Revisiting London’s Best Seafood Restaurant One-O-One in Knightsbridge

I do love visiting an old friend, well the restaurant kind anyway. As London’s dining scene still develops, deciding where to eat for lunch can be daunting. Faced with thoughts of – do I go for lunch at a new opening or should I take advantage of a that soft launch offer? Instead we all need to be thinking, where was my last fabulous meal because I should head back! Sadly we don’t think like that anymore and is the main reason why the excellent restaurants who helped create the London dining scene are disappearing. One of those restaurants not disappearing, but flourishing – is One-O-One in Knightsbridge.

One-O-One is set inside the Park Tower Hotel on Knightsbridge and comes complete with an outdoor terrace for people watching in the Summer months, some of the finest seafood you’ll find in London and a talented chef named Pascal Proyart. Pascal even introduced the likes of Norwegian king crab to the UK – something which still features on the menu. We started with a selection of breads and my favourite seaweed butter, all washed down with a chilled glass of Champagne.

We dined from the restaurants ‘Menu Selection’. A delectable choice of three courses priced at £29.50, including hot drinks and petit fours. It’s a real bargain if I’m honest and made even more affordable at lunch coming down to just £25 for the same menu. Star course of the whole meal was a dish that could have perhaps done with a slightly more inventive presentation, but flavour wise it was magnificent. Beautifully cooked Cornish cuttlefish with a soft and intense Sicilian red prawn – all complimented by a pile of rich and buttery Paimpol coco beans which had a lovely streak of truffle running through them. Just as good was the chilled pollock brandade ravioli, fennel, red pepper, saffron aioli and seaweed. A gorgeous mixture of sea and land.

We continued with the fishy theme on our mains, though lamb was on offer for those not wanting a full marine experience. The roasted seabream fillet with cognac, broccolini and chilli almondine was a simple, but perfectly executed plated of food which offered so much richness and so much satisfaction with every bite. As good as that seabream was, it was completely overshadowed by the stunning lemon sole. Cooked to a precision perfect succulence and served alongside juicy asparagus, seasonal morels, fermented black garlic, watercress and a beurre noisette of dreams. A must order when visiting One-O-One. For these prices you simply won’t find fish of the same quality anywhere else in London. The side of golden crispy fries were rather excellent too.

For dessert we finished up on a plate filled with white chocolate, raspberry, junipers, lemon, gin tonic, sable and ice cream. Fresh, summery and flavoursome. What more could you ask for? The included petit fours were terrific as always and those chocolate spheres exploded in the mouth.

We once again had such a lovely meal at One-O-One. Every time I visit this institution I always feels so relaxed, the service is always spot on and the fish & seafood always incredible. Pascal and his team are as I’ve said my times before – geniuses. Forget the hottest new openings, because One-O-One is right here and waiting to serve you a meal that you’ll never forget.