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Mere

Modern European·
££££
·
Gold Award
·

SquareMeal Review of Mere

Gold Award

Matching her food to the setting, MasterChef Monica Galetti’s Fitzrovia HQ displays restrained elegance throughout. The unassuming frontage of a Charlotte Street terrace conceals a ground-floor bar that is a destination in its own right, though star billing goes to the basement dining room, cleverly opened up to daylight by a double-height window and furnished with cool blue upholstered seating, mirrored walls and gold-edged tables that somehow look subtle.

She might have a reputation on TV as ‘Scary Monica’ but Galetti is lovely in person (she comes out to greet diners when she’s in the kitchen) and her front-of-house team, marshalled by husband David, offer easy manners and helpful suggestions when needed – and they know David’s wine list inside out.

The menu, meanwhile, reads like a shopping list you wish you made weekly: lobster, white anchovies, softshell crab, black garlic and heritage tomatoes might all feature. Sweet roast scallops are seasoned with salty, crispy chicken skin, paired with cauliflower and the gentle warmth of curried mayonnaise.

Butter-poached lobster is another triumphant layering of flavours and textures, dressed with heritage carrots, a crispy claw and coconut shavings and perfectly complemented by a mild peanut dressing and rich lobster bisque. It is generously portioned to boot – a whole crustacean per person.

Elsewhere, wild Cornish cod was moist and perfectly cooked, while veal sweetbreads were glazed in an umami-rich sauce cut through by the freshness of peas. Veggies who feel underserved by only one option per course might be better off with the six-course vegetarian tasting menu. 

A killer line-up of puddings makes it hard to choose just one, but we’d recommend going for the lemon baked Alaska, delivered with a flourish of theatre. Vodka is warmed at the table before being set alight and poured over the meringue casing, toasting it as the alcohol burns off.

Make time to finish in the bar upstairs, with its rich petrol-coloured velvet seating and mixologists who give as much care to the drinks they serve as the kitchen does to the food it presents. There’s also a small menu of bar snacks that makes a comfortable start to any evening, whether dining at the restaurant or not.

Good to know

Average Price
££££ - Over £80
Cuisines
Modern European
Ambience
Fine dining, Glamorous, Lively, Quiet conversation
Food Occasions
Dinner, Lunch
Special Features
Chef’s table, Gluten-free options, Vegan options, Vegetarian options, Wheelchair access
Perfect for
Birthdays, Celebrations, Dates, Group dining [8+], Romantic, Special occasions

About

Monica Galetti, Masterchef judge and former senior sous chef at the legendary Le Gavroche, has offered herself up for scrutiny with her first solo restaurant. Mere, pronounced Mary, is the French word for mother and the Samoan word for Galetti’s own mother Mary.

Kick things off on a deep-blue velvet chair in the elegant ground-floor bar where, à Le Gavroche, guests peruse the menu, perhaps over a glass of the richly rounded house Champagne that Galetti has produced with Duval Leroy.

The striking design continues downstairs where a double-height glass frontage removes any sense of eating in a basement and has transformed the site into a light-filled lunchtime rendezvous as well as an elegant setting for dinner.

But as expected, it’s the cooking that shines the most brightly, with Galetti’s Samoan and New Zealand heritage blended seamlessly with Gavroche-style haute cuisine for a contemporary take on high-end dining.

To start, a light ’nduja sauce highlights the meatiness of a springy curl of octopus, sticky from the plancha, while the accompanying caper and raisin jam is so good you’ll want to spread it over the mini bread loaves that arrive warm from the kitchen. Brined cabbage, pickled celeriac and a gribiche dressing are the perky contrasts to soft folds of ox tongue.

To follow, lobster is rescued from creamy sauce territory, simply poached and served with potato purée, cabbage and a bisque sauce in harmony of light sweetness, while 30-day aged sirloin comes with puffs of onion beignets, glazed cheek and a tarragon crème fraiche to keep all the richness in check.

Desserts have more conventional flavours but are no less good for it: chocolate and peanut cremeux with peanut praline, roasted cocoa nib ice cream, and a coconut cream pie filled with roasted banana and drizzled with rum caramel are the stuff of sweet dreams.

The letter ‘M’ appears everywhere in the restaurant, from the door handles of the loos to the lapel pins of the nattily attired waters. With Mere, Monica Galetti has stamped her own claim to one of London’s most famous restaurant addresses.

 


FAQs

Can you book?

Yes, you can book up to 3 months in advance.

Helpful? 1

How do you pronounce 'Mere'?

Mere is pronounced 'Mary', it is the French word for Mary and the Samoan word for Galetti's own mother Mary.

Helpful? 0

Can you choose to have a tasting menu?

Yes, guests are able to choose a six course tasting menu if they like, with a vegetarian option available.

Helpful? 0

Are there gluten-free options on the menu?

Yes there are gluten-free options on the menu.

