There are some restaurants where the chef, and his or her name, is all important, and there are others where the room – the luxurious, richly decorated or sparse and hip room – is vital. And then there are the rest, where it’s the initial warmth of the welcome that determines how good, or otherwise, the evening is going to be. And in the case of the newly Michelin-starred Tom Brown restaurant at the Capital hotel in Knightsbridge, it’s your first greeting from the excellent, best-in-class maitre’d Charlie that sets the tone for what proves to be a truly wonderful dinner.
When they were handing out charm and genuine friendliness at restaurant manager training school, Charlie came first in line. One arrives tired and stressed after a long day at work, and immediately you are made to feel relaxed, pampered and welcome. These qualities are far rarer than you would imagine. I am well used to superficial politeness and faux bonhomie, especially if it’s known that we will be reviewing an establishment, but the real dedication to making guests enjoy themselves is an almost unique quality.
It’s happened, probably, no more than half a dozen times in the two decades that I’ve been reviewing restaurants, and the brilliance with which everything was arranged – from food and wine recommendations to making us feel at ease – meant that this was one of the best experiences that Larry and I can remember having.
Of course, the food and wine are sublime. This is a Michelin-starred establishment that richly deserves such an honour. From a brace of opening cocktails – a Penicillin for me, and a Mars for Larry, a mixture of tequila, mezcal, lime and watermelon syrup – and a couple of snacks to start in the form of lobster toast and ‘hash brown’ with artichoke and nori, this is devilishly sublime cooking, as you might expect from Brown; a veteran of the Nathan Outlaw restaurant at the hotel and the much-missed Cornerstone in Hackney Wick, he is one of the hottest young chefs on the London scene and an absolute whizz when it comes to pescatarian, seafood-based cuisine, which makes up much of the menu.
Everything we eat is sublime, but particular highlights include a ‘crab custard’, that Larry devours with the rapacious eagerness of a death row prisoners, and another finely detailed starter of chalk sea trout with smoked cream and cucumber, followed by mains of wild sea bass with pumpkin and lobster sauce and beef with oyster, celeriac and stout gravy.
Portions are, as you might expect, precise rather than lavish, but this is top-notch, flawless cooking, and Charlie’s generosity with the wine – first a superb New Zealand Sauvignon (called, fittingly, Little Beauty), and then an excellent Haut-Medoc claret for me and a rich, silky Pinot Noir for Larry – makes the meal go swimmingly. Three hours go by in a flash.
We can’t decide on which of the desserts to go for, so in the end we share three, in a display either of gluttony or committed professionalism. The rhubarb and ginger dish, a kind of deconstructed trifle, is superb, and even better is the dark chocolate tart with mint ice cream, which gives the potential sweetness an appealing cut-through.
But best of all is a Charlie recommendation of the cashel blue cheese with burnt pears and so-called ‘pauper cake’. It can only be described as a Tom Brown spin on the famous Eccles cake and Lancashire cheese, combining sweetness and savoury to divine effect. Accompanied by a glass of Sauternes, it’s the perfect end to a truly memorable meal.
Charlie shows us out, amidst some chat about politics, both national and restaurant-related. “I’ll see you in the pub soon”, he promises. Well, we shall look forward to that very much, but not quite as much as a return to the excellent Tom Brown at the Capital: a place where magic of all kinds is in great supply.
Tom Brown at The Capital, 22-24 Basil St, London SW3 1AT. For more information, and for bookings, please visit www.tombrownatthecapital.com.
