The 80-cover restaurant also features a long bar, which seats up to 15, and a 25-seat atrium at the rear of the restaurant that will open as a covered terrace during the summer months.

There is a private screening room on the lower ground floor, complete with full audio-visual facilities, with a fireplace and vaulted ceilings, which can accommodate up to 32 seated or 45 standing.

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The menu will feature 35-day dry aged Hereford Cattle from the Duke of Devonshire’s Bolton Abbey Estate in Yorkshire, with the signature dish being the 1000g ‘Bulls Head’ steak a 1000g-butterfly cut, double rib steak served with the bone in.

The bar will offer “a sophisticated and stylish Thames-side destination, featuring one of the finest selections of gin in London”.

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The restaurant will have 80 covers and will also feature Mark’s Bar, based on the popular bar at Mark Hix’s Soho venue, along with a cigar garden with commissioned artwork by British artist Mat Collishaw.

The menu will be British focused with inspiration from mark’s travels around the world.

Address: 20 Chesham Place, London, SW1

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The main dining area will offer similar cuisine to L’Etranger, while small plates, molecular cocktails and fine wines and champagne will be available in the lounge bar.  The menu will include a selection of sashimi, tartars, tempura and platters to share, along with 40 home made desserts including an extensive selection of macaroons and sorbets.

Address: 36 Gloucester Road, London SW7 4QT

Phone: 020 7584 9719

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Having spent several decades in the gastronomic wilderness, steakhouses are currently enjoying a spectacular renaissance, with a new breed of sophisticated, contemporary and unapologetically glamorous restaurants.

In London the leading proponent of this revival has been the burgeoning Hawksmoor empire, with its emphasis squarely on meat of British provenance.  But last September saw the arrival of a New World contender in the form of Wolfgang Puck’s CUT at 45 Park Lane.  A legend on the US dining scene, Puck’s reputation most definitely preceded him and his first UK venture was one of the most hotly anticipated openings of 2011.  I am pleased to report it did not disappoint. (It also appeared on Bon Vivant’s list of the best new restaurants of 2011.)

Housed in one of Mayfair’s most prestigious addresses, the main restaurant occupies the ground floor, although there’s a bar-dining option available in the library on the floor above.  Mirrors elongate an already long, thin dining room but the double-height ceiling offsets any sense of claustrophobia and clever use of curtains, booths and panels inject intimacy into the grandeur.

The event (no other word comes close) began with moreish Parmesan breadsticks and an amuse bouche of blue cheese pastries, washed down with a deliciously crisp glass of Billecart Salmon Reserve Brut.  My partner needed only seconds to decide on the maple-glazed pork belly with Asian spices but I had to make further enquires about the Dorset crab and lobster ‘Louis’ before committing.

Charmingly described as a ‘posh prawn cocktail’, this stalwart of the seventies steakhouse was reworked to perfection.  Balancing the delicacy of crab and lobster meat with the punch of a well-seasoned dressing takes skill.  Marie Rose never attained it but Puck’s Bloody Mary certainly did and this dish is deservedly his signature starter.

And so to mains.  On the basis that ‘if you see it on a menu you’ve got to go for it’ my partner opted for the rib-eye of 100% pure breed Chilean Wagyu, cooked rare.  At £85 a pop, the decision to ignore the Chef’s medium-rare recommendation proved an expensive mistake because although it delivered on its butter-like promise in terms of texture, the flavour was found somewhat wanting.  Further proof, if it were needed, that timing is everything.

I had greater success with a ‘Tasting of New York Sirloin’ (£55).  Tasting plates, while increasingly ubiquitous, are the saving grace of anyone prone to food envy or indecision and I am susceptible to both.   All three pieces – USDA Prime Angus, Casterbridge Angus and Australian Wagyu/Black Angus – were seasoned and cooked to perfection, with the latter so unctuously rich it was more akin to foie gras than steak.  The accompanying tray of three sauces (in addition to standard-issue trio of mustards) was a masterstroke that neatly solved the problem of which of the potential eight to choose from.

