London’s best tasting menus

Once the preserve of only the fanciest of fancy restaurants, the tasting menu has come into its own post-pandemic. Set menus make economic sense for cost-cutting restaurateurs and their harried staff, of course – but customers benefit too, with no nasty surprises or bust-ups when the bill arrives. And for those of us who suffer from perennial food envy, tasting menus remove the gut-wrenching anxiety of having to choose between the ‘succulent hand-glazed cod’ and the ‘succulently foraged kobe beef’ – both it is. But pairing multiple dishes with distinctive wines and then placing them in some kind of coherent order takes real skill – so who does it best?

For me, opting for a tasting menu is a bit like listening to an album in its entirety rather than skipping to the hits. You’ve got perhaps eight or nine offerings in front of you, and the running order is key. Where songs appear on an album is almost as important as the songs themselves, and it’s much the same when it comes to composing a menu; hit the diner with something bold, then surprise them with a few tasty left-fielders before ending on a bittersweet high.