February catch up

Hi Fellow Foodies,

Although it’s the shortest month of the year, there is plenty of news to report. Your time is valuable, so let’s dive straight in.

First, I want to update you on two restaurant reviews published earlier this month.

The Meat & Wine Co

Fine dining in Mayfair with an African twist

The name leaves little to the imagination, or does it? Yes, The Meat & Wine Co serves a fine range of quality meat and fish, but the pleasant surprise is that this restaurant features and embraces African cuisine, adding a different twist to the menu.

We are here to sample the lunch menu, which for £28 for two courses or £35 for three courses, provides excellent value when you consider that you are in the centre of Mayfair, a short walk from Berkeley Square and Shepherd Market. I am a huge advocate of fixed-priced lunch menus. They enable you to savour the food and fine dining restaurant experience at a bargain price.

Read more

Ruya

A Valentine’s celebration Turkish style at Rüya Mayfair

An exciting night ahead and our first Valentine’s night out in a long while. Like many people, COVID got us out of the habit of going out on Valentine’s night. Tonight, we are going to Rüya Mayfair, an ideal venue for a celebration. I visited Rüya last year and was keen to return and enjoy their Valentine’s Day celebrations.

Ruya is located on the corner of Upper Grosvenor Street, and from the outside, it is an impressive facade that seems to stretch forever.

Once inside, you are in reception (if you visit, check out the picture of the Whirling Dervish), then move onto the stunning bar area, then onto the main body of the restaurant, past the massive bread oven, to our table. 

It is great to see a busy restaurant, and I am delighted to report that Rüya is full tonight.

Read More

As well as reviews, I’ve been sticking to my New Year's resolution by adding more recipes to the website. My latest recipes are  Spanish-style cod, scallops with cauliflower puree, Sri Lankan curry, and the easiest posh Chicken pie recipe ever (it’s a must try).

Latest News

Michelin Awards

The big news was the announcement of the Michelin awards. We have three new 1-star Michelin-starred restaurants in Mayfair, Sushi Kaneska, Humo and Pavyllon. Also many congratulations to Gymkhana, who gained another star in this year's awards.

I've updated our article on Michelin-starred restaurants in Mayfair on the website, and for a full list of Michelin-starred restaurants in the UK &Ireland, click here.

New Restaurant On Heddon Street

A spin-off of the successful Mexican fine dining restaurant Kol will be opening on Heddon Street soon, and Fonda will offer a more informal experience than Kol. I will update as soon as I have more details.

The Good Food Guide Winners

I joined the Good Guide last year; I’m so pleased I did; its well worth the subscription.

The guide brings news and reviews from all over the UK (apart from Mayfair🤣), a must for any serious foodie who travels around the UK. They recently announced their award winners for 2024, and the big winner was The Sportsman, Kent. See a complete list of award winners here.

Barley Mow Breakfast Launch

The Barley Mow will launch their breakfast menu on the 28th February. The award-winning pub and restaurant seems to be going from strength to strength since opening in late 2022.

Guinea Grill Re-opens 

The Guinea Grill will be re-opening its doors soon, with an opening scheduled for 1st March. After taking over the next-door premises, they underwent a major renovation and added another 60 much-needed covers plus a private dining area. I will be popping in to look and take some pictures  for the website,

Coming Soon to the website

On Wednesday, I sampled cocktails and the Ikigai menu at Bar Antoine, the stand-alone bar of the new Michelin-star restaurant Pavyllon. The restaurant was opened in 2023 by Chef  Yannick Alléno, one of the most decorated chefs in the world. If I do my job correctly, the review should be well worth a read, as we had an incredible night.

I mentioned the Barley Mow, and I’m delighted to say I will be sampling the breakfast menu next week, so look out for my review soon.

I have been invited to Individual Restaurants' wine tasting and pairing event for loyalty club members at Piccolino's on Heddon Street in early March. They launched their new loyalty programme recently, and it offers some great bonuses.

That reminds me, we are publishing a complete guide to Restaurants on Heddon Street in March; you can dine for a week at a different restaurant without moving out of this tiny street; if you get the chance to visit, it is well worth it, Heddon Street has a great vibe and fantastic restaurants.  Music fans, it was also where David Bowie was photographed for his Ziggy Stardust album in 1972, always a good fact to remember for pub quizzes.

Confession time: I’m still waiting on some high-profile guests to confirm dates for an interview, which is frustrating but understandable as they have full diaries. Maybe I will surprise you in March with an interview.

Finally, I’m researching an article on the “Best Burgers in Mayfair” If you have any suggestions, it would be very much appreciated; it will save my ever-expanding waistline from getting any bigger😀.

As always, I appreciate you taking the time to read.

Have a good weekend, and I'll speak to you next month.

Best Wishes,

Martin

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www.mayfairfoodie.com

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