Mount St. Restaurant - Mayfair, London

Every so often a restaurant arrives that feels like it has its finger on the pulse, and Mount Street Restaurant on the eponymous Mayfair address very much appears to be one of those venues. Opened by Artfarm, the company behind The Fife Arms in Braemar, Roth Bar & Grill in Somerset and recently opened The Audley Public House, the iconic building seamlessly integrates art and design, architecture and gastronomy in a way that feels thoughtfully considered without ever being overbearing.  The design has been orchestrated by Paris-based studio LaPlace, headed up by Luis LaPlace and Christophe Comoy, and references Zurich's Kronenhalle as a major inspiration. The first-floor restaurant offers floor-to-ceiling windows which let in buckets of natural light to illuminate works of art ranging from dining chairs by artist Matthew Day Jackson to a palladina mosaic from American visionary Rashid Johnson to a collection of paintings featuring Andy Warhol, Lucian Freud, Henri Matisse and Frank Auerbach. An enamelled lava stone bar sits at the heart of the room, and there are various exceptional PDR options for those who want to push the boat out in private.  The menu at Mount Street Restaurant is inspired by London's storied culinary history and has already one fans with hero dishes such as the lobster pie, the crustacean's head emerging triumphantly from golden shortcrust. We were just as smitten with the mock turtle croquette (actually veal) starter, served with an oyster mayonnaise and herb salad, or the excellent pigeons in Pimlico main, with duck liver, bacon and red cabbage. The bubble and squeak side deserves a round of applause, formed into tiny little hash browns and served with HP hollandaise. For dessert, you can't go wrong with a cleansing lemon tart with yoghurt ice cream.  Anyone with an interest in gastronomy, art or architecture or, in fact, all three, will want to beat a path to the excellent new Mount Street Restaurant.