Bar des Prés - Mayfair

Bar des Prés Mayfair: The Verdict

At a ££££ price point on Albemarle Street, Bar des Prés delivers something genuinely unusual for Mayfair: Japanese-influenced seafood; maki, sashimi, pan-Asian crudo, miso black cod; executed inside a Parisian-styled room, then closed out with French patisserie classics like mille-feuille and profiteroles. If you are an explorer who wants a single meal that moves fluently between Tokyo and Paris without feeling gimmicky, this is one of the better places in London to spend that money. If you want a tighter, more focused luxury seafood experience, Sexy Fish is the obvious peer comparison; if you want Japanese precision with more technical depth, Lucky Cat by Gordon Ramsay is worth considering instead.

The Space

The address says Mayfair, the room follows through. An impressive marble counter anchors the space and gives the whole venue a luxury feel that feels considered rather than showy, Parisian-style elegance is the deliberate register here, modelled closely on the Saint-Germain original. That original, for context, was voted by Le Figaro in May 2025 as one of the most (deliciously) snobby restaurants in Paris, with Bar des Prés specifically called out as 'Le plus Mondialisé', the most globalised. The London branch wears that description accurately: the room carries French bones, the counter is built for watching a seafood-driven kitchen work, the overall atmosphere leans intimate without being cramped. For a weekend brunch or late weekend lunch, the marble counter is the right seat, you get the kitchen theatre and the room reads differently at midday than it does at dinner, slightly less charged, more amenable to lingering.

What the Weekend Service Delivers

Bar des Prés is worth considering specifically for weekend daytime visits. The format, seafood-led sharing plates anchored by raw preparations and luxury bites, suits a brunch or lunch rhythm better than a lot of Mayfair's competition. You are not locked into a long tasting menu progression; the sharing-plate structure lets you calibrate how much you spend and how long you stay. The French dessert programme (mille-feuille, tarte fine, profiteroles) gives the meal a natural, satisfying close that a pure Japanese or pan-Asian menu would not. For a food-focused weekend with a guest who eats across both Asian and European traditions, this format is more useful than a format that commits entirely to one. For comparison, YiQi offers another high-end Asian experience in London if you want to benchmark the category further.

Booking Bar des Prés Mayfair

Book hard and book early. This is a ££££ Michelin-recognised room on Albemarle Street with a Paris reputation behind it, booking difficulty is rated Hard. For weekend lunch or brunch slots, plan a minimum of three to four weeks out. Prime Saturday bookings will go faster. The venue does not publish walk-in policies in its public data, so treat every visit as a reservation-required experience. If your preferred date is unavailable, check weekday lunch as an alternative, the room will be quieter and the experience comparable. There is no phone or website listed in current public data, so approach booking through general reservation platforms or direct search.

Ratings and Trust Signals

• Michelin Plate, 2024 and 2025
• White Star, Star Wine List (published September 2024)
• Le Figaro recognition, May 2025, Saint-Germain original named among Paris's most notable restaurants; London branch modelled directly on it

Practical Details

Explore More in London and Beyond

If Bar des Prés fits your weekend dining calendar, you may also want to plan around London's broader food scene. See our full London restaurants guide, our full London hotels guide, our full London bars guide, our full London wineries guide, and our full London experiences guide for a complete picture. For food-focused travel beyond London, The Fat Duck in Bray, L'Enclume in Cartmel, and Moor Hall in Aughton represent the ceiling of UK destination dining. For regional options with strong credentials, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, Hand and Flowers in Marlow, and hide and fox in Saltwood are all worth the trip. Internationally, taku in Cologne and Jun's in Dubai are comparative Asian-influenced fine dining rooms worth knowing if you travel the category. Also see CORE by Clare Smyth and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay for London's broader ££££ picture.