Food and Drink
The Return Of Mayfair
Mayfair is fast becoming the new hip spot for bright young things. The Sybarite has the low-down on the capital’s most luxurious postcode.
Read the full story
More Food and Drink
Review of A game-changing supper club in Mayfair with the Punchbowl
Secreted away at the top of the building, hosted in The Club private dining room, the Mayfair Supper Club is surrounded by what resembles a Victorian art collector’s dining table. Oh if the walls could talk! One wouldn’t be wrong to assume some of Mayfair’s finest minds and makers in history were once sat here enjoying their dinner whilst discussing important worldly matters. Since 1729, The Punchbowl has been providing its esteemed players and patrons with a place to relax, dine and entertain. Their newly established Supper Club is hosted monthly with a different theme every month. This November, to celebrate game season, we began the evening with a butchery lesson by the incredibly proficient Jose Souto, who made everything look effortless, but do not be fooled fellow Sybarites, from knowing what gives a grouse that lavender hint to where to cut a venison tendon – this was riveting stuff! Luckily, we then got to taste these delicacies supplied by the Lincolnshire Game Company.
Just how much can you customise your meal at a top...
Stepping up to the challenge was Mayfair’s Avista restaurant. Winner of three prestigious AA rosette awards, Avista is an arm of Millennium Mayfair Hotel in Grosvenor Gardens and a favourite with travelling business people and discerning locals looking for a quiet and relaxing, yet innovative meal. Plush booths give the dining room an intimate feel, intriguing artwork from the Tanya Baxter Contemporary gallery adorns the walls, and to the side by the kitchen, talented chefs prepare cold starters on a bar in full view of guests. The staff were all too obliging to meet my culinary whims; even taking it on as a challenge. Being a vegetarian myself and my friend a pescatarian, Executive Chef, Arturo Granato, and Maître d, Andrea Mick Barni, animatedly talked me through their suggestions for each of our seven-course meat-free, seasonal dishes. The restaurant’s sommelier apparently also enjoyed the task of specially selecting a wine to pair with each of our customised courses. First on the table was a bowl presenting two toasted and deep fried rice and mushroom crisps and two beetroot meringues, filled with horseradish ganache. These literally melted in the mouth like candyfloss and set the bar for presentation for the rest of the night. Secondly, a bread selection with Puglian olive oil and a triad of dips. Now, I’ve eaten a lot of bread in my time and this has to be up there with some of the best. Everything at the restaurant is made ‘avista’, meaning ‘on-site’ in Italian, so customising dishes was easy for the skilled chefs, especially as Arturo told me that all the food is prepared ‘à la minute’ once ordered, meaning everything is as fresh as possible.
Review of Review: Peyotito restaurant
Having only just opened in July 2016, the chic eatery is already a favourite amongst West London foodies, and it’s easy to see why. Chicly decorated and dimly lit, tables are illuminated by the white neon writing on the wall that reads: “Tequila is to wake the living, Mezcal is to wake the dead.”
Learn more about luxury lifestyle by signing up for free
For our latest experiences and editorials, be the first in the know. You'll learn about upcoming experiences happening worldwide and the secrets and lifestyle of a sybarite.