Claro

Israeli chef Ran Shmueli has made Claro a huge hit back in native Tel Aviv. This is only Claro’s second site worldwide, and geographically-speaking, there’s an air of confidence about the choice; rubbing shoulders with the likes of Gouqi, Wild Honey and Estiatorio Milos in glitzy St James’s, the much-lauded chef is clearly tackling the competition head-on.

Inside, Claro certainly has the style to take on the big names. Set in a spacious Edwardian dining room, the room is so airy and the ceiling so towering, it feels a little empty, even when the restaurant is more or less full. Tables are very generously spaced, and the styling feels cool, minimal and sharp, whether it’s monochrome chequerboard flooring underfoot, or slick, space-age cylindrical chandeliers overhead.

The menu takes a bit of explaining, as it’s broken into four sections - nibbles, starters, mains, and… slightly bigger mains? After sharing an excellent, puffy frena bread and swiping liberally through an assortment of labneh and harissa, we share two starters and small mains each, and find that we don’t even make it to the larger dishes. 

That’s a shame as there’s some excellent cooking on show here. Aged short rib is braised down, bound in sticky juices then wrapped tightly into bulbous tortellini, before it gets anointed with a crown of Parmesan foam. Usually we’d be against the fripperies of the latter, but you can’t argue with the execution and flavour. The same goes for artfully-plated octopus tentacles in a chicken and paprika sauce, and tuna tartare - an easy thing to bully, but here it is sharply balanced with Greek yoghurt, pickled onions and mint oil.

Service is cheerful but patchy, oscillating between extremely attentive and somewhat absent - perhaps the result of trying to manage a gargantuan dining room (not to mention an assortment of mezzanine tables). There’s the heart of a cracking restaurant here - in terms of food at least, Claro has hit the ground running, and we commend it also for having plenty of good options for vegans, vegetarians and other dietaries. Given a bit of time to settle (and perhaps a small menu rejig) it’ll be a welcome part of St James’s.

Claro is an elegant restaurant in St James’s serving fresh, seasonal food inspired by the flavours of the East Mediterranean and Middle East. Claro’s St James’s site is its second outpost to the flagship Tel Aviv site, opened ten years ago. Claro is founded by four friends, including chef patron Ran Shmueli, and chef Shadi Issawy who heads up the kitchen.

Claro’s home at 12 Waterloo Place was once a bank, and it still retains much of the original features of the heritage-steeped building. The main room sits in a grand, double-height space, what was once the banking hall.  A kitchen-bar sweeps through this space, offering a view of the chefs at work with the open kitchen. Despite its corporate origins, Claro still offers a warm, inviting dining space, offsetting heritage features like the original chequered stone floor with inviting wooden furnishings. There’s also outdoor seating, offering a step back from its busy central London setting.

Serving lunch, dinner and weekend brunch, Claro’s menu evokes the character of the Eastern Mediterranean, placing the same importance on fresh, seasonal ingredients as is the tradition of the Med. Vegetables take centre stage in salads involving apricots, green almonds, karah green pumpkin and wild cucumbers, topped with dried goats cheese and a honey olive vinaigrette.

Claro don’t reveal much of their menu online, but expect the same dishes as featured on the Tel Aviv outpost’s menu to feature, in dishes like a lamb cigar with freekeh, finished with a spicy zhug aioli and burnt tomato and coriander salsa, as well as Middle Eastern staples like meat skewers with labneh, and a sharing-style lamb platter with tzatziki and pita. Tel Aviv tradition is brought to London in menu items like the pillowy challah baked fresh in-house.