The Review - FOOD AND DRINK - RESTAURANTS Published: 23 July 2009
Twotwentytwo
THE Landmark London with all its grandeur, demands a restaurant & bar as stylish as Twotwentytwo. Sporting a recent refurbishment, this eatery and drinking hole offers up dark muted tones and eye-catching chandeliers as a backdrop to plenty of high tables and plush leather seating. Its former look was, by all accounts more of a gentleman’s club but the new finish boasts a decent helping of delicate detail and stylish flourishes. We arrived at around 6.30pm, just as the after-work crowd took up a few seats at the bar. As the evening went on, Twotwentytwo steadily filled up without any signs of the staff flapping at the extra clientele. The staff incidentally couldn't have been more helpful. Whether it came down to recommending a cocktail to go with the balmy evening, or giving us the heads up on the highlights of the desserts list, the waiting staff were friendly and professional – that ideal combination.
The dishes that waiters kept rushing past our noses, looked generous in portion size as they landed on the tables nearby, so we decided to bypass the starters to make room for pudding. Fillet steak and tuna salad were our choices for the main course and hit the spot. The steak was perfectly juicy and came with a cute silver bucket of chips, which tasted crispy and satisfyingly chunky. The accompanying buffalo mozzarella salad balanced out the carb and protein extravaganza, whilst the tuna salad was the ideal plateful for my supper-sized appetite that evening.
Still, my appetite wasn’t light enough to forget about pudding, and we made the best of it with a chocolate fondant (compete with butterscotch ice cream) and apple crumble with custard. Both were good, but the butterscotch ice cream managed to upstage everything else – even the molten chocolate and chocolate flakes.
A few cupfuls of peppermint tea were a welcome finish to a very well turned out dinner. If you find yourself on Marylebone Road, with a grumbling stomach and a craving for stylish surroundings, Twotwentytwo will deliver on all fronts. HELENKA BEDNAR