Max’s Little Black Book – A Guide To London Restaurants & Bars

Max, whose friends affectionately coin him ‘concierge services’ due to his little black book of people and places, is now unofficially the concierge service for the London branch of The Rhubarb Society. Sometimes, you just need someone to test run a place a handful of times for you before you consider spending your own hard-earned money. Luckily for you, Max’s Little Black Book will be updated regularly so all our members can stay in the loop. You’re welcome.

Row on 5

Savile Row, Mayfair

“Would you like your coat dry cleaned while you have dinner?” was the first question asked to me after arriving at the reception at 5 Savile Row. Of course, this is Savile Row, there must be an element of “gentlemen’s fashion” to the meal. Little did I know this would be the first of many flawless details of the evening ahead.

​Jason Atherton & Spencer Metzgers’ brand-new restaurant, which had only been open for two weeks prior to my visit, starts downstairs. I wanted an aperitif, so I was shown around the champagne room by Roxy, filled with the best houses with some of the best vintages. In fact, the entire Lower Ground is surrounded by wine rooms, filled to the brim with the best wines from around the world. Oh. Be warned though. The wine list isn’t really a list, but more a book that could be mistaken to be a 17th-century Bible…it’s huge!

The first four courses of the 15-course tasting menu begin downstairs. Immaculate mouthfuls of Cornish Tuna with Yuzu, the most tender langoustine tempura (along with personalised Chopsticks) and this incredible cheese and onion flavour bomb. I make a remark to the sous-chef whose job was to perfectly align these micro leaves on some of the amuse-bouches. The dishes all sit perfectly alongside the immaculate bespoke suits of Savile Row, with no detail overlooked.

​After the first courses have been served, you are escorted, via the wines, up to this clean, light oak panelled room filled with only around 15 tables in total. We are seated at the chefs’ counter, where two handwritten envelopes are waiting, along with a letter opener. We open the envelope to find the menu, which is quickly whisked away, and the fifth course is presented to us.

​The whole meal is a perfectly choreographed dance, with the dishes all having some element of being finished at the table, for us, by Spencer himself. We opted for the basic wine pairing (there are three options), I find that for these meals, going with wine selected by the incredibly skilled sommeliers is sometimes the best way to enjoy the experience of it all. Brioche, Turbot, and Wagyu are all beautifully presented and have the perfect portion sizes. My guest and I, by the end, are perfectly full, not too little, not too much, just right.

​Back downstairs to finish the meal with “tea and cake”, followed by a chest, yes, a chest on wheels, of petit-fours. Always my favourite. We leave, presented with a little present (I shall save the spoilers), along with my newly dry-cleaned overcoat.

​I can imagine that this restaurant will have one, maybe two stars very, very quickly. The meal isn’t just food on a plate; it is a beautiful culinary experience. Did I enjoy the meal? Yes. Do I need to go again? No. Would I go again if someone else was paying? Absolutely 100%. Go while you can still get a table; I can see very quickly that reservations will be very hard to get.

5 Savile Row, London, W1.

Tasting Menu £198.50, Wine Pairing £150, Wagyu supplement £45.

Expect £300-500/pp.

Drink: Basic Wine pairing

Eat: +Wagyu supplement.

Space Talk

St John Street, Clerkenwell

Opening earlier this year, this chic new cocktail / Hi-Fi Bar situated at the bottom of St John Street in Clerkenwell is very much the place to be on Friday and Saturday evenings.

No booking is required here; walk-ins are only allowed for groups of less than six. There are 9 “house” cocktails, Space Talk’s take on the Espresso Martini, “coffee”, or their take on a spicy Margherita “, pepper”, priced around £14, and all very good looking! They also serve some great-looking sushi, from Toro to Seabream.

Ideal place for a date earlier in the evening, not too loud and easy to have a conversation. I would shy away from the main bar seating as there are no footrests, so it’s somewhat uncomfortable…

Once the evenings get going, they have a curated selection of DJs, which are advertised on their Instagram page @spaceetalk.ldn.

My new go-to for smart cocktails, with a great relaxed atmosphere, when in the Clerkenwell area.

18/20 St John St, London

Cocktails £14-16 each

Drink: Pepper (£15)

Eat: Toro Roll (£10)

The Dover

Dover Street, Mayfair

This self-proclaimed “New York Italian Bar and Restaurant” has to have had the biggest hype in 2024…and I was lucky enough to be able to go over three times in 2024. However, I don’t think I shall be going again to eat.

The first time I went in March, I thought it was one of the best meals I had ever had; the spaghetti meatballs were really the best I’ve ever eaten, super tender meatballs and a super concentrated tomato sauce, with perfect al dente spaghetti. Food aside, The Dover had a great atmosphere and brilliant service; also, the prices for Mayfair are not “bad”.

I quickly rushed back to book another table in April, where I was entirely underwhelmed by the food, unfortunately. The service and atmosphere were still brilliant, but my meal was not good ( I was treated to a very dry flatiron chicken; no one wants that!). Having said that, my two guests were having the experience I had on my first visit and were absolutely loving it. Did I just order the wrong dish?

