Notting Hill Brasserie
92 Kensington Park Road, W11 (Tel: 020-7229 4481)
Daily 12noon-3pm; jazz Mon-Sat 7pm-11pm and Sun lunch
Chef to watch Mark Jankel has turned a dull local eaterie into a restaurant of real character. The space is punctuated by arches and heavy duty plasterwork. Jankel's philosophy is simple food given star treatment. In a dish of cannellone (sic) of lobster and freshwater prawn, every flavour is vivid and distinct. Ballotine of rabbit and roasted red pepper comes with flavour-packed tiger prawn tortellini - classic mer/terroir stuff. Service, however, is not as smooth as it should be. Wafting through from the bar, which has its own scene distinct from the restaurant, comes jazz and blues from resident bands.
High point Innovative cooking
Low point Not enough light to read the menu
Capacity 70
Price per head Two-course Sunday roast £25; three-courses £30; à la carte £55
Wine list £14
Vegetarian 7/10
Service 7.5/10
Music Will on piano, Marcus on double bass, Pete on sax
Value 9/10
Style Paris
Villandry
170 Great Portland St, W1 (Tel: 020-7631 3131)
Mon-Sat 6pm-10.30pm; Sat jazz dinner 7.15pm-10.30pm
The table wobbles, the bread (£1.50 supplement) is stale and the crushed-ice machine is broken - so we can forget the mojitos we've ordered. Curried parsnip soup with parsnip chips comes without the parsnip chips and, although the flavour's right, it's a little lumpy. So far so bad. Then, unexpectedly, things take a turn for the better. A burger, prime beef on a sesame bun, comes with real American mustard and fabulous fries and the mojitos appear by magic. Chocolate cake with a generous whack of Chantilly cream is dense and properly rich. Add to this sultry jazz with an Italian twist, all for £20, and what you have is a top of the line Saturday night out.
High point Hopper-esque setting for seriously good jazz
Low point Kitchen struggles to keep up
Capacity 44
Price per head Three-course Saturday jazz dinner menu £20
Wine list £13.75
Vegetarian 8/10
Service 7.5/10
Music Giulio Risi and the Villandry All-Stars
Value 10/10
Style Harlem
Le Coq d'Argent
1 Poultry, EC2 (Tel: 020-7395 5000)
Mon-Fri 11.30am-3pm, 6pm-10pm; Sat 6.30pm-10pm; Sun jazz brunch 12noon-3pm
The Square Mile lends itself to jazz on empty Sundays when you have the streets to yourself. Coq d'Argent is high Conran style - beautiful glasses and silverware, salt and pepper pots like lighthouses, acres of 1930s-style wood panelling. The set menu choice is vast and includes a punctilious watercress soup with Roquefort - a cracker - and a Label Rouge coq au vin, with its accoutrements, served in a cast iron pot. In the bar, audible and visible from the restaurant, comes Chattanooga Choo Choo, Rhapsody In Blue, and When The Saints Go Marching in.
High point Amazing terraces overlooking the city
Low point Warm Bloody Mary
Capacity 130
Price per head Two course jazz brunch £23; three courses £27
Wine list £18
Vegetarian 8/10
Service 9.5/10
Music Roland Perrin Trio
Value 9/10
Style Chicago
