Labombe by Trivet

Labombe is the casual restaurant from chef Jonny Lake and sommelier Isa Bal, the dynamic culinwary duo behind Trivet in Bermondsey. What was once the storied Met Bar on Park Lane has been converted into a plush dining room within the five-star Como Metropolitan hotel. The stylish, neutral-toned room features luxurious suede banquettes and textured, plastered walls hung with a rotating selection of works by young British artists. On the day we ate, Lake was conducting service from the dining room across the marble-topped counter overlooking the open kitchen. 

Centred around a grill and wood-fired oven, the carte offers simple but flavourful dishes, including tender medium-rare duck hearts grilled on a skewer with cherries and lardo and that must-order umami bomb of a snack – a hot tongue bun, slow-cooked, thinly sliced meat in a toasted milk brioche bun with anchovy mayonnaise, blackcurrant mostarda, cucumber, radish and Padrón pepper pickles. 

The two-course set lunch menu offers exceptional value, especially given the rarified neighbourhood. A whole spatchcocked French poussin, imported from Rungis market (according to our affable and efficient waiter), was roasted in the oven, glazed with a delicious, piquant charred tomato glaze (a condiment that appears a few times across the menu) and served with a beautiful, sprightly dressed organic green salad from Flourish farm in Cambridgeshire. An elegant, rounded rectangular fondant made with high-quality Manjari chocolate, filled with hazelnut ganache and served with white-coffee ice cream was a decidedly superior iteration of that now-ubiquitous dessert. 

Labombe is also a restaurant for serious wine lovers – you walk through a glass-encased cellar holding a thousand bottles on your way into the dining room – but drinking here needn’t break the bank. There are two lists, titled ‘A’ and ‘B’. The latter is where you’ll find big hitters from Burgundy, Bordeaux and Barolo, but stick with the former for bargains such as a £29 bottle of Les Vignerons de la Vicomte, Maison Vermentino from the Languedoc.