The Flemings Mayfair Hotel is hiding a gem of a restaurant in its basement.

The Venue
This boutique hotel has been established since the 1850s, and today the period features of the six interconnecting Georgian townhouses alongside the contemporary elements give it a unique personality. Downstairs, past the elegant reception area, the atmosphere takes on a more modern sophistication as the bar and dining areas have recently been re-designed to the highest level of chic.

The Atmosphere
The low lights and dark, plush decoration, combined with glittering mirrored reflections and secret sliding wall panels leading to private rooms, give the place an exclusive feel, in the style of an elite speakeasy. Staff are welcoming and friendly, from the bartender to the maitre d’, manager and waiters. All are happy to chat and suggest recommendations, without being overbearing, to ensure your evening passes seamlessly.

The Food
The menu is seasonal and offers around seven options per course, incorporating classic and creative detail (down to the faintly twinkling paper it’s printed on).

An appetiser of crystal clear tomato consomme, served in a tiny teacup, delivers unbelievable flavour. A starter of beetroot and goat’s cheese salad (£8.50) is entirely stunning. Four wedges of different coloured beetroot varieties surround two miniature towers of the softest creamy goat’s cheese, piped into fine filo pastry tubes. Even the plate is dressed with a pale pink beetroot vinaigrette. Ugie smoked salmon slices (from Scotland’s oldest fish house) are piled in ruffles onto a fluffy potato pancake, served with celeriac coleslaw and watercress (£10.95). The portion is too large for a starter, but the salmon is the perfect smoked texture and taste to complement the light floury disc of potato cake.

The Loch Duart salmon main course (£19) is cooked in olive oil, a technique which gives it an unusual texture – almost preserved and jelly-like, with flakes that melt rather than the meatiness of a fillet which you might expect. The bed of pearl barley, minted peas and pickled shallots are well balanced accompaniments. The lamb (£23) comes as two distinct and separate dishes. The loin, two beautifully medium-pink medallions, with a fresh salsa verde and crunchy broad beans, makes up an ideal summer plate. In addition, there is a miniature saucepan which holds a contrasting hearty braised shoulder of lamb. The slow cooking brings out all the flavour of the meat, reduced down to the consistency of stew, to serve this cut at its best. It’s topped with thin slices of buttery potato, essentially like a Northern hot pot. Whilst the two dishes don’t really marry together, they are each deliciously accomplished in their own right. Hand cut chips (£4.50) are a must. Crisp, salty outer holding smooth potato inside, they're technically spot on.

The dessert menu is everything a sweet lover could ask for, enhanced by the chef’s invention, which take the dishes beyond the norm to a superior quality. Warm macadamia nut brownie (£7) has a lovely crunch and is nuttier than it is chocolatey, in bite size morsels with a thin ganache on top. Served around a strip of roast banana parfait, the chunks of caramel-sweet banana amongst the icy cream live up to its French translation of perfection. The chocolate fondant (£7) has a flawless crust which cracks to reveal an oozing centre of intense, dark, rich chocolate. It only gets better with the strawberry and black pepper sauce, a subtle balance which adds another powerful piece de resistance to the plate.

The Drink
A pre-dinner drink in the bar is recommended to sample the creative cocktails whilst you build up an appetite. Embrace the restaurant's temptation to make it a special occasion with strawberry Champagne – refreshing without being over-sweet – or a glass of bubbles instead (£10). The wine list is made up of old and new world bottles. Italian Puiattino Pinot Grigio (£7 a glass, £27 a bottle) is light and pale with hints of apple, good for an aperitif or to accompany the meal.

The Last Word
Flemings Bar and Grill makes for an extravagant evening, but it’s an experience that’s well worth the expense.

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