Mount St. Restaurant review, Mayfair, London

Mount St. Restaurant is located above The Audley pub

(Image credit: Simon Brown)

published 17 April 2023

Discreetly tucked away among Mayfair’s back streets, surrounded by some of the best shops and galleries in the world, you will find Mount St. Restaurant & Rooms – a gem of a restaurant on the first floor above The Audley pub.

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With vibes of a gallery, the creators of Mount St. Restaurant describe it as a spot for entertaining through food, the story of Mayfair and art. Anyone with a penchant for the curious will adore the surroundings. The restaurant is a design megahub where every piece tells a story, and the food is devine. The main attraction is the lobster pie for two, and it’s as excessive and lavish as it sounds.

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A side door on Mount Street leads you up a winding staircase through to the restaurant. Boldly decorated, the exuberant marble, mosaic floor – Broken Floor, created by contemporary artist Rashid Johnson – runs throughout the space as does wall-to-wall extraordinary, specially-commissioned art. It is “positively bursting” with contemporary works, said Antonia Bentel in House & Garden. “£50m worth, to be exact.”

Caring but not overbearing, the staff allow you enough time to enjoy the fantastic art on show, from a striking Picasso to works which have a food theme, for example Andy Warhol’s Lobster and Lucien Freud’s A Plate of Prawns. “No disrespect” to my “stunning pals”, said Leonie Cooper in Time Out, but never have I ever dined “this close to a masterpiece”. Every detail is a celebration of craftsmanship including what’s on the table, from cute tree-design salt and pepper shakers by sculptor Paul McCarthy to the lamps by Sophie Taeuber-Arp, which create a perfect ambiance at dinner time.

Executive chef Jamie Shears prepares a feast with equally incredible breakfast, lunch, dinner and even roast menus. But for me, it had to be a dinner date. Bread, butter and a delicious dish of chicken liver parfait was served up followed by the starters. The mock turtle croquette (which is actually veal) was a showstopper, as was the dainty beef tartare served with buttery dipping toast. Every aspect of the food is as carefully considered as the noteworthy art, and red meat (beef and lamb) comes from the company’s very own farm in Somerset.

The signature dish is the lobster pie, which depending on fishing weather, is caught in Cornwall. But if it is too difficult to fish it’s brought in from Canada. Presented with a lobster head poking out of the pastry, the creation is teasingly placed on your table before a waiter kindly steps in to elegantly dish it up. Inside the pie the filling is unbelievably rich, and it’s served with the freshest of greens and comforting mashed potatoes. Vegetables are also sourced from farmers and growers around the UK.