A stylish restaurant in a stylish building serving stylish food.

The Venue
Indigo is on the first floor of the groovily refurbished One Aldwych, right in the heart of London, poised between Holborn and Fleet Street. It’s part of a complex of quality bars and restaurants - Axis, the Cinnamon Bar, the Lobby Bar - all on the same premises. Indeed it overlooks the Lobby Bar so that diners can enjoy the spectacle of the cool, sharply-dressed drinkers below, surrounded by giant plants and sculptures on plinths.

The Atmosphere
The decor is reminiscent of a Phillipe Starck hotel interior, with twisted-chrome balustrades, steel panels on the walls, subdued lighting. Colours are cool and neutral. There is some barely discernible background music but the chief sound is the murmur of animated conversation. Clientele are well-dressed professional types, a fair number tending towards middle age. The staff are amazingly attentive. It’s a relaxing, tranquil but seriously cool place to be - the kind of atmosphere only money can buy.

The Food
Modern European, beautifully prepared and presented. No sooner are you seated than you are offered a selection of freshly-baked breads, with unsalted butter and grassy olive oil for dipping. Starters include seared tuna with feta cheese, orange and fennel, or crab cakes with mizuna and a mango and lime dressing. Highly recommended is the poached lobster with spinach and a mango, ginger and passion fruit salsa, subtly spiked with onions and coriander. Roasted boneless quail with pancetta, baby spinach and poached pear is another great starter, the quail sweetly tender, the pancetta nicely crisped.

Mains offer four fish choices, three meat and two vegetarian. Try the baked lemon sole (which comes artistically rolled-up, not flat) with a deep-flavoured asparagus, prawn and dill veloute, or the English rump of lamb, which appears in little thick, pink tender slices, accompanied by a mound of fluffy couscous with char-grilled veg and a salsa verde with a subtle hint of mint. The desserts are classics with a twist, such as the Earl Grey creme brulee, which comes with caramelised pink grapefruit supplying a welcome note of astringency.

Indigo also does a weekend brunch menu with indulgent dishes like duck egg benedict, steak and eggs and scrambled eggs with truffles, as well as fruity champagne cocktails like the Grapefruit Fizz and the Rhubard Royale.

The Drink
There’s a wide choice of mostly European wines, but they’re not cheap. Adopting the time-honoured trick of opting for the second cheapest wine will cost you £25.00. The waitresses fill your glass and then take the bottle away, returning to top it up whenever you need it. There’s also an excellent selection of dessert wines, as well as brandies, calvados and grappa.

The Last Word
Few people could afford to eat here every night, but if you want to push the boat out, this is the place. As both a gastronomic and an aesthetic experience it’s worth every penny.

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