New restaurants to know: Sultry lighting and theatrical tableside service make for the most elegant date night at Carbone
DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN
Who says autumn is the dying of the year? The leaves may be falling, but there’s no slowing down London‘s food scene. In fact, it’s never been more alive and thriving, thanks to the opening of these new restaurants. Party season is approaching – and Tatler knows exactly where to spend it. Eat your heart out.
Carbone
When you book a table at Carbone, you know what you’re here for. Few dishes have entered the cultural zeitgeist quite like Carbone’s spicy rigatoni, which counts among its fans Leonardo DiCaprio, Taylor Swift and Victoria Beckham. Glimmering on the edge of Grosvenor Square, where else would this New York outpost choose for its British debut than the reimagined former American Embassy? Yes, the sense of grandeur hits you right from walking down its red carpet to those gilded doors. Inside, it’s 1950s Americana dressed up to the nines, with a marble chequerboard floor, plush red leather benches and sultry dim lighting. Your tuxedoed captain (a sort of souped-up waiter) presents a comedically sized menu, remarking that everything is supersized here – even the wonderfully garlicky croutons on that cult caesar salad. The service is ever-personable, whether its magicking up plates of cauliflower salad, chunks of parmesan and the most delicious bread basket before you’ve even ordered, whipping up that caesar with theatrical flair from a tableside trolley or presenting you with the immense desserts platter to choose from (lemon cheesecake is the correct answer). So yes, order the spicy rigatoni; but there’s something to surprise even long-term Carbone loyalists. Perhaps scampi alla scampi, using fresh langoustines flown in daily from Scotland, or a New York strip and filet from the finest grass-fed English beef. Every dapper gentleman or glamazon woman who walks out of Carbone does so with delicious satisfaction. carbonelondon.com