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Automat is the brainchild of New York hotshot architect Carlos Almada and signals the first stage of a development that brings a little chuck of Manhattan to Mayfair. Decked out in the style of an American diner, a black and white mosaic floor leads into the main room of the brasserie and bar, where pristine white tiles coat the walls. Sitting at your cosy booth, you can munch on wholesome comfort grub including macaroni cheese and Mississippi mud pie. The completed project will include a formal restaurant and member’s nightclub.
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Other restaurants come and go, but Bibendum continually ranks top with the most discerning and hard-to-please foodie critics in town. Indeed, the 2005 Zagat Survey claimed: “Classic dishes are so delicious they outshine almost all in Paris itself.” And you can’t argue with that. Grilled calves liver with parsley salad and garlic dressing and sauté of rabbit with chorizo, endives, sherry and creme fraiche are two stand-out dishes from the modern French menu. Head chef Matthew Harris is impossibly talented and you won’t eat anywhere better in London. The more lowkey Oyster bar on the ground floor is nice in summer, when you can sit outside this beautiful art deco building.
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Cecconi’s is a classic Italian restaurant, open from first thing in the morning until the wee hours, seven days a week. The food is cooked simply, using the finest quality fresh ingredients. Nick Jones of Soho House recently it took over and has injected a heavy dose of glamour. Interior designer Ilse Crawford has created the new interior, with a striking marble floor in black and white diagonal stripes setting the tone while the rest of the interior employs spring green leather upholstery and wall-hugging banquettes for that blissful feeling of laid-back luxury.
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Restaurateur Iqbal Wahhab’s elegant and tasteful blend of Victorian gothic and cinnamon-coloured modernism, with its distinctly clubby feel, breaks all the rules of the traditional Indian restaurant with aplomb. Chef Vivek Singh offers swordfish with mustard and honey and black cod and king scallop kofta with citrusy Kerala sauce. The Cinnamon Club Bar downstairs is all dazzling white walls, graceful arches and coffee-coloured leather sofas, with a large TV screen playing Bollywood videos.
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One wonders what Notting Hill did before E&O, which is an institution if ever there was one. The crown of the Will Ricker empire, this pan-Asian establishment does fashionable food like nowhere else, offering a menu packed with twists on sushi and superb specials. Make sure you have the chilli salt squid, the prawn and chive dumplings and the rock shrimp tempura. A marvelous wine list is matched with great cocktails, which you can enjoy in the adjoining bar.
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