Croque Madame @ Soutine
St John’s Wood’s restaurant game has just skipped a few levels with the much-awaited opening of Soutine, by the brains behind The Wolseley, Corbin & King. They have brought their convivial and warm-hearted European brasserie style to a picturesque Edwardian building on the high street, which sits resplendently on a corner spot, its red bricks and white paintwork beaming in the sunlight, dusky Parisian awnings luring you in. The waiting staff sport black waistcoats over their shirts and long white aprons around their waists, ensuring that the whole aesthetic evokes the artwork of Chaïm Soutine, the restaurant’s eponymous inspiration who depicted chefs and waiters at work in the early twentieth century.
The food follows a similar style to what you will already know and love of the group, and comforting classics abound, like chicken liver parfait, French onion soup and snails bobbing happily in garlic butter. There is also a beautifully light endive salad sitting on goat’s curd with accentuating slivers of zesty orange to enliven the palate. Mains are hard to choose from but they do a mean steak frites, and their beef fillet ‘au poivre’ certainly doesn’t stint on the peppercorns. The schnitzel is a masterclass in the power of simplicity – crispy on the outside, succulent within and sprinkled in salt flakes, half a lemon provided as an optional flourish. You could sit and mull for hours in the dining room, or drop by the front section next to the bar for a quick croque (monsieur or madame) and glass of something satisfying. It’s a place that will fit whatever bill you require.
60 St. John’s Wood High Street, London, NW8 7SH; soutine.co.uk
Kryptonite @ The Blue Bar
Cocktail time doesn’t get much more stylish than at The Berkeley’s Blue Bar. Designed by David Collins in that distinctive Lutyens blue, with sultry red lamplight, it is a failsafe if you want to impress or, in fact, to be impressed yourself. You really do feel as though you are in some private den, albeit a rather sumptuous one. And the good news is that it has just revealed a new cocktail menu.
Stick with your Negroni if you will, but if you want a tad more choice then take a look at the Meta Menu. With illustrations next to every item, it’s ideal if you’re in the mood for something you know not what at the end of a long day – see what visuals your brain steers you towards and you won’t even have to read through the ingredients lists; it’s a remarkably efficient method. Each creation is made with painstaking attention to detail (practically ‘meta’ in themselves), from the individual temperatures at which each drink is served to the homemade cordials and infusions. We suggest the ‘Bread is Gold’, which blends rum with toasted bread (taken from the hotel’s leftovers to reduce waste) before being topped up with caramel cascara, mead and Laurent-Perrier. If it’s been a truly tough day, opt for the 'Kryptonite' – an apt name for this luminous green elixir combining chocolate absinthe, bourbon, mint liqueur and cacao. You’ll get a lovely sense of flair without even a hint of silliness here. The Blue Bar is far to classy for that, after all.
The Berkeley, Wilton Place, London, SW1X 7RL; the-berkeley.co.uk
Confit Potatoes @ The Quality Chop House
If a restaurant is turning 150 (yes, one and a half centuries old) then you know there must be something half decent about it. And The Quality Chop House, in Farringdon, is one of the worthiest recipients of your patronage at any point in time (the chunky, Jenga-like confit potatoes are things of fully merited legend) but especially now that it has a birthday to celebrate. And a big one at that. And a special menu to mark the occasion.
Since relaunching in its present incarnation in 2012 under head chef Shaun Searley, The Quality Chop House has become known for its unfailingly British but quite simply delicious cuisine – enriching, substantial, innovative without being showy and always using outstandingly fresh ingredients. The 150th menu exhibits the best of this, with dishes including beef fat brioche with duck liver parfait and black truffle, jellied eel and peas with buttermilk and herbs, and Dexter beef with confit potatoes and a hearty side of mince on toast. £45 gets you four courses and a glass of Moët, just to get the party going.
Until 31st August
88 – 94 Farringdon Road, London, EC1R 3EA; thequalitychophouse.com
Tropical Ceviche @ Ella Canta*
As the summer finally threatens to arrive, it’s an opportune moment to catch the Tulum Brunch Series at Mexican restaurant Ella Canta, near Hyde Park, just before its run finishes. The menu has been specially created by chef patron Martha Ortiz with Tulum beach life in mind, which means big colours and flavours, free-flowing margaritas – including a punchy (in both senses of the word) blood orange and hibiscus version – and the restaurant’s resident DJ playing housey tunes picked out by the Coco Tulum beach club. There may well be a table-side dance troupe to watch as you chomp on your pork taco too. Stand-out dishes include the tropical ceviche, which bathes slices of seabass in passion fruit juice with bites of chilli and basil on top, plus the octopus tostada and Mexican churros. It’s a good option if you’re in a sharing mood – you’ll want to try the lot.
The last Tulum Brunch is happening on 20th July, 11.30am – 4pm; £49 per person with unlimited margaritas
One Hamilton Place, Park Lane, London, W1J 7QY; ellacanta.com
*Ella Canta words by Will Hersey
