Latest opening: Mauro Colagreco
What: A seriously top-end restaurant within the recently launched Raffles London at The OWO hotel that is being billed as an ‘ode to British terroir’ and has a strong eco angle offering ‘incredible gastronomy through the lens of sustainability’. Mauro Colagreco, as the restaurant is called, is offering a three course a la carte menu (with some extras) for £110 alongside a five-course tasting menu for £165. A £60 set lunch menu is also on offer Tuesday to Friday.
Who: Err, Mauro Colagreco. The Argentine-born chef is kind of a big deal. Opened in 2006, his flagship restaurant Mirazur - which is located on the French Riviera - holds three Michelin stars and was named the best restaurant in the world in 2019 by The World's 50 Best Restaurants. A master of reinvention, Colagreco has moved with the times. In recent years the Menton restaurant has strived to become more sustainable - it is now both plastic-free and vegetable-centric - and is also more experiential. This restaurant may be the first to bear his name, but it’s far from being his first international outpost - the chef recently hit double figures with his portfolio of restaurants across France, China and Argentina (soon after arriving in London he announced Cycle, his debut Japan restaurant). The kitchen at Mauro Colagreco is overseen by Leonel Aguirre, who has worked with Colagreco for the past eight years. Overseeing the dining room is general manager Melissa Fergus, whose CV includes senior front of house roles at The Fat Duck and, most recently, Trivet. The director of food and beverage at the Whitehall hotel is Mark Hastings.
The vibe: With its sofas, fabric-shod banquettes and muted colour palette Mauro Colagreco brings to mind an extremely opulent living room. Design details include crisp white table clothes, illustrations of the produce used on the menu, a feature stone fireplace and a very expensive looking carpet.
The food: The five-course tasting menu starts with a succession of vegetable-centric snacks before moving onto the main event - five dishes that take their name from a single vegetable or fruit. On our visit, the menu included an intriguing dish centred around Oakhead lettuce with a (hot) vermouth and cockle sauce; raw radish with a tartare of langoustine and sake-infused cream; and a grilled venison loin with radicchio, almond puree and a shimmering veal stock-based sauce. Each of the main dishes is accompanied by an illustrated postcard that features a mini essay on its key ingredient.
To drink: Guests can opt for two different wine pairings. The £125 Exploration Route is inspired by British explorers and showcases wines from lesser-known regions while the Leisure Route - which is considerably more punchy at £500 - ‘connects guests with some of the most prestigious wines in the world’. A non-alcoholic pairing is also offered for £60.
And another thing: Mauro Colagreco has a further two restaurants within Raffles London at The OWO. The 20-cover Mauro’s Table has a chef’s table setup and offers a longer, slightly more expensive tasting menu and can double as a PDR. Just across the hallway is Saison, which is billed as a ‘fresh, elegant take on the traditional all-day brasserie’. Designed to evoke a Parisian park, the restaurant serves Mediterranean-inspired dishes including Cornish turbot with artichoke mousseline, capers, dried fennel and citrus beurre blanc (£52); veal breast with cavatelli, fresh mint, citrus and puttanesca sauce (£35); and Île flottante with burnt vanilla, créme anglaise and almond (£15).
57 Whitehall, London SW1A 2BX
www.raffles.com
