Oyster bar
Sophie Ziegler
One of my companions at the most recent dinner remarks that ‘there is nothing “new money” about the place in the slightest’, which sums up the restaurant well – and certainly Her Majesty cannot be accused of having that. He adds that it is a restaurant for those who believe one need never leave Burgundy to have a glass of wine – and France in general in order to eat. Showing off, whether on the plate or just generally, is definitely discouraged.
Bellamy’s is a family affair. Chef Stéphane Pacoud worked at Annabel’s; manager Luigi Burgio was the barman. The design, by architect Tim Flynn, is true to the inspiration, not a pastiche, and the result is comfortable and convivial.
I hesitate to describe HM or indeed myself as a regular, but when I do have the pleasure of eating at Bellamy’s, I seldom resist starting with salad of artichoke hearts and haricots verts. Anyone who has dealt with globe artichokes – all too graphic in their relationship to thistles – knows the tedium of isolating the heart and rendering it pliable; here it is all done for you, then beautifully dressed. Maybe it is comparable to having your clothes and jewellery laid out for you every morning.
