Charlie’s at Brown’s

You wouldn’t expect London’s oldest hotel to stick with the same restaurant for its entire history but even for somewhere founded in 1832, Brown’s feels like it has been through more dining rooms than Britain has had prime ministers.

This latest incarnation (following 21st-century offerings from Mark Hix and Heinz Beck) comes courtesy of chef Adam Byatt, whose restaurant Trinity was one of the first to make Clapham into a bona fide dining destination. The chef may change but the dining room remains very much the same - large portraits of King Charles and QEII hang on the wood-panelled walls, and as you sink into a plush velvet banquette you’ll likely be greeted by a number of charmingly old-school staff.

‘Nature to plate’ is a strong theme of the classic-meets-contemporary menu, though at these prices and in a hotel of this pedigree, well-sourced seasonal British ingredients ought to be the least one can expect. Fortunately they’re treated with great respect by Byatt and team, and dishes lean towards comfort, rather than taking themselves too seriously. A classic steak tartare is a good example of that - a dish Byatt also does supremely well at Trinity - and we’re glad to see hand cut strozzapreti also making an appearance, currently with a thoroughly winterish sauce of squash, sage and pecorino.

A steamed fillet of halibut - served with a rather niche but lovely sauce divine - was wonderful, presented in all its meaty, pearlescent glory with classic sides. Meanwhile, a British game pie was also excellent, though in a restaurant like Charlie’s, we’d like to see a full pie rather than a pastry lid.

Throw in one of London’s biggest wine cellars and you have a recipe for success, albeit a very expensive one. If it’s old-school comforts you’re looking for, Charlie’s will warm your soul.

Sir Rocco Forte might have bid farewell to acclaimed chef Heinz Beck after his year-long residency at the distinguished Brown’s Hotel in Mayfair, but he’s found a suitably high-profile replacement in new chef-director, Adam Byatt. A familiar face from television programmes such as Saturday Kitchen, Byatt is best known in the industry as chef proprietor of Michelin-starred Trinity restaurant in Clapham, which he runs in addition to Upstairs at Trinity and British neighbourhood eatery, Bistro Union.

While Beck was renowned for his skill with pasta, Byatt is an ambassador of high-quality British ingredients. Describing himself as a ‘truly British chef’, his passion for seasonality and the great outdoors is matched only by his extraordinary energy and a desire to showcase the very best the country has to offer in his cooking. It’s this natural synergy with Brown’s – a hotel since 1837 and home to the capital’s first public dining room – that has created such a buzz around his new post.

The hotel’s attractively refurbished wood-panelled grill room, newly rechristened Charlie’s, has been brought into the 21st century by the addition of bold wallpaper, brightly coloured upholstery and soft lighting, making it the ideal setting for a menu that celebrates innovative British cooking coloured with European influences.

On the food front, Byatt’s dishes include more traditional assemblies such as whole poached salmon and roasted Yorkshire grouse with blackberries and bread sauce alongside the types of pretty plates Byatt is well known for, such as fried courgette flowers with truffle honey.

Dining at Brown’s is about more than just the food, though. The restaurant’s white-jacketed waiters are as old school as they come (knowledgeable, polite and exacting in their standards), as are its eye-watering wine prices. Still, we think it’s an experience worth paying for, even if it is just the once.