


7

"Fortnum & Mason’s flagship dining room offers reliably high-quality, sometimes nostalgically modernised classics that leave many diners pleasantly satisfied even if nothing is revelatory. Service hiccups included being refused early admission before a reservation and a cringeworthy loo sign, and the experience is unquestionably expensive, but dishes such as perfectly executed raw mackerel tacos — crisp shells, clean fish, creamy dressing and a scatter of caviar — and a Portland crab with frisée and quail’s eggs praised for showcasing beautiful produce, demonstrate a light touch. Old-school items are updated rather than discarded (a textbook calf’s liver with sultry onion purée and crisp fried rings, served with fat, crisp chips), and the unambiguous highlight for one critic was a transcendent cheese toastie: finely textured bread, caramelised, buttery exterior, oozing raclette and a generous snowdrift of microplaned white truffle, an indulgent moment that summed up the visit’s glowing pleasure." - George Reynolds