‘Plu’, in French, is the past participle of the verb ‘plaire’, meaning ‘to please or to enjoy’, which sums up chef Elliot Moss’s aim for his new restaurant in St John’s Wood, and his hopes for diners. The name also doubles up as an acronym for ‘people like us’, by which Moss (who trained at Le Gavroche) means fellow food lovers who enjoy fine dining.
Head inside the diminutive restaurant and you'll find PLU is very small - there are just three tables inside, decked out with smart white table tops. A colour palette of tonal blues features all over the restaurant, from the the plush textured chairs and furnishings to the walls, which feature a series of abstract paintings. PLU is a unique creative space, and the interiors are just the start of the journey.
Moss's career started with an apprenticeship at Le Gavroche, and he rose all the way to head pastry chef under the tutelage of Michel Roux Jr, before moving on to his first head chef position and eventually, his own restaurant. At PLU, Moss combines the techniques learned at Le Gavroche with his own adventurous, creative mind, dreaming up unique, artistic dishes that challenge diners to consider food in different ways.
The menu starts with a 'Vietnamese Hot Tea' shot of chilli, lemongrass, coriander, ginger and soy, before continuing through an odyssey of dishes, moving from a wild bass escabeche, to lobster with Oscietra caviar, cannelloni of olive-fed Wagyu with mascarpone, pine nuts and esplette pepper, crisp foie gras with raspberry, pickled peach and radish, and poached and roasted ballotine of rabbit with Bayonne ham, Alsace bacon, lettuce, peas and white onion. It's an impressive menu, especially given that Moss handles kitchen duties on his own.
The experience is recommended with a wine flight alongside, and PLU offers two flight options - 'Bacchus', for those who want to enhance their meal with matches wines, and 'Dionysus', for the ultimate wine experience, featuring some of the world's great wines.