fine-dining-guide.com | Two Views | Berkeley Square Cafe

A Progressive Sort.
by Daniel Darwood, Co-Editor

Davies Street, linking Berkeley Square
and Oxford Street, was, until a couple of
years ago, hardly the place to find
restaurants of distinction. Yet now it has
become the St James’ Street of Mayfair,
attracting foodies to parts of central
London usually reserved for estate
agents, galleries and specialist shops
for the upper classes.

Of the three major restaurants which can
be found in this quarter of a mile –
Gordon Ramsay at Claridges and
Cipriani being the other two - Berkeley
Square Café can claim to be the best in
terms of innovative cooking, efficient
service and value for money.

Steven Black, lately of Eastwell Manor,
and his sous chef Richard Hugle (the
latter having worked in several Michelin
Starred kitchens), lead a small but
dedicated team, producing dishes worthy
of much larger establishments.

Front of house can be the delightful and
welcoming Merete Black or the surly and
distant Joseph McColgan. The dining
room has well spaced tables, is subtly lit
and exudes a sense of style. Don’t
bother to have a drink in the downstairs
bar which is ill lit and furnished with the
most uncomfortable low back swivel
bucket chairs. Instead, seek the advice of
the engaging sommelier Benoit Gueret
whose experience at L’Ortolan and 1837
has stood him in good stead.

On the a la carte menu, a bargain at £45,
expect as an amuse bouche a tasse of
intensely flavoured soup – gaspacho,
tomato or lentil. The starter dishes which
follow are amongst the most satisfying,
combining measured creativity with
maximising tastes. The Cornish Crab
risotto with plum tomato sorbet and
frozen olive oil exemplifies this perfectly:
the sorbet and oil provided the contrast in
texture and taste, whilst the generous
use of brown crab meat added depth of
flavour to the risotto itself. The seared
scallops and foie gras with pea puree
were perfectly executed if somewhat
passé by today’s frantically changing
standards.

Main courses include at least three fish
dishes, beef, lamb and poultry. The
roasted breast of Welsh Black Mountain
organic chicken retained its moistness
and gamey flavour. Its accompaniments
– an open herb raviolo of confit thigh,
carrot and tarragon salad and a light pea
sauce enhanced the dish perfectly,
although I must admit I could done with a
little more sauce. This might also be
said of the perfectly cooked Aberdeen
Angus beef dishes, which have been
garnished, at different times, with red
wine dressing, foie gras, snails or
cepes. This however, is a small grumble
given the meal as a whole.

Puddings are a triumph of artistry and
taste. The “tasting of raspberry”
comprised a sable, parfait, mousse and
the fresh fruit in an utterly harmonious
combination that delighted both eye and
tongue. Warm fondant of chocolate is
amongst the best that can be found in
London. The kitchen is also able to be
flexible - on a previous visit, a request for
something simpler produced a plate of
exquisite, intensely flavoured sorbets.

The Café - a major understatement
given its accomplished cooking – offers
a range of menus to suit all pockets and
tastes. Our last visit saw a crowded
restaurant, indicating it is now receiving
the recognition it fully deserves.

Don't Leave it to the Last Minute.
by Simon Carter, Co-Editor

A mere 50 yard walk along the road from
Berkeley Square Cafe will take you past a
host of chauffeurs waiting patiently in
luxury hardware, the pavement replete
with tabloid photographers. No, they are
not there for this restaurant, but for
Cipriani - a place where the experience for
the fashionable comes before food for the
foodie. It is somewhat ironic that, in such
proximity, Vince Power's money funds the
gastronomic Berkeley Square Cafe - Mr
Power is a man more typically associated
with The London Astoria and the
Glastonbury and Reading Festivals.

Having driven to this part of Mayfair on a
weekday evening, a sure plus is the
choice of free parking around the square.
This occasion was no different and we
walked into the restaurant bang on time.
This was to be our seventh visit of 2004,
perhaps not due to The London
Newcomer of the Year Award in The Good
Food Guide, but more the Toptable.co.uk
and Lastminute.com promotions.

Business must have been slow for Merete
and Steven Black so at the turn of the year
they had the marketing idea of offering the
£45 three course Carte at significant
discounts. After early Toptable.co.uk 70%
discount before 7pm, they still today, offer
Lastminute.com bookings with 50%
discounts from the Carte.

Steven Black has a pedigree of cooking at
up-market country houses - Thornbury
Castle, Chewton Glenn and Eastwell
Manor. The style is very much 'respect the
ingredients, respect the jus.' Unnecessary
enhancements, combinations or fusions
are avoided - quality ingredients well
cooked have flavours, textures and natural
sauces that speak for themselves. A
clean and refreshing approach in an age
of complexity, over-elaboration and
scientific cooking. For example; a
generous fillet of Aberdeen Angus Beef
with Cepes, Asparagus and a bunch of
Cherry Tomatoes still on the vine; sweet,
seared scallops (presumably hand dived)
with a fine helping of melt-in-the-mouth
pan fried foie gras.

The simply roasted Welsh Black Mountain
Organic Chicken was my choice for the
main course. The meat retained its
moisture and the quality was evident from
the burst of flavour that lingered on the
palette. An open ravioli of confit thigh on
the side was sweet and succulent.

Throughout the year the kitchen has
noticeably stepped up in class and
consistency; as has the front-of-house
with the astute hiring of the Sommelier
Benoit Gueret - formerly of 1837 and
L'Ortolan - who is as good with customers
as he is with the wine.

The restaurant was packed for the
evening - at least 70 covers - testament to
promotions backed by quality. In fact the
cooking staff of eight have done well to
retain high standards so effectively,
working as they have in what can best be
described as a galley kitchen. What is
more, the puddings have demonstrated
complexity and imagination as strings to
their bow - The Tasting of Raspberries
and Assiette of Banana provide a variety of
tastes and textures in creative style. I
went for my standard chocolate fondant
and was more than satisfied.

As you might imagine £22.50 for three
courses of such quality is irresistible, at
£45 the menu would still represent value,
and by the time you read this, that may be
what you pay. Should the restaurant
remain on the same path then I'm sure
Berkeley Square Cafe will be a high
climber in the 2005 1% Club, and if not
next January then the January after, the
Michelin Star will come, perhaps long
after Cipriani has closed.