Celebrate London’s creativity at a restaurant where the food, and art, tells a story
Discreetly tucked away among Mayfair’s back streets, surrounded by some of the best shops and galleries in the world, you will find Mount St. Restaurant & Rooms – a gem of a restaurant on the first floor above The Audley pub.
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With vibes of a gallery, the creators of Mount St. Restaurant describe it as a spot for entertaining through food, the story of Mayfair and art. Anyone with a penchant for the curious will adore the surroundings. The restaurant is a design megahub where every piece tells a story, and the food is devine. The main attraction is the lobster pie for two, and it’s as excessive and lavish as it sounds.
Although it’s a spendy joint, Mount St. is also an ideal place to escape from the mundane, particularly for those who revel in all of the best things about central London.
Simon Brown
The interiors
A side door on Mount Street leads you up a winding staircase through to the restaurant. Boldly decorated, the exuberant marble, mosaic floor – Broken Floor, created by contemporary artist Rashid Johnson – runs throughout the space as does wall-to-wall extraordinary, specially-commissioned art. It is “positively bursting” with contemporary works, said Antonia Bentel in House & Garden. “£50m worth, to be exact.”
There’s an air of mystery too as the restaurant also has a collection of four “curious rooms” upstairs, each with a different theme: Italian, Swiss, Scottish and Games. The Swiss room reflects the gallerists behind the restaurant, Hauser & Wirth, while the Scottish room is a nod to its sister property, The Fife Arms, a five-star hotel in the Cairngorms.
Caring but not overbearing, the staff allow you enough time to enjoy the fantastic art on show, from a striking Picasso to works which have a food theme, for example Andy Warhol’s Lobster and Lucien Freud’s A Plate of Prawns. “No disrespect” to my “stunning pals”, said Leonie Cooper in Time Out, but never have I ever dined “this close to a masterpiece”. Every detail is a celebration of craftsmanship including what’s on the table, from cute tree-design salt and pepper shakers by sculptor Paul McCarthy to the lamps by Sophie Taeuber-Arp, which create a perfect ambiance at dinner time.
The dining experience
Executive chef Jamie Shears prepares a feast with equally incredible breakfast, lunch, dinner and even roast menus. But for me, it had to be a dinner date. Bread, butter and a delicious dish of chicken liver parfait was served up followed by the starters. The mock turtle croquette (which is actually veal) was a showstopper, as was the dainty beef tartare served with buttery dipping toast. Every aspect of the food is as carefully considered as the noteworthy art, and red meat (beef and lamb) comes from the company’s very own farm in Somerset.
The signature dish is the lobster pie, which depending on fishing weather, is caught in Cornwall. But if it is too difficult to fish it’s brought in from Canada. Presented with a lobster head poking out of the pastry, the creation is teasingly placed on your table before a waiter kindly steps in to elegantly dish it up. Inside the pie the filling is unbelievably rich, and it’s served with the freshest of greens and comforting mashed potatoes. Vegetables are also sourced from farmers and growers around the UK.
To wash it all down, there’s a wine list with everything you could desire, from Sussex cuvée to Chablis, as well as the most tantalising cocktail list.
Things to know
The restrooms are downstairs which means restaurant and pub guests share the same loos. In a way I loved this juxtaposition of super fine dining crossed with a pub atmosphere. The Audley is also beautifully decorated and features a mahogany bar and a kaleidoscope-style ceiling by artist Phyllida Barlow.
The verdict
A visit to Mount St. Restaurant is a total treat and the perfect pit stop off after a day of retail therapy or sightseeing around Mayfair.
Kaye O’Doherty was a guest of Mount St. Restaurant. First Floor 41-43 Mount Street, London W1K 2RX; mountstrestaurant.com
