Menuwatch: Ormer Mayfair

A shake-up of executive chef, menu and working hours has brought new vigour to this London restaurant. James Stagg sees how Sofian Msetfi has developed the dishes

All restaurants have had a rethink post-pandemic with refreshed menus and opening times suited to the staffing available. But since reopening after the lockdowns, Ormer Mayfair has gone through something of an overhaul.

Kerth Gumbs left the business in April 2021 before Sofian Msetfi was named executive chef and set about both refining the menu and rationalising the hours his brigade work. The outcome is a focused menu that allows the kitchen the space to develop dishes that suit the grandeur of Ormer Mayfair’s wood panelled dining room, dramatic artwork and luxurious green leather furniture.

Since Msetfi took over the restaurant housed in the 127-bedroom Flemings Mayfair hotel, he has offered a six- or eight-course tasting menu (for £85 and £100 respectively), showcasing the skills he honed at the Hand & Flowers, Midsummer House and Adare Manor. He had offered a lunch menu three days a week, but this has since been dropped in favour of an extra evening service, with dinner now offered Tuesday to Saturday.

“Chef life isn’t easy and the routine just wasn’t working for us,” he explains. “Now we have an extra dinner service that makes up for some of the revenue lost by lunch. Though there is still a bar menu for in house guests.

“Closing for lunches has been a game-changer for us. The team now aren’t so tired and are happier too. When we first opened we struggled for staff and it was difficult. Now it really works.”

Msetfi has also brought in Chris Hopkins, who he had worked with at Midsummer House, as senior sous chef to help drive the restaurant’s development. Working with restaurant manager Lorenzo Zappacosta they make a formidable trio.

Their menu typically kicks off with a warm Iberico ham jelly with Parmesan. This extremely elevated ham and cheese dish arrives as a triangle of rich jelly with a burst of umami-laden acidity from the Parmesan cream and pickled apple sitting on top.

“It’s a dish that has been on since day one, though it took some time to evolve,” Msetfi says. “Originally we served it in a bowl with all the garnish on top but we found a way to make a freestanding hot jelly using Vege-Gel, which is more impressive. Now we set it in rings and portion it before warming it in an oven that’s reserved for the jellies.”

This is followed by a lobster and tomato dish that is also a refined version of the opening menu offer. Bought whole, the lobster claws are used on the bar menu while the tail is poached and then grilled with olive oil, salt and lemon juice for service.

The shell is used to make a butter for a hollandaise served alongside the lobster that is glazed in a reduced tomato consommé for some salty notes. It is all served with four Sicilian tomatoes sandwiched in an incredibly delicate pine nut tuile.

Both tasting menus typically peak at a main dish that had to go through various incarnations before Msetfi was satisfied.

“The veal dish started eight months ago with lamb. We then went to pork before landing on veal,” he admits. “We try to be original. We develop as a team. Chris has a big part to play in it too. When we do something everyone tastes it and can have an opinion. That’s how it happens.”

The veal in question is a barbecue rack with marsala and a mushroom sauce ‘choron’, with osso bucco shin and a saffron emulsion served on the side. It is rolled and roasted on the bone before a few minutes smoking in a Josper oven. This is garnished with marsala wine gel and a sharp white mushroom purée – based on a choron sauce recipe – topped with petals of mushroom.

If the combination of the separate bowl of osso bucco and a rich saffron emulsion sounds familiar, that’s because Msetfi has taken inspiration from a culinary legend. “It’s based on an old Escoffier dish,” he explains. “It’s a play on his classic risotto, but refined for our restaurant. It’s probably my favourite dish so far.”

There is little room for error when offering a tasting menu only in this fashion as the chef is solely committed to the dishes, but each dish displays a mastery of balance and technique that deserves such confidence. Having the time and space, as well as the support of management, has clearly contributed. “The reaction has all been very positive,” Msetfi adds. “Everyone has embraced it and we have the support of the owners and the managing director. We’re all pulling in the same direction.”

From the menu

• Cured Cornish mackerel, sesame, kombu, spiced nage
• Glazed chicken wings, celery, pear, walnut and Roquefort
• Butter poached cod, English peas, yuzu, foie gras
• Gariguette strawberries ‘savarin’ kefir, extra virgin olive oil
• Caramelia and malt gateaux, honey vinegar, toasted barley ice-cream

Six courses, £85; eight courses, £100

7-12 Half Moon Street, London W1J 7BH

www.flemings-mayfair.co.uk

Photography: Jodi Hinds