Sides of tempura onion rings and French fries with fine herbs were served in characteristically American proportions but with none of the vulgarity, and the Californian Cabernet Sauvignon chosen by our sommelier was the perfect partner, tasting as it did of “Christmas memories, aged in oak” (my words, not hers).

By this point, dessert was officially surplus to requirement.  But that didn’t stop us from indulging in the Banana Cream Pie and Warm Passion Fruit Cheesecake, their retro-kitsch appeal proving too powerful to resist.

Amongst a glut of high points, perhaps CUT’s most significant achievement is that it manages to reconcile two seemingly irreconcilable tensions with remarkable deftness.  It is at once both bold and brash but also reserved and refined.  And, despite the undeniably steep prices (you’d be hard pressed to get change from £100 per head including wine and service) it still manages to feel generous, both in terms of the food and service.

So the next time you feel the need to splurge on a fine dining experience but ‘morsels of this’ and ‘soupçons of that’ simply won’t cut it, you know where to go.

Address: 45 Park Lane, London, W1K 1PN
Phone: +44 20 7493 4554

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Let me begin this review not with the description of the place or the reason why I went there, but with the food and drink. My starter was the nicest piece of fish I had tasted in a very long time, if not ever. The generous portion of Caraway Cured Sea Trout with pickles, cabbage and dill (£7.00) was fresh, full of flavours and so delicious, I didn’t want to stop eating.

And… after the first sip of the fabulous British Sparkling wine Ridgeview Bloomsbury 2009 my taste buds went straight to heaven. It was actually so good I wrote down the name, Googled it, and bought a bottle the very next day from here. The wine is really fizzy, dry and perfect for everyday drinking and special occasions.

My friend Diana was equally impressed with her starter of leg of partridge, quince, honey and oatmeal (£7.50) and also claimed it was a long time since she had eaten such a lovely dish.

So where did we taste these fabulous things? The place is a British brassiere called Manson at 676 Fulham Road in London. The new chef Alan Stewart, who previously worked at Launceston Place and Michelin starred Chez Bruce, took over the command of the kitchen in October. He is championing a ‘field to fork’ philosophy of local and seasonal produce, and so the menus are constantly changing.

Many of the ingredients are picked from the restaurant’s own allotments and Britain’s woodland and hedgerows. The kitchen staff bake their own bread twice a day, smoke their own meat and fish, butcher the whole animals and even churn their own butter.

The menu is so fabulously British that sitting in a busy London restaurant I could close my eyes and imagine a relaxing weekend in the countryside and the beautiful scenery where the ingredients come from.

Dreaming about the beach and the sea (in summer months, mind you!) I ordered Wild Black Bream, Norfolk mussels, sprout leaves and smoked bacon (£17.00). Diana was up for some more gamey meat and chose Roast Gurnard, salt baked parsnip, black cabbage and fennel seed yoghurt (£14.50).

I got a bit more than what I had dreamt about, because my meal was so full of the flavours of the sea, it was almost too much. Add the smoked bacon to the taste of seafood and your palate is incredibly busy working overtime. Diana was very happy with the strong flavours of her wild duck – the meat juicy, soft and perfectly cooked.

We shared a piece of apple tart with clove ice-cream (£6.50) to finish off our British meat and seafood feast. It was divine! We cleaned off the plate with delight and had some port to wash down the delicious dessert.

Manson’s warm light, taupe and cream colours, wood-panelled bar, chestnut leather banquette seating and wooden tables create a cosy and quite grown-up atmosphere. It’s a perfect place for dinner on a dark winter night. In warmer weather, the brasserie’s doors open out onto the Fulham Road for alfresco dining.

Address: 676 Fulham Road, London, SW6 5SA
Phone: +44 20 7384 9559

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20 top chefs will prepare a meal for 200 diners, who can also bid for the culinary masters to cook dinner in their home at a later date, all in aid of Leuka.

Each chef, in his or her own style, 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 Scott’s, Dinner by Heston, Zuma, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing. For tickets, please contact your concierge.

