The Square

The Square - Michelin Star Restaurant in Mayfair London UK

The Square - Michelin Star Restaurant London

Chef Clément Leroy’s latest venture sees his evolutionary approach to modern haute cuisine transported from Chantilly, France, to Mayfair’s celebrated restaurant The Square.

Prior to his move to London, Clément held the position of executive chef at Auberge du Jeu de Paume in Chantilly.

Leroy’s debut menu at The Square showcases some of the chef’s favourite autumnal ingredients, including signature dishes: Hand-picked devon crab with beetroot, iced coral, cardamom; Seared Orkney scallop marsala, hazelnut, green coffee bean; John dory with celery, sea urchin, and lychee.Chef Aya Tamura’s latest venture sees her transported, alongside husband and Executive Chef Clément Leroy, from Chantilly, France, to Mayfair’s celebrated restaurant The Square.

Prior to her move to London, Tamura held the position of head pastry chef at Auberge du Jeu de Paume in Chantilly, a title that succeeds a long list of positions in Michelin starred pastry kitchens across the world.

Tamura’s debut menu at The Square showcases some of her most intricate and artistic desserts, including signature dishes: Sweet white potato confit, gardenia, grapefruit, honey ice cream; Chocolate grand cru, pistachio, red shiso; Trinket box, quince, beer, charcoal meringue and the show-stopping Salt-baked pineapple, kombu, coconut, salted butter ice cream.

http://www.squarerestaurant.com

Restaurant review: The Square, Bruton Street, Mayfair - Savile Row ...

There are so many disparate factors to successfully dining out: the food, service and company are paramount, of course – but often we will stay loyal to a restaurant simply because we can always depend on it for more of the same.

Restaurants become regulars for any number of reasons: a club, maybe, where you have to make no formal arrangements to meet anyone, but are confident that in the bar and subsequently at table there will always be someone you enjoy spending time with (and if there isn’t, then you are a member of quite the wrong club).

Mayfair boasts an extraordinary array of really good and prestigious restaurants – many of which one would be proud to elevate to the status of a regular haunt, were there but time enough (and money).

There are bargain lunch deals to be had at the very best of them – the most famous of these being Le Gavroche … but the trouble is, it’s the very devil to bag a table.

The tables of course have proper white napery, the fine and thin crystal stemware gleaming like diamonds.

The Square - London Restaurant Reviews | Hardens

Probably the most disappointing meal this y..

"Probably the most disappointing meal this year and hugely expensive at £95 for 4 courses you expect it to be top notch Incredible wine list BUT incredible prices and the water oh yes keep pouring £4.50 a bottle +12.5%!

The Square, Mayfair: Restaurant Review

To keep pace with London’s flourishing restaurant scene, The Square on Bruton Street, owned by the Marlon Abela Restaurant Group, underwent a renovation during the summer.

London-based interior design company Virgile + Partners, which also worked on the group’s sister venues Morton’s and The Greenhouse, removed the somewhat dated shades of beige and brown that used to cover the chairs and walls and replaced them with a modern palette of cold grey.

The new chef here, Clément Leroy, helped earn the Parisian restaurant Guy Savoy its third Michelin star, and his light flavours and complex textures are sure to do the same here.

The next serving of Orkney scallop dissolves in my mouth, while the veal sweetbread has an understated but powerful taste.

As I pick a pistachio chocolate, the gentleman has reappeared from the kitchen and exits the restaurant waving to guests.

Classics Revisited: The Square

What’s in a name?

The Square first opened in St James’s in 1991, moved to Mayfair in 1996, and has never been on a square in either des-reses.

Not that anyone ever noticed; the banality of the name always pointed up the fact that everybody was here for Philip Howard’s sensational cooking rather than any implied location.

Restaurateur Marlon Abela bought The Square from Howard in March 2016 and, apart from installing chef Yu Sugimoto in the kitchen, left it pretty much unchanged, including the name.

I’ve never felt this was right; The Square was so completely associated with Howard that without him it was no longer the same restaurant, like Queen touring without Freddie Mercury.

review of London French restaurant The Square by Andy Hayler in ...

Clement’s Japanese wife is Aya Tamura, an experienced pastry chef who used to work at Jules Verne and Saturne in Paris, and now works with him, running the pastry section of The Square.

Bott-Geyl Kronenbourg 2005 was £45 for a bottle that you can find in the high street for around £16, Leeuwin Estate Prelude Vineyard Chardonnay 2013 at £75 compared to its retail price of £28, and Pierre Gaillard St Joseph Les Pierres 2007 at £90 for a wine that will set you back £32 in the shops.

For those with the means there were plenty of grander wines, including Domaine Lafon Charmes Meursault 2009 at £500 compared to its retail price of £218, and Coche-Dury Les Perrieres 1997 at £3,100 for a bottle with a current market value of £1,442.

This was a pretty dish with high quality chocolate, the pistachio a classic flavour combination with this and the spiciness of the red shiso (which has a vaguely anise like flavour) being carefully constrained (17/20).

Technically things were mostly fine, but I just wasn’t taken by a number of the flavour combinations in the dishes that I tried; I also sampled three other savoury dishes that my experienced dining companion kindly shared with me, so it wasn’t just a case of choosing poorly.

The Square - London Restaurant Reviews | Hardens

Probably the most disappointing meal this y..

"Probably the most disappointing meal this year and hugely expensive at £95 for 4 courses you expect it to be top notch Incredible wine list BUT incredible prices and the water oh yes keep pouring £4.50 a bottle +12.5%!

Classics Revisited: The Square

What’s in a name?

The Square first opened in St James’s in 1991, moved to Mayfair in 1996, and has never been on a square in either des-reses.

Not that anyone ever noticed; the banality of the name always pointed up the fact that everybody was here for Philip Howard’s sensational cooking rather than any implied location.

Restaurateur Marlon Abela bought The Square from Howard in March 2016 and, apart from installing chef Yu Sugimoto in the kitchen, left it pretty much unchanged, including the name.

I’ve never felt this was right; The Square was so completely associated with Howard that without him it was no longer the same restaurant, like Queen touring without Freddie Mercury.

The Square | Restaurants in Mayfair, London

Please note, The Square is currently undergoing a refurb and will reopen on November 20, 2017.

Time Out Food editors, November 2017.

Staff were earnest rather than friendly; a chatty sommelier offered a note of personality, otherwise service is conducted with quiet industry and consideration.

The Square restaurant review - London, UK | Wallpaper*

When, after 25 years, the two-Michelin starred chef Philip Howard stepped down from the helm of The Square, many wondered what would happen to one of London’s most solid restaurants.

Now, after nearly a year under the knife, the newly reincarnated fine dining room has reopened under the banner of MARC, a local restaurant group with a small portfolio that includes the two-Michelin star The Greenhouse; Japanese kaiseki restaurant Umu; and private members’ club Morton’ s. Inside, London-based agency Virgile + Partners has transformed the space from ho-hum to urban cool, lining the space with grey cemented walls; large-scale modern paintings; industrial black steel window frames; and curved mustard-coloured chairs, in a modern and minimalist, yet timeless, aesthetic.

Sleek leather banquettes look inwards for a view towards the room, while table lamps and an overall art gallery lighting strategy highlights the best bits.

This philosophy continues through to the food, which is a light and inventive take on traditional French fare, courtesy of chef Clément Leroy, who sends out fresh, concise dishes such as the perfectly crisp violet artichoke served with confit quail egg and parmesan ice cream; or the tasty roasted veal sweetbread with squid, black truffle and pomelo.