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Humo

London, Mayfair - International - Restaurant - £££

Glitzy homage to live-fire cooking

Overall Rating: Very Good

Uniqueness:Does the establishment stand out in the context of the local area? Very Good

Deliciousness:How delicious is the food? Very Good

Warmth:How warm is the service and the hospitality in general? Very Good

Strength of recommendation:How enthusiastically and widely would you recommend the establishment? Exceptional

From the street Humo’s muted appearance gives little away, but its owners (the Creative Restaurant Group, which includes Endo at the Rotunda) have splashed out on the interior. The room certainly has impact – the former Wild Honey spot never felt as glitzy. Devoted to 'live fire' cooking, the best seats are at the long, deep counter overlooking the rush of heat and flames of the four-metre-long wood grill – there are conventional dining tables, too. In charge of it all is Robbie Jameson, a chef with an unerring feel for cooking over flames, using different kinds of wood to enhance flavours. He puts a strong emphasis on seafood, too, and his menu shouts out to the flavours of East Asia, notably Japan, all refracted through an occidental prism – a style that a finely pitched opener of Hampshire trout smoked over applewood summed up perfectly. Topped by roe marinated in yuzu, with a ‘salad’ of compressed apple and myoga (Japanese ginger root) and set o...

From the street Humo’s muted appearance gives little away, but its owners (the Creative Restaurant Group, which includes Endo at the Rotunda) have splashed out on the interior. The room certainly has impact – the former Wild Honey spot never felt as glitzy. Devoted to 'live fire' cooking, the best seats are at the long, deep counter overlooking the rush of heat and flames of the four-metre-long wood grill – there are conventional dining tables, too.

In charge of it all is Robbie Jameson, a chef with an unerring feel for cooking over flames, using different kinds of wood to enhance flavours. He puts a strong emphasis on seafood, too, and his menu shouts out to the flavours of East Asia, notably Japan, all refracted through an occidental prism – a style that a finely pitched opener of Hampshire trout smoked over applewood summed up perfectly. Topped by roe marinated in yuzu, with a ‘salad’ of compressed apple and myoga (Japanese ginger root) and set on a sauce of English horseradish, pineapple, mango and lime, it was all about clear flavours, freshness and intensity.

Impressive technique is used to enhance, not to overwhelm: a single scallop is roasted directly over wood from aged whisky barrels, giving a sweet, subtle smokiness that’s underscored by a whisky, brown butter and verjus sabayon, while slices of nectarine provide a sweet-fresh note. Elsewhere, a nugget of 32-day aged Cornish lamb with beetroot sauce is made memorable with a Castelfranco radicchio ‘salad’ topped with sweet onion jam made from aged balsamic, celeriac and apple, while the accompanying skewer of confit lamb belly pressed with spinach and garlic is a perfect example of layering complex flavours. Dessert might be 'cinders' ('something sweet when the flames are off') or pandan and lime cream with 72% Araguani chocolate and blood orange. A set lunch option with optional wine pairings is a good introduction to Jameson's cooking, while the full wine list takes itself very seriously with prices that reflect the postcode.

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VENUE DETAILS

12 St George's Street
Mayfair
W1S 2FBGB

020 3327 3690

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OTHER INFORMATION

Private dining room, Counter seating, Credit card required

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