and lamb – which one would expect given nature’s prominence all around.

The Herb House Spa is a true gem, with a whole host of treatments on offer, a Technogym, an indoor pool, sauna, indoor Jacuzzi and a magnificent outdoor pool that was blissful on a January evening where temperatures plummeted below zero. The rooftop sunlouge was redundant on our visit but would surely be a huge hit in the summer months. There is also an adjoining Raw Bar serving a selection of fresh salads, smoothies and cocktails.

One of Lime Wood’s greatest assets is the natural surroundings within which it sits.  The immediate grounds surrounding the hotel resemble a beautifully groomed English garden, complete with a swing hanging from one of the century old oak trees.

On leaving the property through the designated gates, you are immediately in the heart of the New Forest with its stunning scenery and wild horses roaming freely in the parkland.  After a long walk through the forest, there is no better place to return to than Lime Wood and its roaring fires.

For a chic, glamorous yet utterly relaxing weekend country break from London, Lime Wood really hits the spot.

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The Light Bar in London’s St. Martins Lane Hotel has launched a new selection of Front Row cocktails in celebration of London Fashion Week. The glamorous event will begin this Friday in the nearby Somerset House, and so the bar hopes to lure fashionistas with some refreshing drinks.

The Front Row cocktail list caters to the weight conscious fashion crowd and is light on calories. For example, the Long Legged Londoner is made with Bombay Sapphire gin, rose syrup, pink clove cordial, fresh lemon juice and soda.

My favourite, the $10,000 Breakfast (Wyborowa vodka infused with Jasmine and clove, shaken with creme de peche, lemon juice, sugar syrup and egg white), was pleasantly sour and very refreshing.

The St Martins Lane sister hotel, Sanderson, has also developed a new line of Skinny Cocktails inspired by Fashion Week. Six lightly crafted cocktails are made of the freshest ingredients that apparently won’t stick to your waistline.

Try the Scarlet Martini – Wyborowa vodka shaken with fresh strawberries and cucumber honey water and finished with pomegranate juice (135 calories) – or the Mexicana – Jose Cuervo Tradicional shaken with green grapes, apple puree, apple juice and elderflower cordial (150 calories).

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Known for his work as executive chef at Bill & Coo Suites and Lounge, a luxury boutique hotel on the Greek island of Mykonos, he won this year’s version of ‘Top Chef’, Greece’s version of ‘Iron Chef’ from the US, and the restaurant won the Condé Nast Traveller 2010 Readers’ Choice Best Hotel Restaurant award.

The menu for The Capital is in the process of being finalised, but dishes may include the likes of Santorini cherry tomatoes cooked with honey, warm goat’s cheese, capers, olive oil & foam perfume with thyme and slow cooked sweet tomatoes and lamb marinaded with mustard & Myconian herbs.

Address: The Capital, 22-24 Basil St, Knightsbridge, London SW3 1AT
Telephone: 020 7591 1202
Website: www.capitalhotel.co.uk

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Hailed by the Evening Standard as “one of London’s top Pilates studios”, Bootcamp Pilates has 4 state of the art Pilates reformer equipped studios across London in Notting Hill, Hoxton, Fulham and Richmond.

Bootcamp Pilates would like to offer all Bon Vivant members the chance to try a complimentary trial class. In addition, they would be delighted to offer you an exclusive 15% discount on any of their classes.

To book your first free class please register online at  www.bootcamppilates.com.

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Dishes on offer will include crab and pollack tikkas with curry leaf, mustard seed and crab chutney; lamb chop with Kashmiri chilli, ginger and mustard mooli; and mango rice pudding.

The tasting menu is priced at £35.50 for four courses (or £64 including wine pairings) or £45.50 for six courses (£88 with wine pairings).

Trishna is located at 15-17 Blandford Street in Marylebone, specialising in the coastal cuisine of South West India.

For further information or to make a booking, please contact your concierge at Bon Vivant. To make sure you’re kept informed of similar updates on a regular basis, subscribe to the blog, our fortnightly newsletter, follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook!