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Hello boys! Well, you’d have loved the Hollywood Arms in Chelsea the night I was there… Lots of tall, blonde and beautiful girls wearing short dresses and sipping champagne!  And all this glitz and glamour on a dull and rainy Thursday in November.

The gastropub has recently undergone an extreme makeover and shed its dark colours for white, azure and pastel shades of blue, grey and light brown. The space downstairs is bright and cheerful with lots of mirrors, shiny surfaces and small tables for drinkers and diners, while the Aviary Room offers a conservatory-style dining space.

The Blanchard Room upstairs resembles a very fashionable modern lady’s lounge and can be hired for private events. The Big Table sits a family size of ten and is perfect for Sunday lunches and birthday dinners in a comfortable sitting room styled space.

The new menu at The Hollywood Arms offers an array of sharing plates with a traditional twist, such as Grey Goose vodka cured salmon (£6.20) and potted Wiltshire rabbit with sourdough bread (£7.50). You can also share some enticing shots – the house special is called the Darcy’s Lady and consists of six shots of Belvedere Bloody Mary, each topped with a floating oyster (£18).

My friend Dianne and I were seated at a cosy table for two, overlooking the bar and its ornate mirrors and glass shelves. It was the perfect spot for people watching as the evening’s buzz of activity unfolded. The waiters were running around, the barmen mixing drinks for thirsty punters, men downing pints and sequin-wearing girls schmoozing all over the place.

Dianne chose to start her meal with a glass of Prosecco (£5.05) and the oysters Kilpatrick – smoked bacon, Worcester sauce and breadcrumbs (£7.20). Once again, I couldn’t resist the scallops. The Diver caught scallop gratin served in its original shell (£9) was nice, but could have been served slightly hotter. Dianne, who is Australian, was a bit disappointed that the oysters Kilpatrick were prepared differently to what she has had in Oz.

Having started our meal with seafood, we both ordered the Elm Farm rib eye steak with triple cooked chips, roasted tomatoes, Portobello mushroom and béarnaise sauce (£16.50) for our mains, accompanied by a lovely glass of Malbec (£7.65/250ml). The meat was juicy, soft and delicious and the triple cooked chips were simply divine.

But even after this huge meal we didn’t have the power to resist the temptation of bread & butter pudding with drunken prunes (£5.80), which was definitely worth the sin.

Not wanting to inflict further damage to our waistlines we chose “Skinnytails” to finish off our feast. Dianne had Rose Martini – Stolichnaya vodka, lychee liqueur and ginger syrup with fresh rose petals (£6.95 and only 95 calories!), and I treated myself to an even leaner (85 calories) Hollywood Star – Ketel One vodka with fresh passion fruit, passion fruit purée and vanilla sugar, served with a Prosecco chaser.

We met the lovely pub manager Tracey Coles on our way out and being Australian herself she promised Dianne that she would do something about those oysters Kilpatrick, but overall, this was very good value for money and an enjoyable night out.

Address: 45 Hollywood Road, Chelsea, SW10 9HX

Telephone: 020 7349 7840

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The restaurant will aim to offer the same standard of modern French cooking for which Tom is known, but with a more relaxed atmosphere. There will be 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 will feature broad-boarded oak floors, custom-designed hand-made wooden chairs, a variety of mismatched oak tables (no tablecloths), and will have “evocative quotes about food and wine written on the walls”.

The restaurant will also feature a private dining room that will seats up to 12.

Address: 43 Elystan Street, London SW3 3NT

Phone: 020-7584 2003

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Desmond’s is located in a 1920s bank on the Upper East Side, under the direction of British chef and co-owner David Hart, formerly of Soho House and Claridge’s. Dishes may include seared breast of Long Island duck with Hyderabadi-style sesame and tamarind sauce, and 8 oz steak of US beef with slow-cooked onion sauce and stir-fried morels.

For a taste of London’s Indian cuisine in New York, book your tickets by calling +1 212 207 4949 or by emailing info@desmondsny.com

Address: 153 East 60th Street, NYC

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