André Balazs’ Chiltern Firehouse London opened a couple of years back and the furore surrounding this former fire station in Marylebone has yet to cease.

As the latest offering from the mogul behind oh-so-glam Chateau Marmont in Hollywood and The Mercer hotel in New York, the Firehouse hotel and restaurant was set for success.  The Grade II-listed gothic Victorian building has been carefully restored, and the bespoke decadence is immediately apparent, as you walk through the flatteringly lit corridors, your heels sinking into the plush cloud-like carpets. The hotel offers pure old school luxury to such a stratospheric level that you will struggle to ever return to the real world.

So thank goodness for the Firehouse’s restaurant (with Nuno Mendes at the helm), to which you can return when you need a Firehouse fix (provided you can wangle yourself a table).

Led to our table by a model-beautiful hostess in a ridiculous baby pink jumpsuit, we kept our eyes peeled for the droves of A-listers the press would have you believe will be present.  No such luck.

Our French waiter appeared with a flourish and the grand declaration of, “I assume you will be starting with oysters and Champagne?”Â  The meal therefore started on a high, and continued skywards from there, with bacon cornbread and chipotle-maple butter, and crab-stuffed donuts with coral dusting up next.

Although not cheap, the menu is not preposterously expensive either, with main courses around the £28 mark.  We skipped dessert, instead leaning against the full-length mirror in the ladies’ bathroom to gain access to a clandestine bar and smoking terrace.

It’s hard to put a finger on exactly what gives Chiltern Firehouse an edge over other upmarket hotel restaurants in London – But two years on and it’s still burning bright.

http://www.chilternfirehouse.com/

Chiltern Firehouse London
1 Chiltern Street, Marylebone, London, W1U 7PA
+44 20 7073 7676

Photography by Chris Mosier.

Nina is Melting Butter’s vivacious London correspondent who has been tasked with curating the best hotspots London has to offer. Being based in Brixton, South London’s notoriously vibrant cultural mecca, makes Nina’s quest for the newest, most fashionable, design-centric hotspots a total breeze. Head to her blog Have You Heard Of It, a jackpot for fellow neophiles looking for fresh reviews on London’s restaurants, bars, things to do and see.

(Feature image photographed by Nicholas Kay; Exterior image photographed by Chris Mosier; all other images courtesy of Chiltern Firehouse London)

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