Creating a successful hotel restaurant in Central London is never easy. Guests are spoilt for dining options a short stroll away, whilst passers-by have to be lured across that invisible, psychological barrier formed by the hotel’s reception. The Montagu serves up some decent food, albeit it at a hefty price, but where’s the wow to turn it into destination dining?

The Venue
The decor is a nice mix of clubby traditionalism and contemporary boutique chic. Huge but simple chandeliers dispense moody lighting. Ceilings are high, woods dark, hues muted, chairs sturdy, and napery white and starched. Ask for a window table and gaze out at green and pleasant Portman Square. There are 40 covers plus a chef’s table where up to 9 perch on high stools and watch the culinary brigade in full flow. The space is bookended by a bar and that 21st-century must-have, an open kitchen. The designer has addressed the invisible barrier problem most effectively by differentiating the restaurant and adjoining lobby with just a low rail rather than a full-height wall.

The Atmosphere
On an evening early in the week, the joint is hardly jumping. Businessmen and what look like hotel guests make up the smattering of diners. Suits and open-neck shirts are the most popular sartorial option, although good jeans with a jacket and shoes rather than trainers would be fine. Service is formal yet notably friendly; if anything, staff are rather too keen to explain the minutiae of what’s on offer.

The Food
A set menu offers three courses, each with three choices, for a very fair £24.50 plus service. The a la carte lists nine starters ranging in price from £6.50 for soup (game consomme or seafood bisque) to a whopping £52.50 for 30g of caviar and accompaniments. It’s hard to make a mixed salad special, and The Montagu’s (£7) is perfectly pleasant, if pyrotechnic-free. A huge pile of mixed leaves, marinated cherry tomatoes (peeled, and softened by the marinade, though you’d be hard-pressed to taste its unspecified ingredients), celery and cucumber come tossed in an agreeable, astringent dressing. Three Celtic scallops (so are they Scottish, Welsh, Irish, Cornish or from northern France, then?) arrive perfectly cooked and accompanied by juicy, well-flavoured wild mushrooms and tender yet charred baby leeks. This dish works well, although at £12.50, one would hope so. Its pomegranate syrup is, in the modern chef-y way, just the teeniest squiggle across the plate.

The mains selection is unbalanced with six fish options (including the dish of the day), three game dishes plus just one beef and one vegetarian. John Dory with bacon and mustard Savoy cabbage, glazed carrots and a sherry reduction (£19.50) is a hit. The fish fillets have been accurately cooked although, with salty bacon in the cabbage, the seasoning could be reined in a bit. The baby carrots are good, and the cabbage in its creamy, mustardy, citrussy sauce is a delight which is just as well as it’s back to squiggles on the plate as far as the sherry reduction is concerned. Tender slices of venison fillet (£22.50) arrive cooked exactly as ordered. Their flavour is mild, not gamey as is sometimes the case. They sit atop a pleasant enough pave which, despite being made from sweet potato, is not cloying. So tiny is the trickle of redcurrant jus, it’s hard to form an opinion. All in all, it’s a bit underwhelming. Warmed plates would benefit both mains. A side of sauteed spinach (£3.50) still retains some texture. Mash, also £3.50, is lukewarm though, thankfully, the kitchen has resisted the temptation to work in half a pound of butter, as is the way of too many chefs these days.

Half a dozen desserts are each £6.50. The ice cream and sorbet selections include chocolate, strawberry or vanilla plus a daily choice for the former, lemon or mango, plus another daily choice, for the latter. One expects a cheeseboard to be slightly more expensive than puds but here it costs almost double, a breathtaking £12.50. Dark chocolate fondant could be a tad hotter but has a deep chocolate flavour and the correct ratio of sponge to liquid centre. A scoop of gorgeous raspberry ice cream is the perfect foil. An individual apple and blackberry tart is okay, with its filling of blackberry-flavoured frangipani and apple slivers. It might benefit from being served warm. Its accompanying scoop of vanilla sorbet doesn’t taste of much.

The Drink
Sensibly, the wine list has been divided into two sections. For those who just fancy a drink, there’s a single page of seven sparklers, nine whites, two roses and nine reds, all available by the glass or carafe but not the bottle. Serious oenophiles, meanwhile (and those for whom only a bottle will do), can plough through 11 pages of more serious vintages, albeit grouped under unintimidating headings like dry, aromatic and fruity and medium bodied and lightly spicy. There’s little under £25, though plenty in the £25 - £40 bracket. If your expense account has weathered the recessionary storm, you might consider 2002 Louis Roederer Cristal Champage (£295) or 1998 Chateau Latour, 1er Grand Cru Classe, Pauillac from Bordeaux at £550.

Back at the short, just-give-me-a-drink list, the house white (2008 Apaltagua sauvignon blanc from Chile) is fresh and citrussy, whilst the red (2007 Apaltagua cabernet sauvignon) is warming and blackcurranty. Both are fine if not exactly bargains at £6 for a 175ml glass, £8 for 250ml, and £15 for a 500ml carafe. There are five dessert wines (two white, two red, one sparkling) all available by the glass (£9.50 - £13.50). Teas and coffees at £3.50 to £5.50 feature unusual and intriguing options like flowering osmanthus and whole rosebud China black tea. The filter coffee is top-notch.

The Last Word
You can be assured of a civilised experience at The Montagu and you certainly won’t leave hungry. The food is absolutely fine – but that’s the problem. You’ll be hard pressed not to spend £60 a head on three courses and half a bottle of modest wine (unless you opt for the set menu) and, for that price, thrilling and outstanding, rather than absolutely fine, ought to be the adjectives that spring to mind.

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