Top 5 for a quiet chat

Andrew Lloyd Webber loves the peace and tranquility at Eddalino

From earwigging intimate conversations near the Palace Of Westminster to the slightly spooky apartment/hotel block that is Dolphin Square, Fay Maschler reveals her top five restaurants for a relaxed, peaceful meal...

  • QuirinaleNorth Court, 1 Great Peter Street, SW1 (020-7222 7080). Mon-Fri £92****Named after the presidential palace in Rome, the proximity of this two-year-old Italian restaurant to the Palace Of Westminster means that politicos and journos make up a good part of the clientele. If their intimate conversations are earwigged, well, perhaps some of those leaks we read about could be traced to this discreet basement. What was a dark clubby space, when the premises were Congress, has been rendered light and lilting by calm, creamy colours and a glazed exterior wall. The menu of chef Stefano Savio, who has been cooking since the start, can be summarised as modern Italian - salady first courses, inventive and intricate pasta, fairly straightforward main dishes and more ambitious desserts than tradition dictates. Seasons are honoured and, fortunately, an Italian autumn means mushrooms, chestnuts, pumpkin, game and, best of all, truffles. Service is assiduous and considerate.
  • Cotto44 Blythe Road, W14 (020-7602 9333). Mon-Sat (closed for lunch Sat) £70****Not exactly on what you'd call the beaten track, Cotto's geographical situation means that the plainly decorated dining room is sometimes not as crowded as the cooking deserves. The result, however, is relaxed, peaceful meals. Chef/proprietor James Kirby has worked with Simon Hopkinson at Bibendum and with Richard Neat when he was at Pied A Terre. Doing his own thing, he draws on the copper-bottomed soundness of the former and the restless ingenuity of the latter. Set prices for two/three courses on the lunch and dinner menu are remarkably reasonable and they deliver dishes as alluring as sautéed squid with chorizo sausage and marjoram; brandade ravioli with rainbow chard and chilli; poached cod with spiced lentils and salsa verde; roasted stuffed rabbit with borlotti beans and parsley sauce. Desserts are irresistible. I still dream about the chocolate, hazelnut and caramel slice. Good-value wines.
  • Eddalino10 Wigmore Street, W1 (020-7637 0789). Mon-Sat £90***The efforts of chef Francesco Pesce and the enthusiastic front-of-house staff deserve more recognition than seems to come their way. The menus, which change seasonally, are packed with interesting Italian dishes, some inspired by the culinary traditions of Pesce's own region of the Marches on the east coast of central Italy where the variety of fish caught is unequalled elsewhere. The region is also known for its interesting treatments of vegetables, its porchetta (boned piglet), truffles that rival those of Alba and the original tournedos Rossini devised by a chef from Pesaro. Specials on the menu, eg hand-made spˆtzle with veal ragu, mushrooms and truffle, change daily and wines of the week, selected from the notable list, are offered by the glass. More than a dozen Italian cheeses complete a package that is a discovery worth making. Celebrity monitor: Andrew Lloyd Webber, who knows his onions where food is concerned.
  • The CapitalCapital Hotel, 22-24 Basil Street, SW3 (020-7591 1202). Mon-Sun £150*****The celebrity quotient of some other, louder chefs tends to overshadow the consummate skills of Eric Chavot who has recently been given a more stylish dining room in which to strut his stuff. The restaurant of this select Knightsbridge hotel has been re-configured as a tribute to the Thirties Parisian designer Jean-Michel Frank who was known for opulent luxury. The bar takes inspiration from Harry's Bar in Venice. Chavot's cooking is his own interpretation of French classicism - complex but coherent and always a thing of beauty to behold. A recent inspired main course involved pairing roast venison and osso buco, with the gesture towards greenery being shredded cabbage in a creamy sauce. To avoid the high prices, go at lunchtime when the set-price menu, at £29.50, is a bargain and won't overload the appetite. Plush surroundings and professional service are as good as in the evenings.
Allium
Dolphin Square Hotel, Chichester Street, SW1 (020-7798 6767). Tue-Sun (closed for lunch Sat and dinner Sun) £100

Prices estimate the average cost of a meal for two with drinks

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