Amethyst, London W1: "One of the best restaurants in the UK" - Restaurant Review | Grace Tooth
We dined at Amethyst, a very chic restaurant in Mayfair, shortly after 10 nights of simple, yet satisfying dining in the South West of France. In Arcachon, dinner each evening was simple but always classy, as the French can't help it. They can toss 10 large prawns on a plate and serve them with cold Orangina and make a woman feel like Brigitte Bardot. The turbot was served whole, grilled, face blatant, with a bowl of fried new potatoes and baskets of fresh bread with hearty salted butter. Dessert was a scoop of homemade ice cream, or maybe two if you were feeling a bit more. A simple dinner is where the joy of eating is truly revealed.
Then, bang: it's back to Saturday night in central London, for a dinner by Carlo Scotto, who has quietly and painstakingly revealed himself over the past few years as one of Britain's most imaginative chefs. This Italian chef flew slightly under the radar. His previous company, Xier, in my opinion, had all the cut and thrust of a two-star Michelin restaurant, although it didn't earn a single one. I remember a succession of small plates of brown butter gnocchi swimming in hot kombu tea, then half an arancino on a sticky kohlrabi jus, then stracciatella with dehydrated wild strawberries. Scotto is one of the new crown princes of the fine, delicate and refined culinary scene. Xier was easily as impressive as Clare Smyth's Core or even Le Gavroche.
I've sent many people there who needed places to impress dates, get engaged or spend money on a customer's stay – although there were clearly not enough people there, as Xier has since closed. Now, however, Amethyst is here, named after Scotto's birthstone, and serves a very long 12-course tasting menu or, for people paying babysitters, a shorter six-course menu in a hall. dining room which has a slight air of a bridge. on the Starship Enterprise.
Before an open kitchen, a huge communal zigzag table dominates the room. Apparently this allows customers to eat together while eating in private, with the ability to watch the...
We dined at Amethyst, a very chic restaurant in Mayfair, shortly after 10 nights of simple, yet satisfying dining in the South West of France. In Arcachon, dinner each evening was simple but always classy, as the French can't help it. They can toss 10 large prawns on a plate and serve them with cold Orangina and make a woman feel like Brigitte Bardot. The turbot was served whole, grilled, face blatant, with a bowl of fried new potatoes and baskets of fresh bread with hearty salted butter. Dessert was a scoop of homemade ice cream, or maybe two if you were feeling a bit more. A simple dinner is where the joy of eating is truly revealed.
Then, bang: it's back to Saturday night in central London, for a dinner by Carlo Scotto, who has quietly and painstakingly revealed himself over the past few years as one of Britain's most imaginative chefs. This Italian chef flew slightly under the radar. His previous company, Xier, in my opinion, had all the cut and thrust of a two-star Michelin restaurant, although it didn't earn a single one. I remember a succession of small plates of brown butter gnocchi swimming in hot kombu tea, then half an arancino on a sticky kohlrabi jus, then stracciatella with dehydrated wild strawberries. Scotto is one of the new crown princes of the fine, delicate and refined culinary scene. Xier was easily as impressive as Clare Smyth's Core or even Le Gavroche.
I've sent many people there who needed places to impress dates, get engaged or spend money on a customer's stay – although there were clearly not enough people there, as Xier has since closed. Now, however, Amethyst is here, named after Scotto's birthstone, and serves a very long 12-course tasting menu or, for people paying babysitters, a shorter six-course menu in a hall. dining room which has a slight air of a bridge. on the Starship Enterprise.
Before an open kitchen, a huge communal zigzag table dominates the room. Apparently this allows customers to eat together while eating in private, with the ability to watch the...
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