As usual, I’m running late. That famous saying “she’ll be late to her own funeral” categorically applies to me. Imagine a very flustered lady, backpack on from a day of working, running through the rain down the street in Knightsbridge just running through in her head what’s the best excuse to tell her partner (who has been waiting for twenty minutes at this point) this time. I don’t get much of a chance to stop and admire the opulence en route in that is The Madarin Oriental, Hyde Park, but it’s a beauty.
I arrive more or less by throwing myself through the doors to the somewhat bemused ladies on the front desk, but they soon put me at ease. They assure me that all is well as they take my jacket and bag.
I’m taken through what feels like a very special secret member’s club, with sumptuous interiors, leather seating, wood-panelled bar, brass accents just about everywhere and chilled Ibiza style beats to match the sexy atmosphere. It’s only Tuesday but there’s a couple enjoying martinis at the bar together, a group of 6 girlfriends catching up over the dinner table, London’s elite food influencers snapping photos under spotlights (welcome to Knightsbridge ) and my lovely partner happily waiting for me with an already finished bowl of chilli salted edamame and a glass of the Aubrey’s house champagne. Our waiter appears out of nowhere and has already filled my champagne glass, no complaints from me here.
The Aubrey is the new restaurant addition to The Mandarin Oriental, described as a Japanese ‘izakaya’, which roughly translated means pub. A pub in the Mandarin Oriental? Unlikely combo. Despite it’s translation into the English language, the Aubrey is about as far from a pub as you and I can possibly imagine, and for that I’m actually quite grateful.
We’re trying out a few dishes from the menu tonight and we kick of proceedings with more edamame (much to my partner’s delight) and then we ask for the dishes to come as and when they’re ready, giving full responsibility to our waiter who has never met us before to know exactly when we are ready for each next course to arrive.
To accompany our first course we chose a couple of cocktails, one mocktail, an off-the-cuff concoction (as they like to make these to your personal tastes) of sparkling ginger and rhubarb and “the most popular” house cocktail on the menu right now called “Death of the lion” which is made with ki no bi gin, yuzu liqueur, a house-made quinine and lime leaf cordial served over a huge block of ice in a cut-glass tumbler. Imagine an insanely well-balanced palette cleanser in a cocktail format and you’re pretty close.
The courses started to flow and we kicked things off with two “Chilli daikon Oysters with ponzu” for me and a spinach and sesame seed dish for my partner, followed by the charcoal chicken karaage with homemade yuzu mayo. The chicken was burnt on appearance, as per it’s description, but by far the most succulent chicken dish I have had the pleasure of ever eating, and the homemade yuzu mayo was the perfect partner. Weeks on from the visit and I still think about that chicken dish.
To accompany our main courses we let Winnie, our sommelier, pick one white and one red for us to try. For full disclosure, my partner rarely deviates from Italian reds but he was assured by Winnie that the Spanish red she chose (Martinet Bru Priorat 2018) would suit him very nicely for our courses. He was pleasantly surprised by the fruity, easy-drinking red that she presented and enjoyed it immensely with his meal. I gave Winnie a small brief and she delivered with the “Ikigall” white by David Seijas Vila, a well-rounded white wine with subtle orange blossom and fennel notes.
Stand out dishes that came to our table were the “Saikyo Miso Sablefish”, I really adore any kind of white fish with miso as a pairing, but it superbly executed here and the “Iberico Secreto Pork” was a knockout. Thinly sliced Iberico pork paired with smoked salts and homemade red and green chilli pastes for a warm, earthy kick. Don’t be put off if you don’t like spice because both are extremely palettable and are really the perfect partner to the pork.
Sushi followed and we tried the 12-piece platter with Ikura (salmon roe), Unagi (eel), Tai (se bream), Ebi (prawn), Saba (mackerel) and a couple of vegetarian options. To follow we tried the “Wagyu Oxtail & Bone Marrow” with egg fried rice and spring onions. As expected, the rich, salty depth of flavours from the bone marrow levelled up the unassuming egg fried rice dish to something very special indeed. A side of leeks served with a red miso and shiso vinegar dressing was the perfect balance to the rice dish.
Suitably full by now, we ended the evening with a White Miso Souffle and espressos. As per the dishes pre-decessing this course, the execution was faultless. If I visited again, would I order this? Definitely for two to share, but as a solo diner I would opt for the Yuzu meringue which I saw on it’s travels to a neighbouring table and looked the perfect portion size for one.
Despite the quantity of food we consumed on this occasion, The Aubrey restaurant is modelled on an ‘izakaya’ so the idea is really to visit for a couple of drinks with some small plates to match them. It’s a high-end establishment with the price point to match but don’t let that put you off because it’s well worth the visit, whether you’re dropping in for a casual drink with friends or diving in headfirst for a top-tier date night meal.
All imagery supplied by Steven Joyce
