The Lyttelton is a hushed dining room positioned in between the hotel’s main entrance and the legendary American Bar. Brendan Fyldes is at its helm, a chef who was previously Richard Corrigan’s main man at Corrigan’s, and the menu is very much a best of British affair, one that's perfectly pitched for this moneyed part of town.

The Venue
If you’ve never been to the 5-star luxury Stafford Hotel before and fancy a pre-dinner snifter, you’ll pass through the Lyttelton on your way to the American Bar, perhaps blissfully unaware that this is the restaurant – it first strikes as somewhere you’re likely to be served afternoon tea (they do this too). Take a closer look, though, and you can see it is indeed the restaurant, one fashioned out of a muted palate of ivory, cream and brown, with thick-set carpets and manly armchairs made of leather and decorated with velvet floral patterns. Dating back to the 18th century, this room has been tastefully decorated to maintain its luxury townhouse style – a grand fireplace remains at one end, and beautiful decorative plasterwork detail graces the walls and ceiling, while a decadent chandelier glows overhead.

The Atmosphere
You can hear a pin drop during dinner at the Lyttelton; it’s an incredibly quiet dining room. It’s also a slightly odd experience to be sat at a dinner table while other people are passing through on their way to and from the bar. Other diners include hotel residents, business men, married couples celebrating an occasion, and even a couple with a privileged teenage daughter in tow. Staff keep things ticking over and provide engaging conversation, particularly the hotel’s resident Master Sommelier who is more than happy to regale diners with tales of his adventures in the world of fine wines.

The Food
In chef Brendan Fyldes, The Lyttelton has a chef with the profile to pull in the punters beyond the hotel’s usual crowd. The dinner menu is an excellent showcase for his talents, with distinctly unfussy food, using the finest ingredients from all corners of the British Isles. Prices will quicken the pulse somewhat but you can’t argue with the provenance and this is a 5-star hotel, after all.

Seafood is a big feature but this shouldn’t come as a surprise given the chef’s previous at Corrigan’s. From the starter menu, a wonderfully seared West Coast scallops dish is paired with chunks of caramelised pork belly and dense, good-quality black pudding. It comes with a pretty price (£17.50) but portion size is substantial. Mains provide an even more satisfying dish in the Elwy Valley lamb (£22), served two ways – on the bone and as a hunk of braised shoulder. The chops are served medium-rare and have a moreish charred coating. Along with buttery new potatoes and a sharp mint sauce, this is the sort of thing you wish you could cook at home but would fail miserably attempting to do so.

Desserts are all priced at £9 and include apple and whiskey crumble, vanilla rice pudding and a more unusual Lancashire rarebit made with pear and celery and cobnut, a type of hazelnut.

The Drink
Proudly donning his weighty Master Sommelier badge, The Lyttleton’s wine expert is a man of encyclopaedic knowledge but, critically, he doesn’t get too technical if you’re just a casual enthusiast. Rather than pick something from the leather-bound wine list, you can allow him to match wines to your food choice, and with hundreds of metres of the hotel’s very own wine cellars downstairs there’s plenty to choose from. In his capable hands, the scallops are paired, somewhat unusually, with the acidity and fizz of a glass of champagne, a variety he purrs about on arrival (glasses start from £13.50 for Pol Roger). In addition, the lamb is matched with a South African red - a rich, velvety wine that’s in the style of a classic Bordeux, but at a fraction of the price.

The Last Word
It may be a little too prim and proper for some tastes, and the patter of feet passing through to the bar isn’t ideal, but there’s no doubting that The Lyttelton uses quality ingredients in order to create a great British menu.

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