There is a famous quote, I think from George Bernard Shaw, that the inevitable product of three Englishmen being abandoned on a desert island is that two of them will form a club and decline the third permission to join. Inside that great truth is a nugget about our relationship with clubs: we love them and are fascinated by those of which we are not a member. My own Soho club, the Groucho, is even named in reference to Groucho Marx’s line about not wanting to be a member of any club which would have him.
But then to Mayfair clubs which, to me, have always slightly lacked the appeal of their compatriots in St.James’s and Soho – a bit (!) too flashy, packed with dull hedgies and overpriced, overthought food. Not my thing at all.
But I may be changing my mind following a visit to the restaurant, now open to the great unwashed, at 22 Mayfair, a new(ish) club nestled on the north-western corner of Grosvenor Square.
First up, the restaurant itself: it’s a very, very elegant space. Think fewer waiters in floral waistcoats and “monumental” art (you know where I mean…) and more elegant Georgian rooms with on-point painted, panelled walls. Decent but unobtrusive paintings. Large tables spread far enough apart that you don’t get a floating commentary on the state of the markets from the table next door. And a nice looking, stylishly dressed crowd – moneyed to be sure, but more relaxed and confident crowd.
The menu also impresses – almost as much by what it does not do as what it does do. If you are going to go out for new and edgy food, you do not, to be blunt, head for a club let alone a Mayfair one. But too often they do in a fruitless search for relevance while forgetting that people don’t want edgy food most of the time. Hence the delight here of seeing a sort of greatest hits menu: Devonshire crab, avocado, samphire or Wild mushrooms, toasted brioche, aged parmesan to start; then Cornish Dover sole meunière, capers, parsley or Grilled grass-fed British lamb chops, aubergine, thyme.
When did you last see lamb cutlets on a menu (other than at Tayubs or Lahore)? They even have some serious sharing specials with three large dishes to share: Grilled sea bass, tomato, crispy potatoes, Truffle roast chicken and Grass-fed beef Wellington, mashed potato, roasted carrots. This is the food that you actually want to eat every day, provided the dishes are well executed, and here the food we tried was genuinely perfect.
Then I noticed that the head chef is lan Christie, whose impeccable pedigree is built on stints at the late, and very much lamented by me, Arbutus and Putney Bridge. Get a great chef, give them excellent facilities and allow them the freedom to express themselves and you get outstanding food. Who knew?
Finally, I don’t always dwell on staffing, but here I think I have to mention how they have got it right – a young but experienced, friendly but professional, well-drilled but informal team. Goodness knows how they have managed to pull this together given the current state of employee scarcity in the hospitality sector, but they have absolutely nailed it. And in doing so I had a thought that it’s the kind of thing clubs get right – from the St.James’s street edifice I occasionally hang out in, to Quo Vadis, to the Groucho, the way members and staff brush along together is just different from a normal restaurant, and 22 Mayfair has nailed that.
Then to the wider club itself. Although only the restaurant is open to non-members, I managed to have a quick poke around. They have 31 bedrooms (not a proper club without bedrooms imho), their own mew house (obvs), a great-looking long bar leaning into the corner of Grosvenor Square. Some very nice looking entertaining rooms.
This, of course, presents something of a dilemma. There is now a Mayfair club I actually quite fancy joining. This is unexpected and will require a bit of thought as to whether I can justify another club membership. I’m trying to sell it to myself on the basis that it has a New York branch. Damn its tempting because this place is great. And even if you don’t want to join a club, then at the very least go along and try the truly excellent restaurant.
22 Mayfair, 22 Grosvenor Square London W1K 6LF
+44 (0) 203 988 5022
The Twenty Two | Luxury Hotel, Restaurant and Private Member’s Club London
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