The Mandarin Oriental's Park Terrace restaurant is one of London's secret summer enclaves and is the perfect spot for a romantic rendezvous beneath the stars.

The Venue
Situated in Knightsbridge's glamorous Mandarin Oriental Hotel, The Park Terrace restaurant is the fair weather companion of one of the hotel's restaurant, The Park (the other being the Michelin-starred Foliage). The terrace is reached by swerving through the shadier dining room and down into a perfectly English garden complete with a clipped lawn, prim perennials and a topiaried yew. During the summer until September, clement weather depending, the Park Terrace has an air of the colonies and is an oasis of green in the midst of a hazy London summertime. It’s open for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea, for which there cannot be a more ideal location in the city, as well as for an early dinner (service is until 9.30pm). The Terrace is adjacent to Hyde Park (visible by either standing on your chair or peeping through the iron gate) and depending on where you sit you either have striking views along South Carriage Drive towards Duke of Wellington Place or towards next door’s building site; however, amongst the delightful English garden setting, it's barely intrusive. Huge magnolia-hued umbrellas offer cool shade and the smartly oiled teak furnishings are understated but reassuringly expensive.

The Atmosphere
For what is essentially an hotel restaurant, The Terrace has a real mix of clientele from the reserved to the raucous. Minimal seating keeps numbers down and the atmosphere is sparkling yet discreet. Although the background tones of London cabs can become a little repetitive, the traffic is not overpowering and almost adds to the privileged atmosphere of being in a private garden in the heart of the capital. The staff are attentive and polite and with a quiet nudge will happily recommend their favourite dishes.

The Food
The menu is a lively mix of pan-Asian cuisine from sea bass sashimi to wonton soup and offers a range of dishes starting at a very reasonable £11. Sadly, there is no getting away from the hotel-ness of The Terrace as alongside the Asian treats sits good old British fish and chips and the all-essential hotel club sandwich. The Park's signature dishes of crab cake with roast lobster (£16) and Black Alaskan Cod with miso (£22) are very popular and rightly so too, both are perfectly executed and so delicious you would sell your grandmother for just one more bite. The crab cake arrives as a generously plump disc of dusky pink crab which resembles a soft mound of dessicated coconut, covered in a light crumb with a coral nib of lobster claw nestling on top. Its very soft crunch and delicate flavour makes for a stunning dish. The tuna sashimi (£14) is another must-try, arriving in fanfare on a long white platter, a dozen or so rectangular slabs of dark red tuna lie like depleted dominoes. Sesame, asparagus, fresh chilli, neon-green wasabi and a punchy ponzu dressing decorate the fish making for a real taste extreme. It's the sort of dish you may be expected to share but it tastes so good you really won't want to!

Main courses are mainly Asian influenced (bar the steak and chips), starting with the fabulous miso marinated Black Alaskan cod. Arriving on a banana leaf and accompanied by Japanese ginger, sticky sweet miso sauce and fresh lemon slices, the fish is softer than a babies kiss and sweeter than a Valentine from your mother. A side dish is needed and the crunchy pac choi (£5) with chilli and soy matches the delicate flavour of the fish perfectly. For those with a head for heat, the Thai green curry with chicken (£14) is an excellent example of this creamy crowd-pleaser. The chilli is fresh and flavoursome with some real personality emerging through the coconut milk. The desserts are profoundly British, the rice pudding with raspberry compote (£9) is comfort eating at it's best, creamy and sweet with a deliciously jammy tang of fresh raspberries. The lemon tart (also £9) is an excellent example of the patissiere's genius and the sharp wink of the accompanying citrus salad is a welcome palate cleanser.

The Drink
The wine list here at the Mandarin Oriental is both expensive and extensive, but thankfully the sommelier is a kindly soul and has narrowed the epic down into manageable bites. There's a good selection of house wines including a deliciously fruity white Vin de Pays for £23 a bottle. You can order a crisp Sancerre or a flinty Chablis by the glass too. For more of an occasion (The Park Terrace is the ideal spot for romantic proposals) there is a good choice of champagnes starting with a Moet & Chandon at £55 a bottle or £13 a glass. The infamous and expertly made Mandarin Oriental cocktails such as the Madame Butterfly with fresh watermelon, Grand Marnier, Passoa and Champagne (£12.50) are also available from the much revered Mandarin Bar.

The Last Word
The Park Terrace is a rare London treat, a private walled garden offering the best of British and Asian cuisine. So whether your fancy is cucumber sandwiches and a pot of Earl Grey or expertly cut sashimi and a glass of champagne, the Park Terrace will cater to every need and add its very own dash of colonial glamour.

venue information venue map view london review user reviews (1) image gallery (7)