If your heart sinks at the words ‘theatre restaurant’, this wine-focussed charmer will make you think again. The story goes that The Other Palace Theatre owner Andrew Lloyd Webber visited Brixton favourite Naughty Piglets and loved it, asking the husband-and-wife team Margaux Aubry and (chef) Joe Sharratt to open in his theatre. Housed on a mezzanine level reached by a majestic marble staircase, the restaurant itself is more down-to-earth, offering a selection of wooden counter seats and larger, communal tables. Decorated with rows of wine bottles and dimmed lights in the evening, the amber-hued, glass-walled space becomes brighter in the day. The same, globetrotting menu is served at lunch and dinner, with highlights on our visit including sticky-sweet grilled pear with crumbly blue cheese and artichokes crisps, as well as black pudding cake with strips of moist cuttlefish layered on top. Each delicate dish is a successful celebration of textures and, in keeping the menu succinct, the kitchen has ensured that every plate is of the same high quality. Prices are reasonable too (complimentary mineral water on tap is a nice touch) and the natural wine list lavishes attention on France and interesting, New-World bottles. We found service unrelenting, perhaps unsurprising for a theatre restaurant, so we recommend telling the staff if you’re not in a rush. In the context of Victoria’s sudden restaurant explosion, this likeable, delicious newcomer is bubbling to the top of the pile.