Mewsing around Mayfair

I first encountered Mews of Mayfair when a good friend of mine had her 21st in the private dining room (unfortunately) a good many years ago now. Although we stuck to a (delicious) set menu and didn't spend much time in the main bar, I was struck by the location of the venue, hidden away in a narrow little side street Mews just off the elegant hurly-burly of New Bond St. I felt like I was entering a tiny little segment of Victorian London and have been back on a few occasions since to visit their sumptuous ground floor cocktail bar.

Having never before visited the main dining room, I was excited when a Toptable Spotlight offer dropped into my inbox advertising a £50 food voucher in return for a mere £20 of my hard earned cash. I eagerly booked in for my birthday dinner and told my boyfriend that my contribution was made, and that he could spring for the rest (well, £50 towards your own birthday dinner is pretty generous isn't it?)

After a drink in the dark, opulence of the ground-floor bar (more on that later) we moved up the first floor dining room, which was a soothing yet chic haven of crisp white linen and leather banquettes. Although the tables are really close together (the space is quite small, but the staff are very attentive about getting people out from behind their tables in a pretty ladylike fashion!) the space still felt luxurious and the service was impeccable. Having splurged our 'free' £50 on a bottle of champagne we settled down for the serious business of ordering. I had the Dressed Crab and Avocado, whilst the boy had Organic Gravadlax with Grain Mustard Dressing (both £8.50). The portions were a bit on the small side but presented beautifully and absolutely delicious. Perfect to whet our appetites for the main course of Chateaubriand, Snail Bearnaise and Portobello Mushroom with a healthy side portions of chips and Spinach (£55 for two people). Pairing the bearnaise with snail was an inspired idea, and the flavour and texture of the portobello mushroom complimented it perfectly. The meat itself was done rare, just as we like it, and was melt-in-your-mouth gorgeous. If the starters were small, they whet our appetites for a fairly sizeable maincourse, which made the price seem more than reasonable.

A note also about the service: our waitress was brilliant. She judged us perfectly, and indulged our (usually terribly) jokes, whilst being terribly good-natured without being obtrusive.

Having enjoyed a really first-rate meal we moved down to the ground floor bar. I absolutely adore this venue. At the centre of the low-ceiling is a huge chandalier, and the banquettes and chaise-longues are oversized and opulent in their dark purple velvet. I felt like I was in a hidden Victorian opium den (in the best way possible). The outdoor seating along the narrow mews road adds a lot of character also and the bar is always buzzing. The cocktail list is extensive and imaginative. On this occasion we drank the Rose and Grape, and the Mutiny Mews. On previous occasions I've also had the Mews Berry - which remains my firm favourite of their selection.

It sounds a silly point to labour (and I have indeed had a Twitter conversation with Mews about this - said I know) but the toilets are great as well. Honestly, the best smelling loos in all of London. Decorated rather nicely too...

Anyhow, the whole experience makes for a really great evening. It feels luxurious - a mixture of elegance and opulence - without costing a fortune. An evening spent hopping from restaurant to cocktail bar to downstairs lounge makes for a very pleasant evening indeed.

Mews of Mayfair

10 Lancashire Court, New Bond St, London W1S 1EY

10/10

All images taken from the Press Office Section on the Mews of Mayfair website

Sake No Hana - great food and location, mediocre service

I admit that the whole furore surrounding this place had totally passed me by. To the extent that, when looking to book a cheap Wednesday night dinner with friends, and spotting it on the Tastecard listings, I assumed it must have been a much cheaper affair than it actually was. After all, TasteCard doesn't usually offer you deals on anywhere remotely fancy! I didn't follow through to the restaurant website (poor research I know) and was rather mortified when I turned up, having promised the girls a quick, and cheap, bite to eat, courtesy of my 50% discount.

Nonetheless, the surprise ended up being less embarassing, are more fabulous. Luckily, despite the dinner being scheduled the day before pay day, everyone was so excited by how goddam GORGEOUS this place is, that we barely registered the prices.

Sake No Hana is situated in what looks like a commercial building just off Picadilly, near Green Park. There is an intimate, low-lit cocktail bar on the ground floor (drinks from £9.50... I'm afraid we passed!), and to reach the main restaurant you go up a floor either by lift or escalator. Riding the escalator felt like entering a trendy nightclub, all black lacquered walls and low-lighting. Once you emerge onto the first floor you are greeted by an open sushi-kitchen and a minimalist but luxuriously designed restaurant, with the emphasis on sculptural woods (especially gorgeous was the wooden design suspended from the ceiling), and sleek furniture in varying hues of white.

Unfortunately, it transpired that my 50% off deal did not apply to the sushi and sashimi, which is unfortunate in a Japanese restaurant, but again it was my fault for not doing the research as on post-meal inspection this was clearly advertised on the TasteCard website. Not that it mattered, of the four of us, three ordered Japanese mains.

The food, when it arrived (and it arrived as soon as it was ready - I understand this might be the Japanese way but I do think expensive restaurants should make the effort to make sure food arrives together) was absolutely delicious. I order Tonkatsu Pork on a bed of white cabbage, whilst two of my friends ordered the seared tuna salad. The last clearly couldn't control her sushi cravings for the sake of her wallet and went for a selection of, very expensive but divine-tasting, handrolls, maki and futomaki. The food was also beautifully presented on dark slates - I know this is not the most original, but I do think it looks good. However, the service was less than brilliant. I think we might have ended up with a bit of a rookie, newby waitress but she tried to bring us somebody elses food on three occasions, didn't know which plate was meant to go to each diner, and we did have to request a glass of wine three times over. However, on debating the service charge with the restaurant manager, he was extremely professional about the whole thing, removing the 13% charge (ouch!) without fuss.

All in all, we had a wonderful experience, and the few hiccoughs didn't spoil the evening for us. Although, admittedly the experience probably seemed even better because we were totally unaware of any of the hype surrounding this place, and had been expecting somewhere on a different scale completely. Plus, we were long over-due a catch up!