The season’s must-visit dining spot is the pop-up Flash restaurant in the West Room of the Royal Academy of Arts. Designed to complement GSK Contemporary, the restaurant, from the team behind Bistrothèque, celebrates feasts for the body and the mind. Artists who are featured in the space include painters Simon Popper and Alexis Teplin, whose works adorn the walls; fashion darling Giles Deacon, who dreamed up a Swarovski-crystal encrusted chandelier inspired by a “psychedelic death star” and illustrator Will Broome, who designed the witty new Wedgwood china (also on sale in the gift shop). The menus are less daring than the interiors with such dishes as a roast guinea fowl with carrot galette salsify sharing billing with safer choices such as a cheeseburger and shrimp chowder. In a modern marketing move, many of the pieces will be on eBay once the installation closes, with proceeds going to the Royal Academy. Open daily for lunch, afternoon tea and dinner.
Note: Telephone reservations are taken between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday to Friday. Credit cards only for payment; no cash.
Plenty of hedge fund bonuses are spent at this relaunched Mayfair restaurant, which has become the “it” spot under new owner Richard Caring, a fashion magnate who also owns Le Caprice, the Ivy and J. Sheekey. Sit at the oval-shaped oyster bar, the see-and-be-seen focal point of this chic seafood eatery, and people watch over a glass of bubbly and some delicious dover sole or stargazy pie. Original works by such British artists as Gary Hume, Michael Landy and Fiona Rae adorn the walls. And celebrity doorman Sean McDermott (ex-Wolseley gatekeeper and the ultimate thermometer of a restaurant’s hotness) is there to greet and to bid adieu.
One of Nathalie Hambro favorites.
“St. Alban, the newest venture from Chris Corbin and Jeremy King (of the Wolseley and Le Caprice, etc.), attracts a heady mix of politicians, celebrities and literati glitterati, who come for the sophisticated, modern cuisine and elegant 1940’s-era setting.”
The Centre Point skyscraper has been a lightening rod of controversy since it opened in 1966 and was declared a monstrosity marring the city’s skyline. The reason that people are talking about it this fall, though, is that a stunning new private club has opened on the top three floors. Tom Dixon, who recently spiffed up the Soho House, has brought 21st-century glamour to complement the stunning city views. Rather than enter via the main lobby, guests climb an exterior stairway to a mezzanine level, where a receptionist ushers them to a private elevator. On the 31st floor, which can be rented for private parties, a thirty-foot zinc bar cues the Austin Power’s ambiance. One floor above is where most members gather in the main lounge (dominated by Dixon’s updated take on Eames lounge chairs). The various restaurants all emphasize the view, as does the Champagne bar on the top floor. In another modern twist, this is probably the first private club in the city to donate a percentage of membership fees to charity.
For a fun night out, I was dying to recommend this popular Japanese restaurant in Knightsbridge, with heaps of atmosphere, good food and stylish surroundings. But when my handbag was neatly nicked on a visit there on a recent Friday night by some enterprising thieves, my passion for Zuma took a knock. I’d gone with friends, and the place was heaving with happy singles. My advice: avoid weekend evenings, sit at a table (not in the dark, more crowded lounge), and of course, glue your bag to your chopsticks. The food, cocktails and general buzz of the place are worth the risk. Favorites include beef tataki, spider crab sushi rolls, grilled chicken wings with lime and salt, fried calamari and black cod.
From Nob Hill decadence to SoMa innovation, San Francisco blends...
