YOPO Zaytoun

The first thing you see as you walk into the hotel is a portrait, dead ahead. It’s of a surreal, luminescent figure, almost alien-like, with head bowed. It’s the first of many things that will grab your attention at The Mandrake - arguably one of the most visually arresting dinner spots in the capital.

YOPO Zaytoun has undergone a major menu refresh since its previous iteration, but the theatrical styling remains intact. Slick interiors are awash with potted palms, languid ficuses, hardwood herringbone floors, and a sweeping ceiling mural. The resident taxidermy ostrich still guards the dining room, anchoring the hotel’s proud dramatic streak. Even the loos are a spectacle, boasting giant clusters of tubular pendant lights and a booming soundtrack.

The culinary focus has pivoted from Latin America to the Eastern Med. A silky hummus topped with sundried tomato, olives, and crunchy flatbread shards makes for a delicious, if safe, opening act. From there, the kitchen flexes its muscles with slick raw seafood and feast-worthy sharing plates: hand-dived scallops thinly sliced and dressed with grapefruit, grassy olive oil, and sea fennel, followed by a fall-apart braised beef short rib perched on fluffy saffron couscous. Like the hotel itself, the food is built to impress without trading away pure comfort.

Service was, admittedly, disjointed on the evening with so much going on in the hotel, and some dishes were a touch heavy on the seasoning, but that’s all the more reason to order from the stellar cocktail menu courtesy of the adjacent Waeska Bar. Our pick is the Mangosteen - a punchy, refreshing mix of Patrón tequila, hibiscus-chipotle agave, jalapeño vinegar, and grapefruit soda.

Trippy art, enveloping soundscapes, spectacular loos and big-hitting Eastern Med plates - YOPO Zaytoun doesn't do subtle and it's all the better for it. This is a restaurant for those ready to dive head first into full-throttle sensory immersion.

The Mandrake in the heart of Fitzrovia is a like-no-other luxury boutique hotel that’s been carefully designed to offers guests a unique, immersive and memorable experience. A perfect example of The Mandrake’s distinctive approach to hospitality is encapsulated in its main restaurant YOPO Zaytoun. Named after the Arabic word for ‘olive’, YOPO Zaytoun serves as a sophisticated evolution of the hotel’s signature dining room, moving away from its previous South American roots toward the sun-drenched flavours of the Levant.

The menu is a colourful exploration of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines, cribbing from a wide range of influences. Among the small plates and snacks you'll find dishes like warm grilled flatbreads, silky hoummous with sundried tomato and olive, and cold mezze like tzatziki with mint oil, and taramasalata. There are also raw seafood dishes like scallop carpaccio with grapefruit and prawn tartare with apple and cucumber, before standout dishes such as harissa-glazed ribeye, house shakshuka, and lobster orzo arrive. For those with a sweet tooth, the pistachio mille-feuille and olive oil ice cream provide a refined finish. Every dish is underpinned by high-quality sourcing, including the use of Manahi olive oil from Cyprus.

The aesthetic, designed in collaboration with leather house Leo Prothmann, introduces a ‘stable glam’ that retains the exotic, foliage-laden style that has always made The Mandrake one of London's most striking destination hotels. This is further enhanced by a bespoke soundscape, making it a full multisensory experience, far and away from anything else you might experience in the capital.

During the warmer months, the experience extends to the award-winning Jurema Terrace. This alfresco sanctuary, draped in passionflower and jasmine, specializes in ethnobotanical cocktails. We recommend trying the signature Zaytoun Martini, which features olive oil-washed gin and bergamot.