Tempo Mayfair

The food, location and service was faultless. From the moment we arrived, we felt relaxed and taken care of. I’d certainly recommend Tempo as a place to go with friends, work colleagues or even for a cocktail in the upstairs bar with a good book on your own after work!

We had the swordfish Carpachio, the the baby octopus in a rich garlic tomato sauce (amazing!), the mussells and razor clams in a really light and tasty broth, then the Lamb shank with polenta mash and the fish stew. Portions were of a decent size, and so we could only handle sharing a dessert – the lemon tart was absolutely gorgeous. Wine started at a reasonable 19 a bottle, and the overall price was around £60 per head (including drinks), very reasonable for the quality of food and service, and the location that it's in.

You should certainly give this place a try!

It's unusual to find a Japanese chef in an Italian restaurant, but Yoshi Yamada brings meticulous flair to this new and comfortable spot just down from the Mirabelle in Curzon St. Here, quality means that the breads and pasta have been made on the premesis and the breads come with a dish of olive oil which is automatically refilled; a generous touch. We both had a ‘cicchetti’ of warm grilled octopus and pomegranate seed salad which was of just the right the right side of chewy and went well with a glass of a very good Gavi di Gavi.

Main courses were the crab tagliolini, which my wife dubbed ‘better than the River Cafe’ – the highest accolade we have – and I had a fine pea and bean risotto (though both might have been the tiniest bit over salty). The best however came last – a simple lemon tart from Japanese pastry chef Asako that was absolutely superb. Service was excellent and the price surprisingly reasonable for that gilded stretch of Mayfair. I shall have to take up residence beside the long windows in the upstairs bar.