Vanilla

Vanilla is a stylish members’ bar & restaurant pitched at Fitzrovia’s media & fashion-conscious crowd. The basement bar is a dazzling, all-white apparition of curtained booths & tinkling chandeliers – like some groovy vision of the afterlife. The so-hip-it-hurts theme continues in the restaurant, a long windowless box with frosted-glass roof panels & a strident black pattern on the walls. Everything suggests style over substance, until the food arrives. Seared scallops on creamy cauliflower puree with lardons is slickly presented & well flavoured. Sea bass with artichoke hearts, edamame, & vanilla & Amaretto sauce is more modish, the fish perfectly cooked & the sauce subtle. Even a zany-sounding chocolate & jasmine fondant with olive oil ice-cream is rather good. Like the food, the wine list is reasonably priced (though there’s a limited selection by the glass), while grown-up cocktails use ingredients such as fresh raspberries, chilli & ginger to zingy effect.