A richly hued, soothing room with long skirted tables, sound-baffling walls, thick carpets and gleaming columns, the Belgravia outpost of Gordon Ramsay’s empire simply oozes old-money class – although the pièce de résistance is an imposing circular wine store loaded with the titular Château Pétrus of various vintages, many of which are available by the glass – as compelling a reason to come as the cooking. There's plenty else besides this world-class label as well, though the expansive list focuses on France’s top vineyards and other fine and rare European gems.
The Michelin-starred kitchen offers the sort of classy Anglo-French cooking that made Ramsay famous in the first place. “Divine” starters such as aged beef tartare overlaid with discs of artichoke and black truffle or organic egg accompanied by parsnip, ventrèche bacon, Brussels sprouts and sauce vin jaune are as sophisticated, “full of flavour” and finely tuned as ever.
Main courses also show off the kitchen’s prodigious skills, from a tranche of hazelnut-crusted roast turbot alongside an arrangement of leeks, oyster and oscietra caviar to a slab of duck breast, cooked to pink perfection and served beside an ordered jumble of different coloured beetroots, blackberry and watercress.
To finish, look out for the fragrant apricot tartlet infused with orange blossom, the smoked chocolate crémeux embedded with buckwheat, cocoa nibs and single malt whisky or an oh-so-pretty arrangement of pink Yorkshire rhubarb with fresh goat’s milk cheesecake – although the small but interesting cheese trolley is also worth a sniff.
Meanwhile, those wanting the ultimate no-expense-spared Pétrus experience should consider booking the eight-seater chef’s table in front of the kitchen. Menus come topped and tailed with a panoply of dainty extras, the “comprehensive” wine list makes its own aristocratic statement and eager-to-please staff “clearly enjoy their job” – in fact, the whole show is little short of “perfection”, according to one fan.