26 Motcomb Street,
Belgravia,
London,
SW1X 8JU

0872 148 0306

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There are two schools of foodie thought in London. The first is practiced by the ultra adventurous who view returning to the same restaurant twice as a heinous crime, unless it’s a foodie safehouse along the lines of Moro or St John.

The second is the “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” approach: why experiment when you already know what your favourite is?

The customers at Motcombs fall firmly into the latter group. They appeared far happier tucking into something recognisable than risking it all over a plate of crystallised yuzu and chocolate mole at the latest fusion joint. Maybe this is sign that I’m growing up, because I don’t really blame them.

Motcombs is situated in Motcomb Street, Belgravia. Nearby neighbours include Jimmy Choo, Christian Louboutin, and a host of art galleries. The restaurant won an award from Tatler in 2000, for “Best Owner Managed Restaurant in London”. This is therefore a place of some repute, both because of the efforts of the owners and the identities of some of the customers.

I brought my sister along on a busy Thursday night to remind her of the good life (she recently moved from Sloane Avenue to Bethnal Green, poor dear) and find out what Motcombs is all about.

The restaurant is situated in an elegantly furnished basement room, below the bustling bar. The staff were predominantly Italian, and very courteous. The menu was mostly made up of the kind of dishes I find it hard to choose between; squid ink risotto, foie gras, native oysters, calves liver, lobster thermidor, etc.

I started with Smoked Duck & King Prawn with mango, pickled bean sprouts and ginger dressing. A funky little dish might sound rather cringe worthy, but is entirely accurate. In a good way… Suki went for the altogether more sophisticated Sautéed Falmouth Bay Scallops with lemongrass beurre blanc and crispy shallots. Her eyes said it before she did – a desert island starter.

She followed with Fillet of Sea Bass with warm lettuce salad and sesame serrano dressing. This was piled high on the plate like some kind of votive offering, but that didn’t stop her from digging in. I tend to have reservations about warm lettuce, expecting it to end up looking like soggy seaweed, but this was a triumph; as was the bass, and that very tasty sauce.

I chose Motcombs Fishcakes with lobster sauce, and wasn’t disappointed either. They seemed to have a fishy texture that is usually missing, and the lobster sauce was wonderfully rich. We also shared some wilted spinach, and swede and carrot purée, which were pleasantly simple.

I followed with a light yet very chocolaty Dark chocolate tart with vanilla ice cream, and Suki’s Fresh fruit salad with ice cream was just enough for her.

The wine list was predominantly French, and all the better for it. Motcombs isn’t really the place to start experimenting with Canadian Riesling. We had a wonderful bottle of Mersault which was nearly too good to drink. All in all the meal came in at almost exactly £100, which considering the food, wine and location was in my opinion pretty good value.

If you’re into bleeding edge gastronomic experimentation then Motcombs probably won’t be for you. However, if you value predictably good cooking, great wines, attentive service and comfy surroundings then I’m sure it will be.