The Garrison

We love it when one of London's grand-dame hotels has a refurb and the Connaught, which is now part of the Maybourne Group (which also owns Claridges and the Berkeley), is no exception.

But forget the rooms - after the bar, which at the Connaught is another David Collins special, the bit we're most interested in, of course, is the food.

Succeeding Angela Hartnett, who will open her new Italian, Murano, next month, Helene Darroze is the Michelin-starred French super-chef (the character of Colette in Ratatouille was apparently modelled on her) who has brought her charms to the hotel.

Choose from her eponymous, fine-dining restaurant, open Monday-Friday - where, as well as poncey things like oyster tartare with caviar jelly, there is also a whole Jambon noir on it's own trolley which is sliced at your table - or the more relaxed Gallery, open during the weekend, which focuses on the simple, seasonal and organic, and looks out over Carlos Place and Mount Street.

The refreshing thing about Darroze is that she's not a wincey, nouvelle cuisine type but a self-professed hearty cook who wants to stay true to her south-western roots. But this is the Connaught so it's not cheap.

Our advice: sneak in a hip flask of Burgundy.

Hours: Helene Darroze - Mon-Fri 12-2.15pm & 6.30-10.15 • The Gallery - Mon-Fri 7am-10.30pm & Sat-Sun 7.30am-10.30pm
Place: 16 Carlos Place, W1K 2AL
Cost: HD £100 • G £50
Web: the-connaught.co.uk
Book: HD - 020 3147 7200 • G - 020 3147 7100

by SL

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.