Quaglino’s

When you’re a restaurant in Mayfair, you have to make sure that your interior looks immaculate. Of course the quality of the food is important, the service needs to be civilised and the ambience refined. But the whole place needs to look plush. If you’re going to be in the same part of town as the Ritz, you need to be keeping yourself smart.

Fortunately every part of Quaglino’s is very sophisticated. It has a timeless elegance, right from the bar with a pianist knocking out laid-back classics to the sleek blue of the main restaurant.

I started with the seared tuna. The fish was excellently served with a great deal of flavour to the meat. Often tuna can be served in a very drab fashion with little done in the way to heighten the flavour but this was very different. The tuna went very well with the accompanying salad, which also had a formidable dressing.

For the main course, I plumped for the fruits de mer. I somewhat underestimated the amount that would be included. By my reckoning, about a third of the ocean’s wildlife had been collected and mounted on an ice-covered dish. There were oysters, langoustines, mussels, shrimp, an entire crab, and to finish it all off, half a lobster on top.

It looked likely to be an insurmountable task but I was provided with a battery of instruments to try to get through it all. There was a pair of lobster crackers, a pick and an oyster fork. All were needed as I managed make a decent-sized impression on the plate. It was all beautifully prepared with a great deal of accessibility to the meat.

The crab’s shell fell away to reveal its wonderful brown meat and for some reason, I kept going back for more shrimp. The compilation of the majority of edible crustaceans was sumptuous apart from the mussels, which were a little bland due to them being chilled.

I finished off with a treacle tart and this had a fulsome quality to it, a welcome change from the barrel load of seafood that had come before.

Quaglino’s was once one of the most sought-after bookings in the city. It’s not surprising that it is in the hands of that restaurateur par excellence Terence Conran. The design and the layout of the restaurant are exquisite. However, its lustre has waned over the last couple of years and when I visited, it was only about a quarter full. This is a shame because it is a smashing place to have a very enjoyable meal.

Quaglino’s
16 Bury Street
Mayfair
SW1Y 6AJ

Tel: 0207 930 6767