Members clubs tend to ebb and flow in popularity but with its restaurant headed up by Head Chef extraordinaire Fernando Stovell, the Cuckoo Club’s star is still in the ascendant.

The Venue
Dusky damsons and bruised purples create a rock star chic template of a members club that’s just crying out for indulgent food and long, strong cocktails to fuel a night of carousing until the early hours. The ground floor restaurant is up tempo with ultra violet spotlights on the ceiling, a DJ near the entrance and a serious looking bar at the far end. The restaurant transforms into a late night bar after the food service and the sweeping staircase ends in a small basement club with its own DJ and bar.

The Atmosphere
So far, so stylish but the interiors merely serve to showcase a members club which when you scratch the surface delivers serious depth. The restaurant in particular is a force to be reckoned with and is one of the main reasons that members of all ages are regular fixtures at the Cuckoo Club. From first dates to family dinners, members use any excuse to book a table at the club before enjoying a few cocktails at the bar or heading downstairs to the late night club.

In the ground floor restaurant the atmosphere is relaxed although the food is so good that occasionally silence descends over a table as all diners simultaneously get lost in savouring the dishes. Head chef, Fernando Stovell regularly pops out of the restaurant’s kitchen to check whether diners are enjoying the food, creating an air of easy familiarity. Move downstairs however, and the club is a mass of Euro playboys sipping Champagne and girls with coltish limbs encased in white jeans showing off moves that only a rarefied public school education can produce.

The Food
Fernando Stovell is a chef whose passion for creating exciting dishes doesn’t distract him from ensuring that the basics always consistently exceed expectation. Foodies should order the eight course tasting menu for £50 a head which can be paired with specially matched wines for an extra £35 per person. Otherwise, take your pick from the set menu with two courses coming in at £38.00 and three at £45.00. For starters, the eight Rossmore rock oysters are a must served with Champagne vinegar, ginger and shallot dressing although true connoisseurs would be wise to request Champagne foam and green tomato Tabasco for oysters which transform from spicy to sea air to delightfully sweet all in one unforgettable mouthful.

For mains, opt for the scallops, duck breast or Beef Wellington depending on the size of your appetite. The meaty hand caught Scottish scallops are buttery tender and balanced by crispy new potatoes and spicy chorizo. The duck breast is perfectly poached and glazed (Fernando ensures that each breast is cooked at a predetermined optimum temperature), accompanied by savoury puy lentils, crispy potatoes, carrot a l'orange and turnip puree. As for the Beef Wellington, it’s a vast dish, sumptuously combining char grilled Black Angus beef so tender it practically falls off the fork with summer truffles, creamed Savoy cabbage and oxtail jus. For pudding, the creamy coconut panna cotta and pineapple flambe is a foodie’s pina colada, creamy without ever veering towards sickly sweet and is guaranteed to conjure up memories of summer in even the coldest of winter months.

The Drink
If you’re wise you’ll rely on the ever enthusiastic mixologists to whisk up a cocktail to suit your mood or your meal. Pre dinner cocktails are the norm in the restaurant with unusual concoctions such as Beetroot Martinis or the house speciality served up with sorbet proving particularly popular although be warned, there are no half measures here. Over food, it’s best to rely on your waiter or waitress for advice on matching the wine to the food – the right red wine can work as well with fish as red meat dishes but it needs an expert’s hand to guide you when choosing the best bottle. Downstairs in the club, it’s the usual bottles of beer and ice buckets of Champagne that head up the most popular choices but service is quick and whilst prices are ramped up, at £5 for a bottle of beer they’re not as high as many Central London clubs.

The Last Word
Members clubs in Central London tend to be a mixed bag, often only worth joining in order to guarantee your foot through the door without having to first do time in a ludicrously long queue outside a run of the mill club. The Cuckoo Cub is a different animal however, thanks to its world class restaurant, fun DJs and innovative cocktail list. In nature, the cuckoo may be a parasitic bird but in the world of London clubs, this cuckoo is flourishing very well on its own merits.

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