Monarch Theatre - Soho, London

When Park Row touched down on the scene, some folks were scratching their heads at the arrival of a Batman / DC Comics themed restaurant, but if there's any city that can pull it off (aside from Gotham) it's London, and the jewel in the venue's crown is undoubtedly its fine dining offering: The Monarch Theatre. It's a fully immersive restaurant experience inspired by the DC universe that combines multi-sensorial storytelling with riveting culinary execution from James Bulmer (formerly CEO of the Fat Duck Group) and exec chef Karl O'Dell (of Michelin-starred restaurant Texture).  Guests enter the restaurant and, through a sequence of events that we won't spoil, will find themselves shepherded into The Monarch Theatre - a 20-cover space with state-of-the-art floor-to-ceiling projection mapping, a 10-course tasting menu and paired drinks. Guests are then taken through a culinary and visual journey with carefully crafted staging, narration and immersive courses that play with the senses and pay homage to the source material.  We kicked our meal off with a dish named for The Riddler - an amalgam of ox, horseradish, hibiscus, carabinero prawn, wasabi and soy that didn't disappoint, before following up with a scintillating merging of caviar, scallop and white chocolate named The Penguin. Other favourites included Scarecrow (mushroom, port and sourdough); The Joker (black cod, lobster and sea urchin); Mr Freeze (smoked eel, yuzu, courgette and pork rib) and Bruce Wayne (black angus, truffle rock and smoked onion).  The Monarch Theatre is a strange and beguiling restaurant that rewards those looking for a fully immersive experience.