The Square, London

It was a friend’s 20th birthday, and in not-so-typical student fashion, we ditched the idea of an alcohol infused night out in favour of exploring some of the finer dining spots in London.

Our quest took us to The Square, a two-star Michelin restaurant situated in the heart of Mayfair. Considering Mayfair is a fair throw away from our usual hangout in the murky corners of Camden, the novelty of strutting past the likes of Vivienne Westwood and the Westbury Hotel (places we could blissfully pretend, at least for the afternoon, were financially feasible) was part of what made the experience so lovely.

The Square is a fairly small restaurant with large windows overlooking Bruton Street. Modern décor and a well-proportioned room mean there’s none of the claustrophobia that sometimes plagues London’s restaurants, yet there’s still a gentle hum of chatter and helpful yet unobtrusive service that contributes to a warm ambiance.

We ordered off the set menu, which was £30 for two courses or £35 for three. I had the salad of smoked eel with Jersey Royals and horseradish for the starter and the fillet of cod with black rice, langoustine claws, golden raisins and lime for the main.

The food arrived quickly, yet left us plenty of time to chat, marvel at our surrounding and ponder the possibility of being able to afford the tankard-like wine glasses that sat before us.

The presentation of both the starter and the main was flawless, and the lime and raisins in the cod were an exquisite bittersweet combination that added a burst of zest to every mouthful. The underlying ripple of horseradish (which I’m normally not very keen on) with the eel was delectable, and not overpowering, so the salty taste of the fish was able to come through.

The food was incredibly rich and flavoursome, and we found ourselves full after the two courses.

We had a bottle of Rueda Verdajo alongside the food, which although chosen for the fact that it was the only bottle below £40, rather than for its complementary factors, was still a deliciously crisp Spanish white that had us in fits of giggles worryingly quickly.

Despite being full, two of us were determined to take full advantage of the three courses on offer, and plumped for the banana soufflé with chocolate and caramel ripple ice cream for dessert. I’m not a massive soufflé fan, but the ice cream was deliciously sweet and the soufflé was golden brown, light and puffed up like a pillow, making dipping the spoon into the dessert and scooping out airy mouthfuls of pudding wonderfully satisfying.

Overall, the meal was fantastic from start to finish. If I were to be deliberately churlish for the sake of critiquing, I would say that the choice of food on the Set Lunch menu was fairly limited, but considering what we paid, the limited choice was hardly unreasonable.

The bill came to around £45 each – for 3 fabulous courses, a bottle of wine, a bottle of water, impeccable service and being able to dress up and potter around the fancy part of London for the afternoon.  The Square experience is definitely one to be recommended.