It’s 32 degrees in London. The pavements are soup; the air is somehow so hot it makes your eyeballs hurt. People are frantically elbowing their way into that horrible beer garden by Euston Station, desperate for just a sip of a cold drink. Not that we’d have any firsthand knowledge of this, because we’re sitting on Orrery’s terrace bar drinking a negroni fraise – that’s a strawberry negroni to you and me – with an ice cube the size of our fist in it. 

After the requisite amount of time luxuriating in the area’s only roof terrace, we’re ushered downstairs to enjoy the restaurant’s tasting menu, overseen by head chef Pierre Minotti, formerly of two-Michelin-starred Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal – we also enjoy the air conditioning (did we mention it’s really, really hot when we visit?).

But enough about temperatures, it’s time to talk about the food, and what food it is. From an ox-cheek canapé which is absolutely bursting with rich, sticky flavour right through to the grapefruit custard petit fours which cap off the experience, this feels like a restaurant which won’t avoid a Michelin star for very long.

Smoked eel and cured sea bass could easily be overwhelming, but manage to sit just the right side of bold without becoming brash, while the Scottish girolle and sweetbreads which follow are the highlight of the whole evening. Sweetbreads can be tricky to get right, but the kitchen makes it look easy, with the savoury mushrooms perfectly pairing with the sweetbread’s creamy texture. It’s all topped off with a drizzle of sheep’s milk which brings everything together. The quail is similarly well put together. The bird is smoked, with the rich flavour offset by a delicate pea dressing which is a masterclass in pairing flavours. 

There’s a bit of theatre here, too, with the palate-cleansing chartreuse course taking place in a separate part of the restaurant, overseen by a member of the kitchen staff. Aside from the food, the real stars of the show are Orrery’s staff, who know exactly what you need before you even realise it yourself. They’re also incredibly friendly, eschewing the stiff formality of a lot of fine dining establishments in favour of, well, acting like human beings. While the food is truly excellent, it’s the whole experience of eating at Orrery which makes it worthwhile.

Tasting menus are exercises in trust to a large extent, and Pierre Minotti rewards that trust in spades. The price point reflects the restaurant’s Michelin ambitions, but every bite makes it obvious where that money goes. Come for the food, but take our advice: have a drink on the terrace first.

For more information on Orrery by Pierre Minotti, see here

55 Marylebone High St, London W1U 5RB

Photo credit: Justin DeSouza