Albemarle restaurant - formerly Grill at Brown's, The

Following the imposition of the New Order at The Savoy Grill some six years ago, it was only going to be a matter of time before somebody accepted the challenge to recreate a suitable replacement elsewhere. Step forward Sir Rocco Forte, the then recent acquisitor of the legendary Brown's Hotel in Albemarle Street, an establishment which in the eyes of a sizeable number of connoisseurs of such matters achieved over the years a status well beyond that of a mere hotel.

On 12 December 2005 Baroness Thatcher made one of her rare public appearances to re-open Brown's Hotel, at noon, in time for lunch naturally.

The Albemarle restaurant is generally considered to be a great success, not least due to Sir Rocco's sister, Olga Polizzi, who has masterminded the £24m plus refurbishment at Brown's.

The beautifully restored wood panelling continues to offer the feeling of old England, and outstanding artwork by leading British artists such as Tracey Emin, Bridget Riley and Rankin bring a welcome contemporary note to the décor. To the delight of many, the banquettes, and the 1930s design features all help to rouse and satisfy a nagging longing seated in fond memories from the Strand.

Executive Chef Lee Streeton, guided by Director of Food Mark Hix, formerly Executive Chef for Le Caprice and The Ivy, has created an outstanding menu of great British classics. The menu is a delight, traditional through and through and only using the finest of British seasonal ingredients; for instance you may not be surprised to find half a dozen West Mersea native oysters, potted Morecambe Bay shrimps with mace and lemon or dressed Dorset crab with bittercress among the starters. There might also be the thoroughly up to date choice of salted ox tongue with piccalilli, or treacle-cured salmon with pickled fennel and cucumber.

Mains are in a similar vein, with an excellent selection, ranging from Old English sausage with mashed potato and onion gravy, Glen Fyne rib steak naturally, through to fish such as Dover sole. Herb-baked scallops with garlic butter, roast wild duck with a gamekeeper's pie and purple kale, pan-fried Burford Brown egg with baby squid and black pudding, or Lancashire hot-pot with pickled red cabbage broaden the scope to delight all tastes.

To afford security for those who like to look at their lunch plate and know which day of the week it is, a formidable plats du jour regime, served directly from the daily lunch time carving trolley, has been introduced, so if you thought it was Thursday and found yourself being served with roast saddle of lamb, you would have to accept it was in fact Friday. And you would have missed the roast Middle White pork on Thursday.

The wine list has emerged as a real triumph. Further details about this stunning return to the London scene of Brown's Hotel, and in particular the Albemarle restaurant, can be obtained from the Website. It should not come as a surprise to learn that they received the Award of 3 Rosettes from the AA in 2009.