Globalista

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This month’s Globalista guide to where to lunch and dine in London (and where to avoid)

By Globalista

WHERE TO AVOID

This month we clearly chose well as there's hardly anywhere we would steer you away from. The two restaurants that we really didn't like were the Spice Market and Pollen St Social.

It's not that the food at the Spice Market is awful though restaurants that give you a culinary tour of Asia tend not to be our thing. The problem is that the restaurant, although very expensive, is really designed for parties of young things on a Friday night. AVOID

Pollen St Social is rather fun and at lunchtime quite a scene but the menu is seriously pretentious and not somewhere we'd return to. VISIT ONCE PERHAPS

WHERE TO GO

Clubs

This month we've been eating a lot in clubs: The Garrick, Boodles, Chelsea Arts and the new Dover Street Arts.

First off the 'gentlemen's clubs' and the battle for the best Grouse. We're afraid, despite the Garrick (below) being much more fun to lunch at, that Boodles won the gastronomic grouse stakes.

Chelsea Arts has to be at night one of the most gorgeous dining rooms in London. Food wise it's improving but even though we can't yet rave about supper, it's one of those few places where it doesn't matter too much as the club and its atmosphere are so enchanting. BEG TO GET IN

Which brings us to the new kid on the block - the newly recreated The Arts Club on Dover Street. First off the club is gorgeous and whoever was responsible for the selection of art has to win a prize. It is a triumph. You don't need to be an aficionado of contemporary art to marvel at the work.

On the food side, it's extremely well done with a menu from which we certainly would have been delighted to order everything. However so far - and it's really early days to be catering for so many people - it's not quite in the same league as La Petite Maison which is under the same ownership but it's seriously good nonetheless. We've now tried it both for lunch and supper and highly recommend it. RECOMMENDED

Non-Member Restaurants

Situated at the top of Centrepoint with the most amazing if not the best views of London, Paramount, which used to be for members only, is now open to the public. At night we're told it's incredibly busy but when we visited at lunchtime there were only two other tables occupied. This is probably because it's a hassle getting to the restaurant and then waiting endlessly for a lift, but the overly fancy menu at least at lunchtime can't help. To give you an idea on the day we went the set menu was a choice of either Venison Burgers or a not very appetising fish dish. But don't let that deter you. If you want to marvel at the views and at night ascend to the top floor bar, where if you are single and take a woman it would be hard not to leave engaged, then this restaurant is for you. SEMI-RECOMMENDED

With so many restaurants visited this month we won't bore you with detailed reviews but here are just some notes.

PIZZA EAST (Notting Hill)

This restaurant is pretty fabulous. Apart from the perfect pizzas, we've been navigating other parts of the menu and highly recommend the char-grilled squid and the amazing lamb meatballs.  RECOMMENDED

(American Globalista's - whilst we adore this restaurant, please note it's a neighbourhood restaurant and unless you're antiquing on a Saturday in Portobello Road, with so many other great restaurants in Central London, we wouldn't encourage you to make the detour. Also it's very child-friendly so you might hate the noise.)

POLPETTO (Soho)

This is the new restaurant from the Polpo stable. Sadly we arrived very un-hungry and so can't give you a detailed report but the two starters we had including a burrata with samphire were excellent. We will definitely be back. But Members do note it's a tiny restaurant above a pub called The French House, once the site of the legendary Private Eye lunches. It's not the most exciting venue in London - probably best for lunch or a pre- or post-theatre visit. SEMI-RECOMMENDED

DINNER (Mandarin Oriental, Knightsbridge)

This restaurant has been extensively written about and generally praised by the critics. And we agree wholeheartedly. It's superb. You may be put off by reading the menu online but don't. This isn't the Fat Duck but completely different. Located in the Mandarin Oriental hotel dining room means it’s not great atmospherically but on the plus side it's relatively informal for such fabulous food (tablecloth free).

Everyone in our party loved their meal, but perhaps the winning choice was a starter of meat fruit - a delicious chicken liver and foie gras parfait dressed up as a mandarin orange, followed by a heavenly pork chop. Your Globalista galloping gourmet loved the grilled pineapple tipsy cake so much that he declined offers to taste his party's other desert choices in fears of losing a morsel of it. DEFINITELY TO BE RECOMMENDED

HAWKSMOOR (Covent Garden)

A repeat visit to Hawksmoor for what in our opinion are London's best steaks. (We haven't yet tried the Cut, though having just read Giles Coren's hysterically funny and damning review, we are not sure whether to bother. STOP PRESS: we have spoken to 5 Globalista members, all of whom have said how fantastic the steaks are.)

Gastronomically we're sure Globalista members will love the food but in terms of atmosphere, it tends to the noisy with a young, blokeish and somewhat Friday-night-after-work crowd. SEMI-RECOMMENDED

LA PETITE MAISON (Mayfair)

For the first time we tried just turning up and sitting at the bar which we managed to do. It's perfect for lunch with the best salad nicoise anywhere and when we visited, delicious oysters. RECOMMENDED

Private Dining Rooms

The top floor at the First Floor in Portobello Road is fabulous. Divine and decadent, and perfect for a private supper. The food, a set menu organised by the ever brilliant 5x15 team for their post-5x15 Stories supper, was excellent. A GREAT FIND