Over in Soho, meanwhile, there is a distinctly Spanish edge to the Scottish seafood served at Maresco (maresco.co.uk), former music producer Stephen Lironi’s charming newcomer on Berwick Street. His stated aim is to intercept seafood on its way from Scotland to Spain. Expect Loch Broom oysters with green gazpacho, razor clams from the Isle of Barra, Gigha halibut with escalivada, and an all-Spanish wine list. Heading south to Chinatown, Speedboat Bar (speedboatbar. co.uk) is the latest restaurant from chef Luke Farrell (Plaza Khao Gaeng). Some of his ingredients may come from his Dorset farm, but the concept is pure Bangkok, with quirky decor, whisky cocktails, a pool table and terrific drinking snacks: spiced chicken skins, sausage with mustard greens, and “drunken noodles”. Also in Chinatown, Kung Fu Noodle (kungfunoodle.com) is serving up big bowls of lamian (hand-pulled noodles), a speciality of China’s northwestern Gansu province – try the Lanzhou beef noodle soup – while Chop Chop by Four Seasons, (hippodromecasino.com) tucked under the Hippodrome Casino, offers a more typically Cantonese experience: Four Seasons’ signature roast meats (roast duck, soy chicken, belly pork and char siu) with noodles. Open until 4am, it should prove a useful address for hungry night owls. Moving back to Soho proper (if Soho can ever be that), Bantof (bantof.com) is a restaurant, cocktail bar and “art space” with a short, sharing-plates menu from Michelin-starred Pied à Terre chef Asimakis Chaniotis – spinach and lemon risotto with Mediterranean herbs; halibut fricassée with butter emulsion and gem lettuce – and the ambition of becoming a “club without membership”, evoking old-school, bohemian Soho. Over the past couple of years, the City’s bars and restaurants have suffered more than most from the work-from-home mentality, but things are looking up, especially on the fringes. Look no further than Farringdon, where relative newcomer Brutto and stalwart St John (whose owners, Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver, have now opened a smart little wine bar in Marylebone as well) have now been joined by Bouchon Racine at Three Compasses (bouchonracine.com), the long-awaited sequel to Henry Harris’s much-lamented Racine in Knightsbridge. The newly restored pub is a Francophile’s paradise: sip a pastis in the bar and head upstairs for tête de veau, rillettes and steak frîtes. Meanwhile, just the other side of Farringdon Road, the historic Bleeding Heart Tavern (bleedingheart.co.uk) has relaunched as a wine bar, offering meats from the rotisserie and a classic Anglo-French menu, matched with a 400-strong wine list. Next to Smithfield Market, the trio behind Hackney’s Nest and Fulham’s Fenn have opened St Barts (restaurant-stbarts.co.uk), in the shadow of the eponymous 12th-century church, offering tasting menus based on top-notch British produce, elegantly plated by chef Johnnie Crowe in a distinctly Scandi fashion: Isle of Wight tomatoes, perhaps, with smoked garlic custard, or duck breast with lingonberries. Ultra-contemporary, high-end and a shoo-in for a Michelin star. Things are also stirring out west in Knightsbridge and Kensington. In the former, the long-awaited restaurant on the top floor of Harrods from Björn Frantzén, Studio Frantzén (frantzengroup.com), launched at the end of November, promising a “neo-Nordic concept infused with Asian influences”: perhaps best encapsulated by Sweden vs Japan, Frantzén’s dish of braised brisket and grilled wagyu with lemongrass jus and Japanese mustard, although roast chicken with miso and burnt hay oil runs it close. A short drive down Brompton Road, opposite the Michelin Building, caviar king Petrossian’s (petrossian.fr) first UK restaurant opens in early 2023. In the meantime, the deli and boutique are already offering superb tarama, smoked salmon and – naturellement – a fine range of a dozen or so caviars. Over in Holland Park, one of London’s great restaurants has a new lease of life: the aptly named Belvedere (belvedererestaurant. co.uk; Italian for “beautiful view”) had been neglected for years, but now the owners of Goodman and Burger & Lobster have given it a handsome makeover. The menu runs along similar lines to the group’s Wild Tavern in Chelsea, offering an Italian-accented menu of antipasti, crudo, pasta and substantial chunks of meat and fish. Last but certainly not least, two Notting Hill newcomers look promising: Akub (akub-restaurant.com), a Palestinian restaurant a stone’s throw from Notting Hill Gate, where chef Fadi Kattan rustles up freekeh risotto and sea bream cured in raki, and Dorian (dorianrestaurant.com), on the Talbot Road site of old neighbourhood favourite Raoul’s, which owner Chris D’Sylva (also owner of the Notting Hill Fish Shop and the Supermarket of Dreams) promises will be a “subversive, clandestine dinner destination” serving oysters, lobster, and grilled beef – a welcome addition to the effervescent area, and indeed the wider gastro scene that has reassuringly returned to full-throttle. “The City’s bars and restaurants have suffered more than most from the work-fromhome mentality, but things are looking up” NetJets 83
