Isabel Mayfair
One of the most beautiful dining rooms in London, and — critically — the food earns it. Mediterranean and Latin cooking in a room on Albemarle Street that makes dinner feel like the evening it was supposed to be.
Isabel opened on Albemarle Street in 2017 and immediately became one of those Mayfair restaurants that the neighbourhood absorbed as if it had always been there. The room does the thing that London restaurant design sometimes manages: it is genuinely beautiful without being cold, intimate without being cramped.
The cooking is Mediterranean with Latin influences — ceviche alongside burrata, grilled fish alongside things that benefit from wood smoke. The menu does not feel confused. It feels like someone made deliberate decisions about what belongs together.
The crowd skews international and well-dressed. This is not a criticism. The room suits it.
The burrata is the start. The grilled fish — whatever the kitchen is running — is usually the best thing on the plate. The ceviche is made correctly, which in London is less of a given than it should be.
One of the prettier dining rooms in Mayfair. Warm tones, good lighting, the kind of space that makes you look better than you arrived. The bar at the front is worth a drink before the table.
The burrata. The ceviche. The grilled fish of the day. Ask the waiter what they are proud of tonight — the answer is usually useful.
Book a table that is not against the wall if you have the choice — the centre of the room is the better position. Go on a weeknight for the quieter version of the same experience.
Book ahead — reservations are essential on weekends and for prime dinner times.
Aim for an earlier seating if you want a calmer room; later tables run louder and longer.