When it comes to playing with fire, few London restaurants commit to it quite like IGNI. Executive Chef Theo Clench (previously of Akoko and Cycene) oversees the flames in this one-of-a-kind restaurant, which runs entirely on wood. You won’t find any gas or electricity in this kitchen.
Low lighting casts a soft glow over a long timber counter, lit from beneath, and we take our seats - easily the best in the house - watching as a brigade of chefs bustles away over roaring wood fires, finishing each plate at the pass with the kind of precision only oversized tweezers can manage.
There are two tasting menus, but we’d recommend the unashamedly maximalist nine-course feast, where every dish arrives with extra elements and tableside flourishes. Snacks set the tone with a shatteringly thin charcoal croustade, perched on a wooden pedestal, sweet crab encased within, beneath a nest of crisp white kombu shavings, dotted with dashi emulsion and delicate flowers.
Each course outshines the one before, bringing more dramatic presentation and creativity. Oysters arrive on a bed of sea herbs, having been cooked gently over the embers. A vibrant cucumber sauce softens their brininess, while nasturtium leaves add a peppery bite. Nothing can top the tuna, though, prepared three ways so that every part of the fish is used. Fatty chutoro is rolled into a cut-glass bowl, with foie gras poured over tableside for pure indulgence. The leaner akami cut takes a smokier route, served in a potato croustade and topped with lapsang ponzu jelly, whilst the bloodline is reborn as a parfait sharpened with sherry vinegar and sandwiched between shards of crimson red pepper tuile. We’re in awe.
IGNI’s bread course could take the title of the capital’s finest. A fermented potato bun is steamed then finished over the fire until blistered and dusted with spice. But this is IGNI, so it doesn’t stop there. Its accompanying vadouvan-spiced butter sits disguised beneath leek ash so it blends into its bowl, and a palate-cleansing tomato and raspberry consomme is on hand to cut through the richness, poured from a teapot - because why not?
IGNI doesn’t just cook with fire; it builds an entire evening around it. Every course arrives with a flicker of theatre, and by the time the last meringue has been toasted over the coals, it’s clear this is one of Mayfair’s most exciting dining experiences.