Cellar at Kindred

This West London members’ club styles itself as a more open-minded twist on the traditional members club. It boasts a fresher, more modern approach with a truly beautiful venue and a jam-packed cultural programme to boot. That said, our experience got off to a slightly rocky start; despite the restaurant not being busy, we waited around 15 minutes to be offered a menu, and the service continued to be hit and miss throughout the night.

We started off with two excellent, fresh cocktails that paired seasonal summer fruits with Vermouth and butter gin. Starters were good too - a small but mighty charcuterie plate, and a delicious pair of small plates. The pea, mint and ricotta barbajuan (a deep-fried pastry parcel) were crispy, refreshing and creamy with the perfect amount of mint, and beef tartare was well-seasoned without overpowering the meat itself. We were excited for what was to come, but the mains were a surprising bathos following such superb small plates.

We ordered the Trombetta courgette schnitzel with chickpeas, but were surprised to be presented with a whole deep-fried courgette served with hummus and yoghurt, a combo that we felt was a little bland. By contrast, a mackerel dish was nicely cooked, but slightly overpowered by dill. The Bloody Mary fries also failed to live up to the billing, as they were lacking in tomato, Worcester sauce, tabasco, or celery salt, but a side of hispi cabbage somewhat made up for it; this hefty slab of cabbage - something akin to the Rosetta stone smothered in gremolata butter - was zesty, juicy and bursting with flavour. Our roller coaster journey continued with dessert.

A creamy mascarpone semifreddo contrasted well with tart blackberries, while the cheese plate saw truly excellent cheeses unfortunately paired with crackers more akin to poppadoms and too-heavy oat cakes. Overall, the food was a mixed bag which came accompanied by great cocktails. However, the beautiful presentation and venue are enough to redeem the experience.

Cellar is located on the ground floor and terrace at Kindred, a private member's club in Hammersmith - but anyone can come to the restaurant, regardless of club membership. The brainchild of Executive Chef Andrew Clarke, Cellar offers a seasonal modern European menu inspired by the Caribbean flavours that make the London community so vibrant.

The location itself is lively yet elegant, featuring simple and modern decor. Expect a lot of bright lighting, white walls, wooden stools, and blue booths, while diners can also dine al fresco out on the terrace. They also have live music on certain Fridays, with tickets to be purchased ahead of time on their website.

Open for all-day dining and for brunch, the breakfast menu is provided until noon and the brunch menu is provided until 3pm. The menu is seasonal, so it changes often, but you can always count on it being broken down into snacks, plates, and sides. Clarke is known for his meat and barbecue talents, he has dreamt up a 'London-fusion' offering, with lots of vegetarian and vegan options. Hungry diners can chow down on choices like the vegan celeriac schnitzel or the Korean spiced dexter beef tartare with straw chips. Smaller plates include the ox cheek puffs, or the intriguing Bloody Mary fries.

Cellar at Kindred has an expansive drinks menu, including nonalcoholic cocktails and lagers, coffees, juices, and kombucha. There are also many inventive choices at the bar cocktail menu, such as the west London calling with dry gin shaken with mango, sherry, fresh lemon juice, and Angostura orange bitters, or the by popular demand with vodka, gin mare, lychee liquor, lemon and lychee juice, and Peychaud's bitters. Many of their cocktails are also available during their happy hour, which offers two drinks for £12 between 5-6pm daily for non-members and 5-7pm daily for members.