YOPO at the Mandrake

Yopo replaces The Mandrake’s short-lived Serge, which closed its doors in January 2019. It’s an all-day offering to suit the hotel location and describes itself as ‘Amazonian-inspired’, although take that with a pinch of salt, as it loosely translates as some jungle theming to the decor and a mild South American accent to the broadly European cooking.

There’s coffee and grab-and-go dishes for breakfast, though the theming really works best at night, when Yopo is a far sexier proposition, with candlelight illuminating the hand-painted jungle mural on the ceiling while a poppy soundtrack blasts from the speakers.

Well-meaning staff will talk you through the menu of sharing plates; we’d recommend five dishes between two diners. We loved scallops – crisp on top, fleshy within – resting on a pool of puréed pumpkin and truffle shavings, while a meaty hunk of grilled aubergine drizzled with soy and paired with herb salad is a good shout for vegetarians.

Our best dish was potato churros, a savoury twist on the classic Spanish dessert involving sausages of doughy fried potato sprinkled with coffee grounds and served with a rich bottarga dip.

We finished with two joyfully rich, bitesize discs of almond and salted butter shortbread, sandwiched with dulce de leche and passionfruit jam – typical of a meal that was never less than enjoyable and showed occasional flashes of brilliance.

Drinks include fun cocktails, while if you’re looking to make a night of it, you can head to the hotel’s much buzzed-about Waeska bar.