The proprietor of a handful of restaurants, a cooking school, a deli, and with a number of cookbooks to her name, it is clear that Anne-Sophie Pic – one of the few female chefs to hold three Michelin stars – does not do things by halves.
Which is why, for her first London outpost, she chose to set up shop within the grand Grade II-listed former headquarters of the Port of London Authority, now home to the new Four Seasons hotel, one of the city’s most anticipated openings.
Inside the restaurant, designer Bruno Moinard has been guided by the Beaux Arts bones of the building, dressing the original sculptural embellishments with tactile, toffee-coloured leather and tinted mirrors; while a central chandelier, designed to evoke the French card game La Dame de Pique, is a nod to the restaurant’s name.
Divided into sections – possibly to counterbalance the room’s soaring ceilings – the arrangement is arguably more isolated than intimate, all the more pleasant to savour the finer points of Pic’s elegant cooking. A concise menu celebrates her signature dishes, from ‘Berlingot’ – a light-hearted take on the tetrahedral-shaped candy – presented as delicate, triangular pasta parcels filled with gooey smoked Pélardon cheese and served with wild mushrooms; to Challans chicken, marinated in sake and dressed with hispi cabbage and diced razor clams.
These dishes form the backbone of the tasting menu – an obvious option especially when paired with matching wines, that include a few surprises such as Spanish ice cider, suggested by the informed and upbeat, leather-aproned sommelier.
Finish off with the rightfully celebrated mille-feuille, which arrives shrouded in a sweet white edible cloche, followed by a postprandial tipple in the hotel’s lobby bar under the dome of the building’s rotunda.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
Four Seasons
10 Trinity Square
London EC3N 4AJ
-
Looking for a long-range luxury EV that’s a true Tesla alternative? Welcome to the Lucid AirWe drive the Lucid Air, the high-performance Californian EV that’s a welcome leftfield choice in a sea of Musk-mobiles. Vote Lucid!
-
Umbrian castle hotel Reschio seduces with 1,000 years of history, now explored in a new bookThe estate, home to a boutique hotel and rentable houses, is documented in Rizzoli's ‘Reschio: the First Thousand Years’ – and is open for stays
-
Light, nature and modernist architecture: welcome to the reimagined Longwood GardensLongwood Gardens and its modernist Roberto Burle Marx-designed greenhouse get a makeover by Weiss/Manfredi and Reed Hildebrand in the US
-
Where to eat Italian food in LondonFrom four-course blow-outs to the perfect pizza , food critic Ben McCormack recommends London's best Italian restaurants to have on your radar
-
Out of office: from Loewe loafers to volcanic views, the Wallpaper* editors' picks of the weekWhat the Wallpaper* team have been eating, seeing, wearing and crucially, enjoying, this week
-
Explore Cornwall's cosiest coffee shopsCornwall is known for its natural beauty and stunning landscape, here is our pick of coffee shops to enjoy the views and refuel
-
Out of office: What the Wallpaper* editors have been doing this weekTeam Wallpaper* are hard to pin down. Here's what our editors have been up to this week that might inspire your own downtime, from films to food, architours to musical interludes
-
First look at Soma 2.0: a new nighttime highlight in east LondonFresh from its Soho roots, this newly opened London bar is set to redefine Canary Wharf’s nightlife – not least with its Indian-flavour-twist cocktails, as Neil Ridley discovers
-
This new London restaurant bursts with Mexican flair and flavourFonda is London’s new Mexican restaurant, courtesy of chef Santiago Lastra, also behind Michelin-starred Kol. As Mary Cleary discovers, it’s serving up colour and creativity
-
KOYN Thai brings high-end flair to London's West EndFrom Samyukta Nair and Fabled Studio comes a new restaurant with food drawn from the length and breadth of Thailand
-
Where to eat sushi in LondonFrom high-end hotels to supermarket pop-ups, food critic Ben McCormack recommends London's best sushi spots
