L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon

Joël Robuchon is a French super-chef who came out of early retirement to take the restaurant world by storm once again. His big idea, second time around, was L'Atelier concept, which translates as 'workshop'. Based around an open kitchen, restaurants from Paris to Tokyo offer small tasting plates of innovative and high quality food cooked before your eyes. The London operation is an impossibly glamorous place, spread over three floors with the ground-floor L'Atelier dominated by the open kitchen and counter (sit up close on high stools or on nearby tables) and a wall of living ivy. With low-level lighting, dark red and black décor and everything stylised to the nth-degree, this futuristic look has a Japanese feel, which is not accidental. The first floor dining room, La Cuisine, has a black and white theme and is the place to eat if you want the more traditional three-course format. The top floor is a bar (Le Bar) with the glamour returning with a vengeance. The food can be simple - the quality of the produce is first class - and it can be innovative and complex. Inspiration is drawn mostly from France, Italy and Spain. Scottish lobster is served with spiced turnip in a dish that, like many, can be taken as a small tasting plate or a full-size course. Crispy langoustine fritters with basil pistou is made with the lightest imaginable tempura batter and the flavours perfectly judged. Service is as smart, hip and professional as everything else in this restaurant.

Left off Cambridge Circus & Shaftesbury Av
Nearest station: Leicester Square/Covent Garden

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