Pascal Proyart is a Breton chef who, in my view, has never really got the recognition he deserves. This is partly because his restaurant lies within a rather anonymous and low key hotel on Knightsbridge, sure One O One has it own entrance on William Street, but until recently going to the gents meant taking a packed lunch and sherpas for the long journey that included the hotel reception. This summer Proyart’s restaurant was completely refurbished to emerge with a new look and new, and accessible, toilets.

The menus were also given the once over and now work on a grazing principle, I still have reservations over these multi-course, quasi-tasting-menu conceits and particularly over the florid overblown language used to describe sections of the menu. “Low tide and wonderful discovery”; “Delicacies from the shore and beyond”; “High tide with its exceptional sea fishing” (well there wouldn’t be much point in fishing when the tide was out would there?); and finally “The goodness of the sea and earth”. This kind of whimsy seems to be a very French affair you also get hints of it at Club Gascon. Anyhow, cutting through to the food, it is recommended that four little dishes are combined to make a meal for one person. Pascal’s oyster creations (molluscs from Cancale in Brittany, natch) are well done – chilled with shallot vinegar; chilled with a yuzu sorbet; and in tempura batter but impaled (à la Blumenthal?) with a pipette of soya that is injected into the oyster by the Maitre d’…. Then there’s pan fried Norwegian scallop with onsen quail eggs, truffle potato mouselline and pork belly – a good combo working well together. Or a stellar dish of pan-seared langoustine and duck foie gras with Pekin duck consommé. Or pan roast Norwegian halibut and langoustine dumpling with a coco bean and truffle cassoulet. Or red king crab with roast Anjou squab pigeon and shallot confit.

The cooking is very precise, but this incarnation of One O One might as well have “Your table is ready Mr Michelin Inspector” on a banner over the portal, as dishes are very elaborate indeed. In some ways the presentation is a tad over complicated, but so saying, the flavour combinations work together very well and the fishy elements are always perfectly cooked – something deceptively hard to achieve.

Charles Campion

One O One, 101 Knightsbridge, SW1 (020 7290 7101)