No.35 at The Hempel

Design rules at the Hempel, & its No. 35 restaurant is no exception; everything is clean, expensive & ‘just so’, including the customers. The menu is studiously international, with props given to British, European & Asian flavours – although sound provenance also has its say; to start, try marinated Loch Duart salmon with mooli, beetroot & horseradish or Laverstoke mozzarella with confit peppers & olive purée, before sampling chicken with braised lettuce & lentils or Kentish lemon sole with samphire & clams. Desserts such as pineapple carpaccio with coconut sorbet are carefully constructed not to threaten the figure. If indulgence is not an issue, afternoon tea in the Zen garden is also worth considering, as are modern cocktails just across the way in the No 31 bar.