AOK Kitchen and Bakery - Marylebone, London

It wasn't long ago that every restaurant that was opening specialised in burgers or something in the same lexicon. How far our taste have shifted! Now everything new feels calibrated to the wonts of the healthy eater. AOK Kitchen & Bakery on Marylebone's Dorset Street is no exception. Launched by Kelly Landesberg, the all-day eatery strictly eschews refined sugar, dairy and gluten in favour of food that is equally as easy on the digestion as it is on the eyes. 

The dining room is brazenly instagrammable. Most notably, white-blossoming trees contort and wend their way up the walls and ceiling, overhanging a swanky darkwood bar with swooping high-top stools and bouquets of orchids . We were duly impressed by the stunning hand-painted wallpaper and white marble floor as well as the dark wooden tables, beautiful blue and green seating and the cosy PDR hidden away. Kostas Rampias (formerly of Momo) heads up the kitchen while Sebastian Chiono (of The Arts Club) serves as pastry chef, dishing up fresh ebullient cuisine.

Starters were a revelation. Grilled manouri cheese arrived clad in baby gem lettuce, courgettes, mint and sesame seeds then dribbled with organic honey vinaigrette. Grilled octopus found its mate in yellow fava beans and sauce vierge. Baked Skrei cod fillet with vine ripe tomatoes, olives, capers, raisins and pine nuts was light and lovely, as were grilled wild tiger prawns with a spicy Moroccan chermoula. We wrapped up the evening with 'Almost Cheesecake' with rhubarb and coconut yoghurts and pumpkin sticky toffee pudding with ginger ice creamy. It was impossible to tell that these were healthier version of the original with the bold, full flavour on display.