Texture Restaurant

You need plenty of self-confidence and ability to launch a restaurant in the heart of Mayfair. Luckily Icelandic chef Agnar Sverrisson and front-of-house manager and master sommelier Xavier Rousset, came fresh from no less a background than Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, after a long chain of top-flight kitchens. The luxurious Georgian dining room delights with its stylishly austere modern look, all understated ivory walls, caramel leather chairs and blond-wood floors, flooded with light from vast windows. A glass of something fizzy at the centre-stage champagne bar is the obvious way to get in the mood. Menus include a great value lunch option, as well as a carte, and fish or Scandinavian tasting menus. Sverrisson's modern European cuisine is firmly rooted in classical technique, but the style is light as air, delicate, creative and utterly contemporary. As the name suggests, the kitchen's concept is to highlight diverse textures, an ethos requiring top-level technical skills. Scottish scallops with cauliflower textures shows the style: intensely-flavoured scallops appear with cauliflower as purée, foam and crisp. Main courses include Lancashire suckling pig, slow-cooked for 12 hours and partnered with squid and bonito sauce. Dessert keeps those textures coming with Icelandic Skyr (a sort of Nordic take on fromage blanc) and rhubarb, served poached, as sorbet, granita and jus. The superb wine list is as long as War and Peace, with as many aristocrats in its pages.

On corner of Seymour St & Portman St
Nearest station: Marble Arch/Bond St

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