Pied à Terre

It would be easy to walk on by the unassuming glass frontage of Pied à Terre, mistaking it for one of Fitzrovia's many discreet galleries or design studios. But to gastronomes in the know, this is a place whose cooking hits the heights of what is going on in London's dining scene today. Chef Shane Osborn has done what many of us may dream of and headed off around the world with his family, while Marcus Eaves returns to the fold having headed up L'Autre Pied (see entry). The menu will quietly evolve. The enterprise spreads over three floors of a Charlotte Street townhouse, comprising two downstairs dining areas, a first-floor bar and private dining room above. Sombre earthy shades predominate, but the interior is well-lit by a large skylight, and there are textures of suede and rosewood all adding up to a quietly tasteful look. Service under David's guidance is as seamless as anyone could reasonably ask for, delivering a minutely orchestrated procession of tip-top extras around the main components of the meal. The modern French cooking is classically-inspired, simple yet mind-blowingly inventive stuff, pulling together riveting combinations of flavour and texture without veering into the choppy waters of maverick experimentation. In short, the kind of benchmark cooking that can only be pulled off with supreme technical virtuosity and an innate feel for what works with what. It is all delivered via a tasting menu, with accompanying wines if you really want to go for it, and a carte bristling with ingredients that are as good as things get. Up on the roof is a garden providing the kitchen with herbs and edible flowers. A summer lunch delivers deep indulgence in a layered stack of wild sea trout tartare, fresh crab, and crab caviar accessorised prettily with bronze fennel strands, monk's beard and edible petals. Main-course is a real technical tour de force - John Dory rolled in green herbs and matched with chargrilled squid tagliatelle, fennel salad, mandarin and cardamom gel, and fennel pollen. The same fine judgement is applied to desserts, teaming a lush bittersweet chocolate tart with stout ice cream and macadamia nut cream. If the full works tasting menu or carte are simply beyond your reach, the two-course lunch menu at £23.50 has to be the best value in the land for food of this standard. The final word has to go to the sommelier, who is a real pro, guiding the indecisive with a sure hand through the superlative tome of a wine list.