Looking magisterial inside the Andaz Hotel, 1901 offers a culinary experience every bit as impressive as the splendour in which it's set.

The Venue
By tradition, at every major railway station, there was a hotel and a hospital. Liverpool Street Station was the original site of Bethlem Hospital, a mental asylum whose colloquial name, Bedlam, came into common parlance as a pseudonym for chaos. The hospital has long gone — although chaos still reigns during the rush hour — but the hotel remains and is now Andaz, part of the Hyatt group. Andaz is a Hindi word meaning ‘personal style’, and it couldn't be more apt.

Andaz plays host to 1901, a British restaurant that is as far from bedlam as you could possibly get. The huge dining room, with elaborately carved coving and an atrium through which, during the day, the sun glows like a benediction, is luxury personified. During the evening, the room is lit by metre-wide chandeliers that look like they've been made out of post-it notes. In the middle stands the bar, where Giovanni will rustle up a gorgeous cocktail or two, and at the far end is the cheese table — a genuine stroke of genius.

The Atmosphere
At 7pm on a Thursday evening, 1901 is already buzzing. The tables around the central bar in the restaurant are easily converted for diners, and vice versa. There is plenty of room between tables to afford diners 'à deux' some privacy and to allow the knowledgeable staff easy access. Although the restaurant is vast, there is a warm and relaxed ambience.

The Food
One thing that is obvious at 1901 is how passionate the staff are about the food, and indeed about ensuring that every diner has the best possible experience. It is this attention to detail that makes it so special. The emphasis is on British produce, served with flair.

A starter of goat's cheese (£12) is prettily presented as quenelles decorated with delicate squares of filo pastry, adorned with green and white asparagus and flecked with tiny cubes of elderflower jelly, with a scattering of walnuts adding crunch. The delicate sweetness of the jelly works really well with the creamy cheese. Wood pigeon is served with a black truffle jus and artichoke puree (£15). The breast is tender and richly flavoured, the jus complementing rather than overpowering. It is a dish to fall in love with — a ‘coup de foudre’ if ever there was one.

The food is, in general, unfussy, the ingredients being allowed to sing solo, rather than sink into a chorus of flavours. So rump of lamb, delicately pink, comes with separate little dumplings, one of semolina and two of braised lamb shoulder, offset by a fresh and subtly-sweet pea puree (£26). Likewise, a breast of Gressingham duck — also served pink, as requested — sits tidily on the plate with a little duck and potato loaf and perfectly cooked spring greens (£24).

At this point, it's a good idea to take leave of your seat and head to the cheese table. Surrounded by backlit wine stores, this is a temple at which to worship. Again, the emphasis is on British produce, with some fifteen cheeses to choose from (a selection of five costs £11) and you can pick what you want from the display cabinets or allow your waiter to make you up a plate. Choices included a smooth Kirkham’s Lancashire, a rich Dorston's goat and a Crozier blue made with ewe's milk. All are simply presented on a slate with green grapes, at room temperature and with considerable aplomb. As well as offering this as a cheese course, 1901 also does a good trade in ‘cheese and wine’ parties at its customised table, for ladies who lunch or business gentlemen trying something different. To reiterate — genius.

Go continental and have pudding after the cheese. While 1901’s dessert menu is not extensive — there are only five options — it ticks most boxes with classics that have been given a twist. A citrus tart is topped with red pepper meringue, which brings out the lemon, while an Earl Grey crème brulee, light and delicate, sits on a toasted teacake. This should smack of gilding the lily, as the dish also comes with lemon cream and scattered honeycomb for crunch. It shouldn’t work, but it does. All puddings are £7 and, for the chocoholic, there is an assiette, a fusion of sponge, mousse and ice cream. There is also melon soup, with cantaloupe, watermelon, pineapple and fresh mint ice cream. It sounds splendidly healthy but, after all that cheese, it's rather like ordering a Diet Coke with fish and chips.

The Drink
Allow Giovanni, an incredibly accomplished mixologist, to work his magic. One of 1901’s specials is a Smoked Negroni, a potent blend of whisky, Campari and Strega. It is intensely smoky, like the peatiest of peat bogs, and would be equally good after dinner as before. Somewhat more subtle is a Cucumber and Elderlower Martini, with the main attractions blended with Hendrick's gin - it's perfect for summer dining.

Cocktails — before dinner, after dinner and in between — start from £10. If you would rather have wine with your meal, try the 2009 Condrieu La Petite Côte Yves Cuilleron. At £98 a bottle, it’s far from cheap, but it’s a glorious bin, and the finish will outlast the overdraft. There is a good choice of twelve wines offered by the glass, among them an exceptional 2003 Luis Cañas Rioja Reserva (£14). If your credit is crunched, there is a white and a red at £21 a bottle.

Among the bubbles, you will find a very acceptable Ridgeview, an English sparkler that has left more established marques looking rather, well, flat. Biscuity and lively, Ridgeview has won several major awards — and no wonder. It’s not a cheap option at £11 a glass or £49 a bottle, but it’s well worth the money.

Another stand-out wine is a glorious 2010 Cru Classé Côtes de Provence, a rosé with a nose of pear drops and soft berry flavours that is particularly good with the goat's cheese. It’s available at £12 a glass or £104 a magnum, but unusually, it’s not offered by the bottle.

The Last Word
How ironic that on the site of a lunatic asylum is now be such an oasis of calm. Certainly, 1901 is not cheap, but sometimes it’s worth blowing the budget. Go on, go mad.

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