L' Albufera

 

In an era when eating in London seems to be all about wacky ingredients, flashy decor and crazy gimmicks, this wonderfully refined comtemporary Spanish restaurant came as a blessed relief. The decor oozes good taste, with a pallet of greys, dark greens, polished wood and a muted Old European style. The low-ceilinged dining room is in a far corner of the ground floor, avoiding the 'lobby' feel that spoils many hotel restaurants, though its lack of windows may make it a little bleak in summer.

Gourmet Spanish food is comparatively rare in London, and many of these ingredients are familiar only from cheap and cheerful tapas, so you may find yourself surprised by the astonishing quality of the cooking here. The undoubted highlight of our meal was roast suckling pig, which, once you'd bitten through the crisp skin, seemed to disappear into the tongue in a mass of melting juices. It was accompanied by a divinely chewy chorizo mash. Our starters, seafood soup and scallops, were good solid brasserie fare, with tough flavours of the sea.

The puddings arrive on a trolley and are prepared in front of you, which is entertaining, but if you only have space for one more thing, make sure it's the Spanish cheeses, because this is surely one of the best cheeseboards in London.

I should point out that my companion had a deeply disappointing baby squid grille, which was salty, gritty and definitely not worth the gourmet prices, but given the outstanding quality of the rest of our meal, I'm quite happy to believe that this was a tiny glitch in an otherwise outstanding restaurant.