Lore of the Land

Close to the BT Tower, this part of Fitzrovia is something of a no-man's land, although a rewarding spot for blue plaque hunters – Virginia Woolf and Sidney Bechet in the same street. Tarted up with flowers and oversized barrels, it projects the air of a classic London hostelry, as does the interior: all deep colours, paintings, quirky curios and dark wood. The style carries through to the small upstairs dining room with its semi-open plan kitchen, copper-topped bar and general air of bonhomie. Owned by Guy Ritchie, there is little that overtly plays up the ‘celeb' status. The menu, however, is a funny old mix. On the one hand, steaks and sticky toffee pudding; on the other, adventurous combinations, modish ingredients and on-trend techniques. Cooking over fire is via a bespoke charcoal-fuelled oven and grill, while a fine selection of breads is made daily in-house. It’s in the composition of some of the dishes, perhaps, that the kitchen tends to go off the deep end. Cod-collar tempura with smoked tartare sauce and grilled lemon gets it right, but parsley and confit garlic buckwheat risotto with crispy hen’s egg, bitter lemon, rose harissa oil seemed to have lost the plot. A heritage grain salad with pickled kohlrabi, bitter lemon and mint was in the worthy but dull category, while ray wing en papillote with braised endive and orange beurre blanc was luscious, light and exceeded expectations. A seasonal dessert of gooseberry and elderflower Eton mess with pistachio meringue was an interesting, if overly sweet, take on the norm.

2 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence