In it’s own quiet way Mayfair is a contender for “Most changed London village”. Read pre-war crime novels and all too often the hero, an amateur detective, has a suite of rooms in a Mayfair block. By the 1960’s the area around Shepherds Market was a hotbed of vice with red lights sparkling at every window. The new Millennium has brought yet another change of pace as more and more hedge fund folk have moved their offices from the Square Mile to Mayfair town houses.

The Greenhouse was set up in the 1970’s and an impressive roll call of head chefs includes such luminaries as Gary Rhodes, Paul Merrett and Bjorn van de Horst. The current incumbent is Antonin Bonnet - a Frenchman who served time with Michel Bras -  and if anything the Greenhouse has become an even more sophisticated and ambitious restaurant.

It is hard to walk down the decking leading to the Greenhouse through what is almost a garden, without wondering what such a piece of Mayfair real estate is worth. Enter the restaurant and all is restrained modernity, this place is stylish but still comfortable. The Greenhouse is a very suave operation, the front of house team is French and there is an agreeable formality to the tone of the place.

The food is most impressive, yes, there are classical French influences at work but this is no hidebound, ultra-trad, menu.  Antonin Bonnet has an admirably open mind and a penchant for Asian spices and flavourings. It is also very welcome to see that one of the starters and one of the mains changes on a daily basis. Currently a seasonal starter of English asparagus is prepared differently every day,  on my visit resulting in a dish that teamed perfectly cooked asparagus with a runny-yolked gull’s egg. Good by any measure. Other starters include a Limousin veal sweetbread with wild garlic caramel, glazed leeks and veal jus; or scallops with a liquorice and pumpkin purée and a yuzu dressing. These are precise combinations of flavour and look good on the plate. The mains range from brill cooked on the bone with baby Swiss chard, maple syrup and grated nutmeg; to an Anjou pigeon with braised salsify and toasted sesame “gomasio” – more Oriental influences.

One of the most agreeable elements of Antonin Bonnet’s menu is the “modern classic”, usually for two people to share this dish comes with a limited availability warning (which translates as when-it-runs-out-it-runs-out!).  You may be lucky enough to try the poulard de Bresse in two services – a magnificent black leg chicken, roasted to perfection with a layer of truffle under the skin, then brought to table for carving. The breast meat is served with morels and broad noodles made with fresh herbs. Meanwhile the legs go back into the oven for a little more cooking time before re-emerging as a separate course with a small salad. This lengthy and complex procedure achieves its objective – both the white and the dark meat end up perfectly cooked. The French chickens also deserve some of the credit, their meat is denser and much better eating than younger, more intensively reared birds. 

Puddings are both elegant and delicious, there is one titled “Snix” that combines chocolate with salted caramel and peanuts – light and indulgent at the same time. A strawberry tart is simplicity itself, a tart case, chopped strawberries, crème patissier and a basil and strawberry ice. The Greenhouse combines slick service with delicious and sometimes innovative food – meanwhile the wine list takes a brief wander through the foothills where there are bottles at steady prices before setting out in earnest to climb the peaks – oenophiles can test their wallets here.

The Greenhouse is a very good, and very Mayfair, kind of restaurant, which makes the bargain set lunch (2 courses for £25 & 3 for £29) all the more remarkable.

Charles Campion

The Greenhouse, 27a Hay’s Mews, W1 (020 7499 3331)