Aubergine

After a 10-year stint behind the pans at Aubergine, main man William Drabble hung up his whites in autumn 2009 & moved on to open Seven Park Place in St James’s. His replacement, Christophe Renou, was Drabble’s one-time protégé & is keeping this blue-blooded Park Walk veteran right on course. Refined French cuisine with some contemporary accents has always been the kitchen’s hallmark – witness a starter of roasted scallops & ceps with beetroot vinaigrette or a main course of sea bass with braised lettuce, gnocchi & meat jus. There’s also an earthy undercurrent, in the shape of, say, saddle rabbit & leg with civet sauce, while desserts mix old & new, from Chartreuse-infused soufflé to black orchid (a cocktail served as a pudding). Prices are high (a minimum of £68 for three courses from the carte), but service is discreet & elegant to a fault.