Aster

Launched alongside the Nova Development as a Scandinavian restaurant, Aster these days sports a more modern European menu in line with fellow D&D London offerings, though the all-day venue remains as hard-working as ever.

The café downstairs serves everything from breakfast and children’s menus to pre-theatre, Saturday brunch and Sunday roasts, while the first-floor dining room–all rust-coloured plush furnishings, bleached marbled walls and spindly lighting–has an à la carte at lunch and dinner.  

For the most part, this is a kitchen that knows what it’s doing. To start, marinated yellowfin tuna married nicely with avocado and crunchy spring onions while simply plated confit duck and duck liver terrine, served with fresh brioche and a lively pear chutney, was faultless.

28-day dry aged beef fillet was the highlight of our dinner, cooked to perfection and served with green beans, béarnaise and triple-cooked chips. An over-salted grilled octopus that felt more like a starter than a main fared less well and was further let down by a lacklustre salad of chickpeas, olives and confit tomatoes.

Things picked up with dessert. Valrhona chocolate fondant was delightfully oozy and saved from over richness by a tangy passion fruit paté, though it was the salted caramel ganache which stole the show with butterfly flowers, lime beetroot jelly and a refreshing lemon sorbet – a playful riot of textures and artful splashes of colour.

Impeccable service includes some spot-on recommendations from the sommelier; we particularly enjoyed the refreshing Kekfrancos from Hungary with our fish dishes.

Cocktails in the elegant bar, meanwhile, promise a themed journey through London and beyond. The non-alcoholic Oslo Tour featured well-measured tartness and sweetness courtesy of elderflower and fresh berries infused in Seedlip Grove 42, though if you’re about to brave the train home, you may prefer something stronger. Try the Ziggy Stardust (Brixton), a wintry mix of pear vodka and cinnamon which will put a sprig in your step as you rush to Victoria.

D&D London’s roster of restaurants are never short of extravagance and glamour, with Aster being no exceptional to the rule. The restaurant and café are spread over two floors and a terrace within Victoria’s Nova development, and is a relaxed yet elegant all-day dining French brasserie.  

Whether it's weekend brunch or a three-course dinner, a meal at Aster is a special affair before you’ve had a chance to sample the food. The restaurant is illuminated by warm lighting and offers a slightly art-deco feel, with leather booth seating, copper finishes and stylish hanging light fittings that draw the eye upwards.  

The a la carte menu features plenty of French classics, with hors d’oeuvres including French onion soup with croutons and gruyere, chicken liver parfait with brioche and red onion marmalade and steak tartare with toasted bread. Guests can choose from a choice of grills as well as plats principaux such as moules frites, duck confit and fish pie parmentier. To finish, opt for a selection of farmhouse cheeses or the likes of profiteroles with crème pâtissière, vanilla ice cream and warm chocolate sauce.  

A two or three-course pre-theatre menu is available at a discounted price if you’re willing to dine early evening. While on weekends the brunch menu allows guests to feast on plenty of breakfast classics alongside its signature dishes all day long. Guests can choose to order two or three courses, and there’s the option to add bottomless bubbles or mimosas at an extra cost, if liked. Start with Severn & Wye smoked salmon with brioche and crème fraiche before tucking into flat iron steak with skinny fries, béarnaise sauce and watercress.  

A drink at the bar is an event in its own right. Choose from a well-stocked drink’s list that features wines by the glass, including new and old-world wines, sparkling and champagne, sweet and fortified, cocktails, spirits and more. Guests can nibble on a choice of sharing boards while sampling a wine or two.