The restaurant where elegant simplicity prevails
After a stroll through Grosvenor Square for a quick round of “how many of these apartments would you need to match the GDP of Liberia”, we arrive at the door of Mayfair’s latest eatery; 8 Mount Street. To the right, a young man in trainers that would make Marty McFly cringe is buying a Porsche. To the left, fats cats huff and puff around the doors of The Connaught. Given its positioning, 8 Mount Street seems doomed to match the garish affluence the post code demands, however, fear not. 8 Mount Street manages to keep its class without losing its elegance.
The Vibe
Whilst the interior and service are indeed luxury enough to keep your business clients suitably schmoozed, it doesn’t feel forced. Patinated brass panelling and hues of clean white surround leather banquettes and minimal Scandi-design chairs. Restrained, elegant simplicity prevails.
The Cuisine
The vast menu follows a classic European brasserie feel with Mediterranean tendencies. The menu isn’t pushing any boundaries but it is satisfying and well executed nonetheless. However, their new spring menu has some interesting additions with twists on classic cuisine from pecorino crème brûlée to crab tortellini & samphire.
The Food
The starters are pleasingly generous with a carpaccio of tuna, sumac and lime shining through. For the mains, fish was once again the hero with a decadent lobster linguine and a sea bass fillet given a rich umami-hit with lashings of shrimp butter. Not leaving dessert as an afterthought, the Greek style doughnuts dressed with yoghurt and walnuts are swoon-inducing.
The Drinks
Truth be told, the subterranean cocktail lounge – Bar Eight, stole the show on our visit. We graze through three bowls of spiced popcorn while discovering the mixologist’s various projects; cold brewing coffee, in-house spirit infusions and the cherry wood smoke used for their heavy hitting cocktail, The Social Smoker, featuring wagyu beef fat washed Woodford reserve. The real winner here is their signature ‘8 Martini’, featuring Sipsmith vodka, sake syrup and tart Yuzu juice; light, refreshing and dangerously drinkable. When dining upstairs, there is an extensively stocked old world wine menu. After being told we can’t order carafes of Yuzu martini, we settled for a juicy French red.
The Damage
It’s Mayfair, the most expensive property on the Monopoly board, so expect prices to match. Nonetheless, with starters around £11-20 and mains £20-38, it’s on the more sensible side of the spectrum for this postcode.
Conclusion
Put your pretensions aside and 8 Mount Street is an easy spot, a place you can sneak off to when stuck with the “where-do-we-eat-dinner-for-under-£500-on-Mount-Street” conundrum. We have to admit however that they do the classics best, so stick to the simple dishes on the menu and you’ll be onto a winner. But above all, sneak downstairs. Both before, and after your meal… we insist.
Best For
Business dinners or cocktail dates.
Visit 8 Mount Street here.
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