That question was something I was thinking about as the months passed and the restaurant got more and more celebrity endorsements; even Grace Dent says the bar is her best place for a cocktail in London! And I can’t disagree with her; the front bar area (accompanied by the sexy (some Italian) staff) is super cute for a date, complete with dark lighting in a dark wooden-panelled room.

So, yes, I did decide to go back just before Christmas…and I had a lovely time this visit, deciding to have the thinly sliced beef Arrosto (obviously starting with the meatballs). I have to say the Arrosto was very tasty, even if, in my opinion, I would have liked slightly more beef and slightly less mash. The meatballs were okay, but nothing like they were back in March. My guest opted for the burger, which I was told was very good. Along with our meal, the service and the atmosphere were still very good. I think they have done something to fix the acoustics because back in March, with a full room, you could barely hear yourself think.

While I personally might not be rushing back to eat at the restaurant, I will certainly be visiting the bar again. Maybe you’ll have a different experience than me, but in my opinion, the food itself isn’t necessarily worth the hype…perhaps a visit to Brutto might save you a few hundred pounds.

Note: they do sell their candles online, and they are rather great…

33 Dover Street, London

Main Courses £19-£65, average is £27

Eat: Spicy Raw Tuna (£22), Beef Arrosto (£36)

Drink: Vesper Martini (£18)

Service Charge: 15%

Brutto

St John St, Clerkenwell

Yes, Madonna did eat here back in 2024…however, that is sort of irrelevant. I was in two minds about this restaurant, as I really wanted to keep it a secret.

This place is just a super great, local New York style Italian bar and restaurant. Super low-key. Super low lighting. Super great food. Incredible prices. Having been recommended the restaurant by a friend, I remember being rather annoyed that I’d never heard of it, even though it opened in 2021. So I booked myself in for the last table I could find (it isn’t easy to get a reservation!).

We arrived and were warmly greeted, and led to our candle lit table, the tablecloths are paper but the napkins are real (my kinda style), the atmosphere is buzzing but it doesn’t feel too crowded. I look around at what other people are eating, but I’ve already had a scour at the menu online (like we all do), so I know what I want.

We’re celebrating, well we’re celebrating Christmas, life, etc.; my friend is visiting from NYC, so we order a bottle of champagne, again very well-priced…and we order the food. We start with the, yes hear me out, “deep-fried cuddles” served with prosciutto and stracchino, along with the crudites. Both beautifully simple and super tasty. Yes, crudites are just raw veg on a plate, but the olive oil is super peppery, and it has nice rock salt at the bottom, so you get this great crunch with the oil and the salt with every bite. The cuddles were a make-your-own bite of cheese, ham and a little savoury dough. They’re just great; order them. The meal is off to a great start.

Mains are sausages with lentils and the sliced rare beef with roasted potatoes. Both are completely simple, but so so flavourful. We didn’t leave any food left it was that good. The sausages served with some mustard, and the rare beef, just wow. We finished the meal with the tiramisu, which was again simple and stunning.

I can not recommend this restaurant enough (if you can get a table ;-)) Perfectly simple, extremely well priced, and super cute. The perfect date night.

35-37 Greenhill Rents, London

Main Courses £12-£21, average is £16

 Eat: Deep Fried Cuddles (£13), Pork & Fennel Sausage (£17)

Drink: The Clerkenwell Boy (£11)

Koyn

Grosvenor St, Mayfair

Downstairs in this rather posh-looking building in Mayfair might be one of the best high-end Thai restaurants in London.

I have eaten here now over five times, and each time it has been consistently good, it is my current “go-to” for when I have been drinking in Mayfair but I don’t want to spend a fortune on food, yet Busaba is a little too low key for what we’re wearing! Ha! Whereas you used to be able to walk in, I would thoroughly recommend booking, as over the last six months, other people have heard of the restaurant, and it has been getting busy.

The dishes draw inspiration from all over Thailand, and I have to say the Pad Thai (with prawn) is one of the best I have had in London. I do have one slight warning, which is that a lot of the dishes are very spicy, even for my standard, and I would hope that with more feedback, they might get toned down a little…the staff are very quick to mention which dishes are spicy when ordering.

The atmosphere is super chill, the prices are “Mayfair cheap”, and the food is excellent.

38 Grosvenor Street, London

Main Courses £17-45, average £21

 Eat: Crispy Prawn Cakes (£16), Chicken Satay (£12), Kra Paow Gai (£19),

Pad Thai with Prawn (£20).

 Service Charge: 12.5% (£2.5 Cover charge)

Le Magritte Bar

Beaumont Hotel, Mayfair

Slightly hidden away in Mayfair is the Beaumont Hotel (which you might know as it has a huge crouching body Anthony Gormley sculpture outside); inside, there is the Magritte bar to the left of the lobby.

Now, I am not really a fan of hotel bars in London because, well, I always feel like I am being “ripped off”; however, this is one of my favourite places for a Martini in the area, maybe even better than the Connaught Bar. Which I can’t believe I just said.

Go for a pre-drink before dinner or a post-drink, but either way, it’s worth a visit if you want a quiet little cocktail bar.

8 Balderton Street, London

Cocktails £20+

 Drink: Dry Gin Martini, twist (£23)