PRO VS PUNTER

Does a regular diner reach the same conclusion about a restaurant as a food pro, who may get special treatment if recognised?* Critic Chloe Scott-Moncrieff and O reader Laura James compare notes on Jason Atherton’s hot new restaurant

Critic and reader compare notes on Jason Atherton’s The Betterment

What does a multimillion-pound redevelopment and the opening of European flagship hotel, in one of London’s priciest streets, get you? Jason Atherton – Gordon Ramsay protégé, Michelin man, prolific, international restaurateur, cookbook author and TV chef.

In a much-anticipated return to Grosvenor Square – in 2005 Jason launched Ramsay’s now-closed Maze, a few doors down – his new restaurant is set within The Biltmore. Head chef Paul Walsh (formerly of Jason’s other restaurant City Social) is at the pass, while the dining room nods to art deco, with its dark wood, flashes of gold, and geometric doors and ceiling lights, and leads through to a covered garden with foliage walls and colourful, relaxed seating.

Describing itself as “dedicated to the seasons”, the menu is broken down into seafood and starters, mains, fish and meat roasted over the embers, and veg, accompaniments and sides, while a second page details the provenance. Choose between the likes of king crab topped with yuzu and lime gel, served in its shell, over ice; and steak tartare with beef-dripping croutons to start; followed by rose veal cutlet served with a rich, gherkinspeckled charcuterie sauce; and pineapple and coconut mousse with compressed pineapple and lime to finish.

Let the sommelier guide you through the wine list or be tempted by cocktails such as Tea Time with the Queen (spiked with gin and kombucha) or the wellstocked whisky trolley. thebettermentmayfair.com