Thompson Belgraves, London

Thompson Belgraves, Thompson Hotels’ first hotel outside of North America will open in London in February 2012, in a joint venture with The Harilela Group. The hotel will be located in the exclusive Belgravia district and will feature 85 rooms, an 80-seat restaurant from celebrated chef Mark Hix along with another outpost of Mark’s Bar, his popular bar in Soho.

Palacio Nazarenas, Cuzco, Peru

Palacio Nazarenas is Orient Express’ latest venture in Peru, scheduled to open in June 2012 in a former palace and convent, the culmination of a three-year restoration project.

The all suite hotel will have oxygenated suites (Cuzco is located 11,000 feet above sea level in the Andes mountain range), iPads in every room, and will be a contemporary reflection of Cuzco culture. It will feature the first outdoor pool in the city, a glassed in original Inca wall in the spa, and an all day dining experience showcasing contemporary Andean cuisine.

W Hotel Paris

Opening on Valentine’s Day, a year to the date that the London equivalent opened, the W Hotel Paris will have 91 rooms as well as a signature W lounge and bar area. The hotel is located a short walk from the Garnier Opera House and ideally positioned for the upscale shopping boutiques nearby.

Monastero Santa Rosa, The Amalfi Coast

Perched on the Cape d’Orso’s cliff edge, Monastero Santa Rosa Hotel & Spa was originally a 17th century monastery, which will be reinvented as a 21 suite boutique hotel and spa in May 2012, located between Postiano and Amalfi, creating another exclusive stop on the Amalfi Coast.

Palais Namaskar, Marrakech

Located between the Atlas Mountains and the Djebilet Hills in Marrakech, Palais Namaskar is due to open in April 2012, only a 30-minute drive from Marrakech International Airport. The hotel will include 41 Villas and Suites, as well as two restaurants, a bar lounge and a 650 square metre spa.

Palais Namaskar will be the fifth hotel to join The Oetker Collection, which currently include Hotel Le Bristol Paris; Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc Cap d’Antibes; Château Saint-Martin & Spa, Vence.

Bulgari Hotel, London

The second London hotel to feature is the Bulgari Hotel, which is scheduled to open in April in the exclusive Knightsbridge area, adding to the brand’s properties in Milan and Bali. The hotel will feature 85 stylish rooms and will also offer a restaurant, bar and spa.

SLS Hotel, South Beach, Miami

The first SLS hotel opened in Los Angeles in 2008, and in the first half of 2012, its sister will launch in South Beach, with further hotels in New York and Las Vegas planned as well.

Once again, Philippe Starck will take charge of the interiors and Jose Andres will reign over the restaurant. Lenny Kravitz is reported to be involved in designing a luxury poolside bungalow and penthouse suite.

The Yamu, Phuket

COMO Hotels and Resorts will launch a brand new property on the Yamu Peninsula of Phuket in Thailand, scheduled for September 2012.

Only 20 minutes from Phuket airport, the hotel will have 129 rooms with panoramic views of the Yamu Peninsula and the surrounding Andaman Sea. The resort will offer a 100-metre swimming pool, a COMO Shambhala retreat with a yoga studio, two restaurants and a private beach.

Niyama Maldives

Due to open late February 2012, Niyama promises ‘an edgy, modern resort that will offer guests more than a romantic Maldivian escape’.

Niyama is from the people behind Huvafen Fushi in the Maldives and Desert Palm in Dubai, and will feature 86 studios and pavilions, some with 24 hours butler service, private pools and exclusive beach access.

There will be a variety of dining options, including a signature restaurant that is accessible by boat, and an underwater nightclub.

Castello di Casole, Tuscany

The Castello di Casole Hotel is a 41-Suite five-star boutique hotel, situated on a private estate of 1,700 hectares in the heart of Tuscany, located 20 minutes southwest of Siena, 45 minutes south of Florence and within easy reach of the Chianti region. The hotel will feature beautiful landscaped gardens, an outdoor pool and a large spa.

For further information or to make a booking, please contact your concierge at Bon Vivant. To make sure you’re kept informed of similar updates on a regular basis, subscribe to the blog, our fortnightly newsletter, follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook!