A major refurbishment has seen the once slightly faded five-star Athenaeum Hotel and its restaurant, Damask, given a new lease of life by designer Martin Hulbert.

The Venue
Damask’s primary purpose is to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner to its hotel guests and, buried as it is at the back of a building away from the main Piccadilly thoroughfare, it has to work hard to break out of that somewhat limiting box.

The room itself has a dramatic angular light feature running the length of the ceiling, high-backed chair-banquettes for privacy and two corner tables ideal for larger bookings. Soft beige walls are offset by autumnal reds, browns and greens.

The Atmosphere
A subdued tone dominates here, something the seating encourages by limiting sightlines to the tables in a diner’s immediate vicinity. What this takes away in terms of drama and spectacle, it adds in discretion and intimacy. Damask is therefore somewhere for an important business meeting perhaps, a discreet liaison en deux or a catch up with an old friend, rather than a raucous birthday celebration with friends.

The Food
The Athenaeum’s clientele is largely American, so a classically British menu is always going to be a sensible option. This is comfort food for a clientele that demand their chickens be free range, the mozzarella fresh from Naples and the venison home-smoked.

A Loch Fyne salmon platter to start is a real treat, with three different variations on the smoked theme creating a quietly satisfying dish. Equally, classic fishcake with caper butter sauce is generously portioned and fish heavy and potato light, allowing the subtle flavours to shine through.

Grilled Dover sole was, at £29, the most expensive dish on the menu, but this large, meaty white fish arrived literally spilling off the edges of the plate and is fresh enough to warrant little more than some creamed spinach to work perfectly. Other dishes include a steaming cottage pie, macaroni cheese and rib eye steak with chips.

Desserts are all £8 and range from petite pots of tart blackberry crumble through to an over-indulgent sticky toffee pudding.

The Drink
While the main menu stays largely on home turf, the wine list takes a far more international approach with bottles from both new and old worlds starting at £24 and going up to £135. Reds and whites are evenly balanced and, sensibly, around half are available by the glass too.

The Last Word
Damask is not going to win any awards for culinary innovation, but it never intended to either. Classic British cooking, simply prepared with market-fresh ingredients in an unpretentious yet luxurious setting. The Americans might just be onto something…

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