Having recently been rated as one of the World’s Top 50 Restaurants, I was keen to discover for myself what all of the fuss was about, and having found the perfect excuse – an impending birthday celebration, five of us dined here for lunch eating from the set lunch menu.

Upon arrival the restaurant was quiet and seemed formal, but once we’d settled into our round corner table, the vibe picked up. The decor was modern and the tables were set out nicely with lots of space between them, making it very comfortable.

The staff were attentive and friendly and more than happy to go into detail in answering our queries about the menu – which you might otherwise require a translation tool for!

Once we’d all ordered, an aperitif was served. It was a mystic Arabic looking (and tasting) spiced soup served in an egg shell. An impressive start to the lunch and something quite unusual that none of us had tasted before.

My starter of Parmesan custard and cream with walnuts was memorable, with the portion size just right – any more and you’d over do it.

I was sadly let down by my main course of poached Gurnard and pearl barley, mostly due to my bad ordering and distaste for that particular fish – which I had not tried before. The waiter advised me that it was similar to John Dory fish, which I’ve had and enjoyed, but I would disagree. I also found the pearl barley to be bland.

I was pleased then when the desert came out and was completely scrumptious. A Lemon tart with clove ice cream. Strangely, we all agreed though, that the ice cream tasted nicer on its own without the flavour of the lemon. As another reviewer commented, some of the spice mixes are not to everyone’s taste.

The after dinner chocolates were bizarre to say the least, a fudge tasting of smoked fish, a caramel tasting of sea water… was I being haunted by the Gurnard I’d had for my main?, but we all agreed about these tastes.

In summary it was an unusual and mostly very pleasant tasting experience and… More