Espelette @ The Connaught

Thursday, December 11, 2008 - Named after the town in Aquitaine, south-west France, known for its fiery red pepper piment d’Espelette, this is Darroze’s take on a ‘relaxed, informal, bistro-style restaurant’. Don’t for a second think that means wooden chairs, banquettes and brass rails – it’s all plush gold and cream fabrics in the Connaught’s new Portland stone conservatory extension… It’s The Connaught, so they serve Allen’s of Mayfair sausages with mash and onion sauce. But there’s also a very appealing selection of dishes reflecting Darroze’s link to the Basque region and her acclaimed talent for flavour combining.

Monday, December 01, 2008 - Last week I felt in need of a luxurious dinner following a memorial service for the inestimable David Chipp, former chief of the Press Association and a dear friend…Guy and I decided to try somewhere different. There's a new bistro at the refurbished Connaught hotel and we wanted to see if the five-star hotel was as sumptuous as ever. First impressions suggested it was. In the heart of Mayfair, The Connaught looms in the dark night like a brightly lit ship. From the outside, the goldenhued conservatory gleams like a yellow sapphire…You are greeted like an old friend and led to your table. That's luxury.