The front dining room at Fantomas with tables looking into the open kitchen
So what do we need to know about Fantômas ?
This is the latest place to be added to serial restaurateurs George Bukhov-Weinstein and Ilya Demichev’s burgeoning London empire. They already run Lita's, Wild Tavern and Belvedere. Now they've got a shiny new addition in Fantômas. They always seem to work with interesting chefs and here in Chelsea they've brought in Chris Denney, the man who made a name for himself at 108 Garage and Fiend.
It's billed as a neighbourhood restaurant, but given the neighbourhood it's a lot shinier and more ambitious than most local openings.
Where is it exactly?
You'll find it on the King's Road, just past Chelsea Town Hall, on the junction with Old Church Street. So the closest tube station would be Sloane Square. Or you could get the river bus to Cadogan Pier and walk up.
Where's a good place to meet for drinks first?
The restaurant is handily located just opposite the Cadogan Arms, which is a very decent pub. It's also a few doors down from Callooh Callay Chelsea which is great for cocktails. But there's also a proper bar inside if you fancy perching here for drinks (you can also eat here too). Mike Robinson is responsible for the cocktails here. We didn't get a chance to try them but the Miso Old Fashioned sounds definitely worth a go.
The bar at Fantomas
Where should we sit?
Barely two weeks into service the place was already rammed when we visited mid-week (much like Lita's was when that first opened). The restaurant is split into two rooms. The front is a good place for larger groups and for enjoying a view into the open kitchen. The back room is just as lovely, with a terrace and outdoor fire pit making it quite a sexy hangout in the evenings. There's also a really good table for four set into an alcove in front of the wine wall.
This cosy wine table looked like a lovely place for a gossipy lunch or long dinner.
And the food?
It's variously described as 'modern European with an eye on Asia' or 'contemporary cooking' depending on where you look. The layout of the menu will be familiar to any Londoner who dines out regularly, kicking off with snacks and then progressing through a series of plates where the price point shows you the size and at what stage of the meal it comes. That said, we'd suggest either ordering a little a time or being clear if yu want to put a gap between dishes coming out.
Most of the food is cooked over fire, our waitress tells us, courtesy of the kitchen's 'Rise and Fall' Josper Basque Grill. Here's what we had to give you a flavour:
Di Recco flatbread with porcini and ricotta (£10) - a Genoese flatbread we hadn't encountered before.
Sourdough focaccia with chicken liver parfait (£8) - a dish that wowed folks back at 108 Garage. Honestly, this focaccia was mind-blowingly good.
Raw bream with jalapeno, cucumber and citrus (£16) - if you love a crudo dish, as we do, this was a sparkling example.
Crispy veal sweetbread with a bulgogi glaze and sauerkraut (£28) - a hint of that mix of European and Asian influences made this a real hit.
At this point we moved up to what would traditionally be the mains.
Crab tagliolini (£23) - not the easiest dish to share, so maybe worth ordering all to yourself.
John Dory with salsify in a brown butter (£48) - where a fabulous piece of fish is enhanced but not overshadowed by its treatment in the kitchen.
Room for dessert?
We had room not only for dessert but also a pre-dessert which our waiter said was unmissable and he was 100% right.
Cucumber & Sake Slushy (£7) - do not skip this
Creme caramel (£10) - we got an absolute waft of bonfire when this arrived at the table (suitably so, as it was 5 November). A very smoky, but otherwise classically good dessert.
Rum Savarin with chantilly and pineapple (£12) - there are a lot of babas on London menus at the moment so it's good to see a slightly different take on the dessert here.
What about the wine?
There is a very, very edited list on the back of your menu - and we like that wines by the glass come in a choice of either 125ml or 175ml options. But wine in any of this duo's restaurants is always going to be a big thing, so you should probably ask for the full wine list for a proper browse.
Sommelier Gergo Feher worked on the list with Davide Portovenero, who is Head of Wine and we're told it "has a heavy focus on the New World, bringing both weird and wonderful bottles together in symphony with the food." It can get spendy; we spotted an Imperial of 1989 Chateau Mouton Rothschild at £12k but there are plenty of options in the £45 to £55 bracket too. We had an amazing Vermentino from Burgundian winemaker Athénaïs Béru (£100).
Overall thoughts:
If you're the kind of person who likes your restaurants to fit neatly into categories then Fantômas may confound you. We really enjoyed dinner here, but as for trying to pigeonhole it, we gave up trying to find a classification. Maybe "modern London cooking" is the right thing if you really need a description. But all you really ought to know is that this is the kind of sophisticated but sexy restaurant that Chelsea didn't know it needed but most definitely does. Get all dolled up and enjoy it.
More about Fantômas
Where is it? 300 King's Road, London SW3 5UH
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @fantomas_chelsea
Hot Dinners dined as guests of Fantomas. Prices correct at time of publication.
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