When a restaurant is located in a five-star hotel opposite Hyde Park, it’s a safe bet that it’s going to be on the higher end of things. La Môme, settling into The Berkeley hotel (via partner restaurants in Cannes and Monaco), isn’t one to buck expectations in this regard. A huge 200-plus cover restaurant with art deco touches, personalised ‘La Môme’ plates, and more wagyu than you can shake a stick at – so far, so Knightsbridge.

Luckily though, not everything you’d expect from stuffy West London has been included. The staff are not only friendly, but also happy to chat like normal human beings, while the food isn’t scared to take a few risks. The devil baby chicken is spatchcocked and beautifully charcoal-grilled, but is hardly the sort of French cuisine mainstay you expect in a more traditional setting. Even dishes which skirt closer to the expected are served with a twist: the tuna, delicately seared and served with a ponzu vinaigrette and trout roe, is a real standout. 

The salads are equally enjoyable, with both the burrata and the artichoke managing to balance bold flavours against one another without being overwhelming. The herby potatoes take a different approach, happily pushing the salty tang of parmesan to the front and (correctly) assuming they’ll be balanced out by whichever main you’ve paired them with.

So the food’s good – but that’s the bare minimum at a restaurant like this. Where La Môme really excels is in the presentation. An olive oil and thyme dip which could easily be brought over readymade is instead assembled at the table, with a waiter delicately snipping strands of thyme onto the plate. Tomahawk steak and whole sea bass aren’t just mentioned, they’re brought over to be admired ahead of ordering. Cookies and ice cream are on the dessert menu, but are presented as a huge slab of biscuit, elevated on a plinth and served with cutlery, to be portioned out like a cake. All of this combines to genuinely offer a buzzword which gets thrown around far too often in our Instagram age: La Môme is a true experience, rather than just a meal.

As if that isn’t enough, the prices here really…aren’t that bad? Sure, we’re talking ‘date night’ rather than ‘quick bite to eat’, but there are mains for £30, sharing desserts for £15 per person, and even the wagyu comes in at a price point which won’t make you wince too hard when you get the bill. No five-star hotel restaurant a stone’s throw from Harrods is going to be cheap, but La Môme feels genuinely fairly priced in a way that a lot of high-end restaurants aren’t. It’s clearly working, too, because almost every table in the cavernous dining hall was full when we visited – no mean feat on a cold Tuesday evening.

For more information on La Môme at The Berkeley, see here

Wilton Pl, London SW1X 7RL