SILVA

SILVA’s arrival on Bruton Place officially marks this pretty little Mayfair mews as hot restaurant property. Rubbing shoulders with culinary heavyweights The Guinea Grill, The Cocochine and UMU, SILVA’s beautiful interiors and skilled team slot in nicely. The intimate dining room is dressed in a cascade of soft pinks, luxurious creams and dappled wallpaper, while curved banquets and ambient lighting create a feeling of lightness, softness. It’s like sitting inside a giant cloud at sunset.

The menu is broadly Mediterranean, but founder Daria Grebenyuk weaves in culinary influences inspired by her travels across the globe. Delicate raw dishes precede an indulgent selection of starters, mains and sides, including an incredible crispy soft-boiled egg (get your head around that one) served with girolles and parmesan cream. We also order a pitch-perfect steak tartare piled liberally on top of a fluffy potato waffle. You can add truffle to both these starters if you wish, although they’re perfect as is.

This is brilliant cooking, for sure, commandeered by head chef Slawomir Sawicki who’s worked at Michelin-starred Galvin at La Chapelle and Eric Chavot. Elsewhere, spatchcock poussin with crispy, salted skin and a delicate tangle of fennel, mint and chilli is a lesson in good seasoning. While poached halibut, so soft it collapses at the slightest touch, sits in a gorgeous melee of fondue leeks and seaweed beurre blanc. A final word for the superb slice of Basque cheesecake we ate, its barely cooked centre the texture of loosely-whipped double cream.

A cohort of artfully made cocktails are excellent too, which for £17 a pop you’d expect them to be. Ah, the prices. We had to get there eventually, and they are dear, as expected. Mains hover in the high thirties, and that steak tartare was just shy of £20. Choose wisely and you could get away with a three-course meal for £50 a head, but you’d miss out on some of SILVA’s best creations. The food is undeniably worth its salt though, so either save up, or pop in for brunch instead. The restaurant is open all day for those of us with shallower pockets.

Silva, nestled in a charming Mayfair mews, is a must-visit dining destination offering a refined all-day culinary experience. Its name, derived from the Latin for “forest,” reflects its dedication to seasonality and natural influences. Open daily, Silva’s menu, crafted by founder Daria Grebenyuk and Head Chef Slawomir Sawicki, showcases fresh, high-quality ingredients enhanced by Mediterranean and Japanese culinary traditions.

Breakfast and brunch at Silva feature indulgent yet elegant options. Diners savour gratinated crab and Gruyère omelettes, coconut porridge topped with caramelised banana, and fluffy soufflé pancakes finished with white chocolate Chantilly. As the day progresses, the menu evolves to offer dishes like crispy fried eggs served on parmesan cream, potato waffles with beef tartare and shaved truffle, and baked Isle of Mull scallops with yuzu butter, the perfect fusion of Japanese and Mediterranean flavours.

The evening menu boasts hearty, flavourful creations, including roast duck with fennel and orange or robata-grilled turbot paired with wakame beurre blanc. A curated dessert selection rounds off the meal with options like creamy Basque cheesecake and rum-roasted pineapple. Silva’s wine list complements its menu perfectly, blending selections from innovative and classic winemakers, with an emphasis on seasonal and low-intervention options.

The restaurant’s interiors enhance its charm, combining natural materials with a contemporary flair. Mixed woods and marble surfaces are paired with moss-green accents, creating a serene yet sophisticated setting. On the ground floor, curved banquette seating invites diners to linger, while the upstairs snug bar and foliage-adorned Garden Room offer intimate spaces for private gatherings. Thoughtful lighting transforms the ambience from bright and airy by day to cosy and romantic in the evening.

Silva seamlessly blends exceptional cuisine, exquisite design, and a welcoming atmosphere, making it a standout dining destination in Mayfair.