Helpful? 0
Meet the team
Mere

Monica Galetti

Chef Proprietor

Chef Monica Galetti - born in Samoa and brought up in New Zealand - moved to the UK in 1999 and worked alongside Michel Roux at Le Gavroche. In 2008 she joined Masterchef:The Professionals as a judge and became a firm favourite with viewers. Galetti's first solo venture Mere opened in 2017 and has quickly established itself as one of London’s favourite haunts.


Location

74 Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, London, W1T 4QH

020 7268 6565 020 7268 6565

Website

Opening Times

Lunch
Mon Closed
Tue 12:00-13:45
Wed 12:00-13:45
Thu 12:00-13:45
Fri 12:00-13:45
Sat 12:00-13:45
Sun Closed
Dinner
Mon Closed
Tue 18:00-21:00
Wed 18:00-21:00
Thu 18:00-21:00
Fri 18:00-21:30
Sat 18:00-21:30
Sun Closed
Bar Afternoon
Mon Closed
Tue 12:00-16:00
Wed 12:00-16:00
Thu 12:00-16:00
Fri 12:00-16:00
Sat 12:00-16:00
Sun Closed
Bar Evening
Mon Closed
Tue 17:30-23:30
Wed 17:30-23:30
Thu 17:30-23:30
Fri 17:30-23:30
Sat 17:30-23:30
Sun Closed

Reviews

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Write a review


24 Reviews 
Food/Drink
Service
Atmosphere
Value

Sari V

04 April 2024   - Verified Diner
Food & Drink 5
Service 5
Atmosphere 5
Value 5
Delicious tasting menu with matching wines

Excellent flavours and lovely ambience

Anon

20 January 2024   - Verified Diner
Food & Drink 5
Service 5
Atmosphere 5
Value 5
Recommend, absolutely

Superb dinner. Everything was very classy but friendly and subtle. The staff were at ease, the vibe was relaxed and the food top tier. The special was a game / deluxe Shepherd's pie. Amazing. The starters were lovely. Definitely recommend dinner here.

Paul G

24 May 2023   - Verified Diner
Food & Drink 5
Service 5
Atmosphere 5
Value 5

Katie H

10 March 2023   - Verified Diner
Food & Drink 5
Service 5
Atmosphere 5
Value 5

the food is almost too beautiful to eat, the service is impeccable. one of those places where you wonder if the portions are sufficient but with a couple of tasy amuse bouche and chocolates with coffee (instead of dessert) you end up wondering why you worried about that!

Jeremy K

03 March 2023   - Verified Diner
Food & Drink 4.5
Service 4
Atmosphere 3.5
Value 4
Wonderful, but quiet

Wonderful food, though a bit quiet at lunchtime.

Susanne L

27 December 2022  
Food & Drink 4
Service 4
Atmosphere 4
Value 4

We had the vegetarian tasting menu and even ingredients I wouldn't normally touch with a bargepole - like pumpkin, tofu and tahini, date jam and pickled walnuts - were rendered in such a way as to be quite unrecognisably brilliant and melt-in-the-mouth. As for the presentation, exquisite - talk about 'labour intensive'! And the pre-dinner cocktail I chose was to die for!  Only reason I didn't award 5* was the acoustics; albeit only a couple of days before Christmas, it was rather noisy. 

Zoe L

12 December 2022  
Food & Drink 4.5
Service 4.5
Atmosphere 4.5
Value 4.5

Amazing tasting menu, great atmosphere and completely reasonably priced

Anon

14 September 2021  
Food & Drink 3
Service 4.5
Atmosphere 4
Value 2
Disappointing

We have waited nearly 18 months to eat here but it was very disappointing. The starters of turnip and scollops were the star attraction for my husband and I but it ends there. 
I had the Pollock for main, all I could taste was salt!!!
 Very disappointed, not worth the £240,  although the staff were professional, polite and attentive. 

Anon

02 June 2021   - Verified Diner
Food & Drink 3.5
Service 5
Atmosphere 4
Value 3.5
Tasting menu

The welcome and staff manner was great. Wine list was interesting and varied. Good selection of half bottles or reds by the glass as only 1 of 6 courses (pigeon) needs a red. Pollock course and sauce were exceptional (4/4 of us). Some of the other courses were nice but missed the mark a bit for us. Great cheese mousse with way too much chutney/?fig proportionally. Bread was beautiful, but not if you aren't a rosemary fan. Pigeon as pink as I've ever been served and too under for my wife. Cuttlefish course was fun, beef short rib was good with really well balanced pickling/cucumber flavours but the beef could have been fattier and had better short rib flavour. 
I'm comparing to galvin la chapelle and this offering wasn't quite as good, and Alex Webb in Essex beat this by a mile (now not available!).

we had a good night but for a 6.45 booking with a threatening 'you agree to vacate the table by 8.15' email, we left after getting the bill promptly after a good desert at 9.45 just slightly disappointed at £500 for 4 with about 100 being drinks .

Anon

06 August 2019  
Top notch service professional with a smile. Imaginative seasonal food. Delightful ambience. Great value for a gastronomic experience.
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