The Cavendish

It has all the trappings of a classic, old London, members-only club, yet it breathes a quietly confident, charming atmosphere of inclusivity that draws you in. The Cavendish, a new addition to the varied and generally rather plush eating and drinking options in London’s Marylebone district, sits at 35 New Cavendish Street, on the corner of Westmoreland. When the weather’s fine, you can sit outside, or you can pretend to have evaded the velvet rope (there is no velvet rope) and choose from the ground floor or first floor dining and barroom areas. The menu is crafted by El Bulli alumnus Alfonso Lillo Fas, the wine selection is mind-bogglingly comprehensive, and they have cigars to boot. Yet The Cavendish eschews exclusivity, choosing instead to cultivate a community of patrons whose tastes are as refined as their minds and arms are open.

The Cavendish’s mission is to introduce a fresh understanding of exclusivity into the very exclusive heart of London’s Marylebone. Located south of Regents Park at 35 New Cavendish Street, The Cavendish has chosen to impart exclusivity not by cultivating a queue of customers outside, but by demonstrating exclusivity from the inside out. That is, by developing a service and culinary ethos that caters exclusively to the palate of the discerning bon vivant. With former El Bulli chef Alfonso Lillo Fas running the kitchen and an inimitable – dare we say exclusive – selection of wines, cocktails and cigars, The Cavendish might drip with the charm of a gentleman’s club but its doors are avowedly open to all and sundry.

The Cavendish is a new and rising star in the notoriously difficult-to-crack Marylebone gourmet scene, yet it is already garnering effusive reviews from restaurant critics and prominent bloggers. It’s not hard to see why. The a la carte menu offers classic pan-European dishes that forgo the modernist excesses often associated with higher-end dining, while outdoor, ground and first floor seating in and around an elegantly solid old building at the corner of Westmoreland and New Cavendish Streets makes for an inviting atmosphere. The wines are international and accompanied by concise and unpretentious tasting notes; the cocktails are classic and customised, bookended by an incredible selection of top-shelf spirits, including the mandatory malts and brandies you might associate with the comfort of a high-backed leather armchair. If you are so inclined towards such flights of fancy, why not cap off a dining and wining experience that walks the line between ad hoc and aristocratic with a choice Cohiba Siglo IV cigar?