The Square Restaurant Mayfair London Review

At 12 noon we were the first to arrive at The Square restaurant for lunch last Friday. The restaurant, proudly owned by celebrity chef Phil Howard was situated in a beautiful location in between New Bond Street and Berkeley Square, opposite some of my favourite designer stores too, Stella McCartney and Kenzo.

To begin our fine dining lunchtime experience we were offered a super chilled glass of champagne, which was a lovely accompanist while we chose our courses. We were given the special lunch menu instead of the a la carte and I actually really favoured the fact that there were only two courses to choose for starter, mains and dessert. I chose the seafood starter and meat main while my guest chose a meat starter and fish main, as we felt obliged to sample everything on the menu.

After choosing our courses The Square’s sommelier recommended a beautifully crisp Spanish white wine called Louro Do Bollo Godello, for us to sample and our first sip did not disappoint us in any way. My mission now is find the same wine and buy it in for personal enjoyment at home!

Our first appetiser arrived and we were told it was an Irish fish served with what looked like thinly sliced pickles and a yellow mayonnaise type sauce. I wasn’t sure I’d like it based on first impressions but it had an unusual fresh taste and overall it went down very well. We were then bought our second appetiser, which was Phil Howard’s signature dish, sauté of Scottish langoustine with parmesan gnocchi and this was to absolutely die for. I swear I could never get bored of this dish and could eat it over and over again!

While we had been devouring our food we noticed the restaurant had filled its tables and there was a fantastic buzz about the place with groups of business lunches in full swing. I did wonder initially why there was so many waiting staff available but this was totally the reason why. I suppose you can’t run and be proud of a restaurant like this with too little staff, as guests would not receive the faultless attentive service, which after all contributes to their entire experience.

After waiting a few minutes our starters arrived, my ravioli of red mullet and scallops with octopus looked amazing and it tasted just as good as it looked. My guest’s ballotines of guinea foul and fois gras with rhubarb and grape chutney looked fabulous too but we would definitely recommend trying the ravioli for its exquisite taste and presentation. Our main courses then came and my slow roasted shoulder of Pyrenean lamb with hand rolled gnocchi and new season`s garlic was lovely and hearty but I have to say the garlic taste was a little overwhelming. My guest’s roast fillet of cod with purple sprouting broccoli was cooked to perfection and there was nothing left on the plate, speaking volumes about how much it had been enjoyed.

We decided to go off track with our dessert choice and opted for the tarte tatin with homemade vanilla ice cream from the á la carte menu. It looked incredible, quite rustic in appearance and tasted very naughty indeed – I liked the glazed pastry rim, which added a sticky richness to the overall taste.

As our dining experience drew to a close we were aware our table was needed for another group so we didn’t have coffee and rather clumsily hopped into a black cab with bursting yet hugely satisfied tummies!

The Square 6-10 Bruton Street, Mayfair, London W1J 6PU.
Tel: 020 7495 7100

Two courses: £30.00
Three courses: £35.00