Our Favourite Restaurants in Mayfair

Mayfair, the home of Backes & Strauss, really has it all. From its elegant Georgian townhouses and bespoke tailors on Savile Row to its exclusive hotels and luxury fashion retailers, this upscale district is the mecca of London's elite. It therefore comes as no surprise that this neighbourhood also hosts a large number of finger-licking good gourmet restaurants. In this article we explore our top 3 favourite restaurants and explain how each of them remind us of one of our own timepieces.

Sketch

William Cowper once famously exclaimed, “Variety’s the spice of life, that gives it all its flavour”. Likely no restaurant is truer to the sentiment than Sketch, which adds an avant-garde approach in their sheer variety to fine dining. Located on 9 Conduit Street, Sketch’s unorthodox atmosphere is as unique as the food it serves. The restaurant features 5 rooms; the glade, the Gallery, the East Bar along with its Instagram-famous pods, the Lecture Room and the Parlour. Each offer a distinct flavour to accommodate the vast tastes and fashions that its patrons may choose as well as an exclusive menu for each centred around breakfast, lunch and dinner. With a choice of uniform pink to the technicolour floral colours it is safe to say this two Michelin star dining experience showcases the ultimate culinary variety that London has to offer. Much like Sketch, Backes & Strauss offers a wide variety of diamond-set timepieces, from classic simplicity to playful eccentricity. Recalling the same joyous frivolity that one finds at Sketch, our Berkeley Imperial 40, of which only exists in the world, is a true testament of Backes & Strauss’ more whimsical side. But don’t let its playfulness fool you; each diamond on this luxury timepiece has taken two and a half years to locate, place, cut and polish, making it a masterpiece of unrivalled detail. Finding each of the exceedingly scarce 48 natural fancy lime colour diamonds to match the same hue and contrast was a thorough and meticulous process.

The Araki

Our next restaurant takes a different yet equally brilliant approach to the fine dining of Mayfair. The Araki is a Japanese sushi bar situated on 12 Burlington Street. It is a masterful display of Japanese culinary ingenuity. The former head chef of the same name is Oyakata (sushi master), Mitsuharu Araki, who immigrated from Japan, for a new challenge to bring the best of Japanese fine dining to London. Naturally, the omakase menu of The Araki transmits the same mastery, where simplistic design from intricate execution creates a balanced taste so distinctive that it is rightly justified as one of only three restaurants in the entire of London who hold such distinction. The design of this Mayfair restaurant is symbolic of traditional interior of the Edo period, which - at first glance - is simple, though the design of this unique bar, like most of Japan’s historical culture is crafted to highlight substance in simplicity. For instance, the wood that has been used to craft the bar is over 200 years old and is surrounded by a select number of nine seats, which gives each fortunate diner a vintage and rustic domain that is ideal for serving sushi in the core of Mayfair. At Backes & Strauss we share The Araki’s value of substance in simplicity. This can be seen in the deliciously slim Berkeley Renaissance Duke Tourbillon from our latest tourbillon collection, which houses the brand’s very first double peripheral tourbillon mechanism. The reverse side of the tourbillon bridge is subtly set with 208 white Ideal Cut diamonds.

Scott’s

Located on 20 Mount Street, there is no part of Scott’s that doesn’t embody the extravagant allure of Mayfair. The restaurant was founded as “Scott’s Oyster and Supper Rooms” in 1850 and is still vivid in the classic seafood menu redesigned and modernised by head chef David McCarthy. Entirely refurbished in 2007 by Martin Brudnizki, the restaurant’s interior design features amongst many things, homages to their history. The wooden Chevron floor and panelling is wonderfully curated and houses a stunning chandelier designed by Patrice Butler which fantastically contrasts with the modern spotlight bar.Scott's is proof that a restaurant can have a long, proud history and still be fashionable, glamorous and relevant. At Backes & Strauss our pieces are a perfect marriage of history harmonising with the 21st century to create classically inspired scintillating works. Our classic Berkeley 37 gets its name from London’s iconic Berkeley Square whose green trees were planted in 1789, the same year that Backes & Strauss commenced trading. Besides the title, the precision of each diamond set into the case, dial and crown of this classic watch is an ode to the brand’s historical expertise as the oldest diamond company in the world, with each of the stones masterfully polished to create an eye-catching, sleek and extravagant design.

A Feast for The Eyes

These restaurants are vivid examples of just one avenue of luxury London that Mayfair has to offer. If it is another you pursue, a perfect mixture of substance and simplicity, variety and history, that is apparent in each unique setting, this can be found at the House of Backes & Strauss in Mayfair, the home of the most perfect luxury timepieces, which are as tasty to your eyes as the wonderful dishes served in Mayfair’s elite eateries.