The Square

6-10 Bruton St, London

It shouldn’t be a shock to see a top chef, in his whites, popping out of his kitchen for customer hellos on any given night. But knowing that Phil Howard is actually cooking in his own restaurant is a breath of fresh air when so many celebrity chefs seem be on sabbaticals from theirs. Entering professional kitchens via the Roux way of things, with time spent under Marco Pierre White at Harvey’s and Simon Hopkinson at Bibendum, Howard found himself launching The Square in 1991 with Nigel Platts-Martin after a partnership with Pierre White fell through. He won a Michelin star for the restaurant, which was originally located in St James, in 1994; by the time it won its second in 1998, they had elocated to a corner plot in Mayfair, where it’s stood ever since. With an interior that’s timeless white tablecloths and splashes of modern art, it suits Howard’s cooking – classic, seasonal, but never stagnant. Imagine all the best bits of classical flavour pairings, but with a lot more oomph. There is an epic amount of culinary history here, attested to by the fact that the restaurant’s inaugural cookbook, which is displayed proudly throughout, is over 500 pages in length – and that’s just savoury dishes.

The first time you eat here, there’s just one way to go. The tasting menu is, quite simply, the stuff of dreams, and some of the best £105 you’ll spend in London. Delicate dishes featuring bursts of intense flavour, each better than the last, are produced with skill and finesse – a minestrone, with deeply umami stock made with Montgomery cheese and thickened by a burst of slow-cooked quail egg; fat, juicy scallops, only just cooked, for mopping up a creamy white onion fondue. Roast foie gras, seasoned with a bitter, buttery burnt orange sauce, and sweet caramelised endive is sublime. Rare-breed pork with baked quince, lardo-wrapped prunes, croquettes and sherry comes delicately fringed with – not drowning in – luscious sauce.

It’s followed by a Beaufort and Stinking Bishop ‘tasting’ to ease you into the desserts, which include Brillat-Savarin cheesecake, and an ethereal rice pudding and prune soufflé. They even wrapped up the petits fours for us to take home, for goodness’ sake. And with an excellent wine selection, at bargain prices for premium bins, there’s nothing else to be said: perfection. AEM. 020 7495 7100