Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley - Serious Cooking, Serious Dining

From the moment you enter you realise you are somewhere a little special. The dinning room itself oozes class. Deep purple on the walls, blood red leather arm chairs. It reminded me of a nice bottle of Pomerol. Not surprising really, this did used to be the original Petrus after all.

The menu choice could be described as exhaustive. A fixed price set lunch, a la carte, prestige tasting menu, gourmand tasting menu. You are spoilt for choice. We visited at lunch and after debating the fixed price menu we opted for the full a la carte.

Scallops to start with onions and crushed blueberries were followed by turbot poached in squid ink served with cuttlefish. Desert was a peanut parfait with rich dark chocolate.

As it was lunch I opted for a couple of glasses of wine as opposed to a full bottle. Normally I’m not a fan of wines by the glass list. Only because I never get that excited by what is on offer. Marcus Wareing is different though. Its wines by the glass list stands comfortably alongside its bedfellow the full wine list. A couple of glasses of Chateaux Batailley 2001 were just right for lunch.

The service is as you would expect extremely professional, but it’s all done with what seem genuine enthusiasm and a desire to see the patrons enjoying themselves. As I always say, the food, cooking and wine is one thing. I great dinning experience is the whole package including the service and ambiance. Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley is the full package.

There’s many a good two Michelin star restaurant in London these days, someone has even given Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester three stars, but I think this may well be my favourite.

Oh and finally, make sure you leave room for the chocolates that are served up with the tea and coffee. Divine does not even come close!

You will need deep pockets to dine here, but for a special once off its worth it.

Wild Honey - A Hidden Gem

Where can you get great quality cooking at a price that won’t break the bank? Sounds easy at first doesn’t it? Everyone has their own favourite value eatery. But where can you find such a place in the heart of Mayfair? Impossible I hear you cry, it can’t be done you protest! Well that’s what I thought until I visited Wild Honey a few weeks ago.

Tucked away, just off Conduit Street is Wild Honey. The unassuming exterior hides a gem of a brasserie style restaurant which serves up some of the best value modern European cooking I have come across.

The food is well presented without being fussy and the quality of the cooking is absolutely spot on. What seem some unusual combinations at first work well in reality and I found myself ordering dishes that I probably would not have done so before.

The wine list is short but contains some interesting bottles that you won’t usually come across in this part of town. We went for a lovely Pinot Noir from New Zealand which was ripe and fruity, but ever so soft on the palette.

The décor is all wood from the floors to some great cubicles. Service is sharp and to the point. None of the starchy pompousness that is found at some of the other restaurants in this area.

Wild Honey is that rare thing in restaurants today, quality dining at decent rates. If you want to try somewhere that’s a little bit special whilst at the same time great value for money give Wild Honey a go. Just don’t tell everyone as they will all want to go there.