Looking into the downstairs dining room at 74 Charlotte Street
So what do we need to know about 74 Charlotte Street?
This is the first London restaurant from a group that have won plaudits for their places in leafy Berkshire - The Braywood and The Woodspeen. Sensibly, they've teamed up with an actual London chef for the move into town, Ben Murphy, who's probably best known for his long tenure as head chef at Launceston Place.
Where is it?
Well, the name rather gives it away, but if you're wondering where on the street this is, it's taken over the space vacated by Monica Galetti's old restaurant, Mere. So your nearest tube is Goodge Street.
Where should we meet friends for a drink first?
At this point, let us be quite clear; the only place you need to think about going is the bar here because it's a stunner. We honestly can't remember what the bar area looked like when this was Mere, but this feels very different and a lot more open.
Nicola Pellegrinetti is in charge of the bar and he's taken to his first Bar Manager appointment with gusto. There's a freezer drawer for their signature pre-mixed martini (of which we highly approve), and if you just fancy having a few snacks from the main menu with a cocktail, then this would be the place to come. A Bergamot Bellini was a perfect pre-dinner drink.
The ground-floor bar
The Viognier martini (£14) - your choice of gin or vodka with viognier-infused dry vermouth. Scoring a more-than-respectable 8.5 on the Hot Dinners chill scale.
What about the restaurant?
That's had quite a makeover too, everything looks softer, more cosy, with something of a womb-like look to the dining room. The furniture's also gorgeous - full props to whoever did the interior design here.
Comfort and style is the order of the day here
Let's move on to the food...
They describe the food as "cuisine rooted in excellence, while being driven by joy". If you, like us, are wondering what that means in practice, then we'd say, based on the meal that we had, that there are fun culinary flourishes, mainly in the starters and desserts sections, with a much more classic offering for the mains.
Here's what we had to give you an idea.
The first dish was one we actually didn't order, but which they brought out anyway. That was the correct decision because you won't want to miss out on this fabulous bread course.
Milk bread with pumpkin Seed Hummus and Noisette Butter (£9). Can we just take a moment and appreciate the perfection of that butter cube?
Fish and chips taco (£9) - cod tempura with a chip emulsion, pickled cabbage and sauce vierge made this one of the most fun dishes on the menu.
BBQ lamb belly (£9) with a herb emulsion and smoked yoghurt (an easier snack than the last one to share between two).
Iberico presa (£35) with carrot and baby gem - a very well-executed main
BBQ monkfish with vin jaune, coco beans and mussels (£33) - a gently smoky and beautifully assembled fish dish.
Room for dessert?
Our recommendation at this point, if there's two of you, would be for one of you to order a dessert off the menu and for the other to call over the ice cream trolley.
Apple crumble soufflé with oats and caramel (£15) - an absolute belter of a dessert.
From the ice cream trolley, we chose a fig leaf ice cream served up with honeycomb and dusted with fig leaf powder (£12). Gorgeous.
Overall thoughts:
With so many London restaurant openings focusing on everything being crazy and new, not necessarily for the right reasons, it's actually refreshing to find a restaurant that celebrates serving up a lovely meal in comfortable surroundings. We might have been expecting some more culinary flights of fantasy from chef Ben, based on previous meals of his that we'd enjoyed, but this is more of a grown-up affair and should do very well in this part of town. And it's worth knowing that there's a great value set menu if you're looking for a new place to go for a business lunch.
More about 74 Charlotte Street
Where is it? 74 Charlotte St., London W1T 4QH
How to book: book online
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @74charlottestreet
Hot Dinners dined as guests of 74 Charlotte Street. Prices correct at time of publication.
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