Mount St.

Mount St. Mayfair: Worth Booking?

At the £££ price point, Mount St. delivers a compelling package for Mayfair: Michelin Plate recognition, a dining room lined with art from Hauser & Wirth's collection (Matisse, Man Ray), and a Modern British menu that runs from breakfast through to dinner. If you want classic British cooking in a room with genuine aesthetic conviction, this is one of the better uses of your money on this street. If you want tasting-menu ambition at the same spend, look elsewhere.

The Room and the Experience

Mount St. occupies the first floor of The Audley building on Mount Street, W1K, above the Audley Public House. The room is lit by large windows and every wall carries serious art, the result of Artfarm; Hauser & Wirth's hospitality arm; backing the building's redevelopment. This is not art as decoration: the curation is deliberate and the room benefits from it. For a food and wine enthusiast who values context alongside cooking, the environment is part of the proposition.

The kitchen, under chef Jamie Shears, works a menu that spans the classic and the contemporary. Omelette Arnold Bennett, oysters, Portland crab with brown crab mayonnaise sit alongside Orkney scallops with smoked eel sauce and raw apple, Dover sole with brown butter hollandaise, West Country lamb chops paired with slow-cooked belly. The lobster pie for two has acquired a reputation significant enough that it is now a booking draw in its own right, is priced accordingly. Desserts run to banana soufflé with rum and raisin ice cream, or old-fashioned savouries such as Gentleman's Relish on toast with cucumber. The menu signals intent: this is a kitchen that respects classical British cooking without being trapped by it.

The wine list skews France and Italy, runs wide, is priced in line with Mayfair expectations. For the explorer diner who treats the list as part of the meal, there is depth here. Expect to spend meaningfully if you go beyond the lower tiers.

The Drinks Program

Wine list is the anchor of the drinks program at Mount St. With France and Italy as its strongest territories, it is pitched at a clientele who know what they are ordering and are prepared to pay for it. This is not a venue where the cocktail program is the draw, Mount St. is a wine-forward room, the experience is built around the table rather than the bar. If you are visiting primarily for cocktails, the Audley Public House downstairs is the more natural starting point, London's bar scene offers stronger options for serious cocktail drinking. Mount St.'s drinks program is leading understood as a curated companion to the food: broad enough to reward exploration, priced at a level that rewards early table decisions about what you intend to spend.

When to Go

Mount St. opens Tuesday through Friday from 7:30 am, Saturday from 9 am, Sunday from 7:30 am, closing at 4 pm on Sunday and 10 pm on all other days. Monday hours run 8 am to 10 pm. The practical implication: Sunday is a lunch-only proposition, which suits the menu's classical register well. Weekday lunch is the least pressured booking window if you want the room at its quietest. Given that the King and Queen dined here in late 2022, the restaurant carries a profile that drives covers, booking in advance is necessary, not optional. The lobster pie for two, in particular, is cited as a reason reservations fill. Plan at least a week or two ahead for dinner, more for weekends.

Practical Details

Reservations: Essential; book in advance, particularly for dinner and weekends, especially if the lobster pie is on your agenda. Budget: £££, expect Mayfair pricing across food and wine; the wine list can move the total significantly depending on selection. Hours: Mon 8 am–10 pm; Tue–Fri 7:30 am–10 pm; Sat 9 am–10 pm; Sun 7:30 am–4 pm. Location: First Floor, 41–43 Mount St, London W1K 2RX, above the Audley Public House. Awards: Michelin Plate (2024, 2025); Opinionated About Dining Casual Europe #391 (2024, 2025).

How It Compares

See the comparison section below for how Mount St. sits against Mayfair and London peers.

Pearl Picks: More London Restaurants

If Mount St. is fully booked or you want to explore further, consider these alternatives across London and beyond. For Modern British cooking with greater tasting-menu ambition, CORE by Clare Smyth operates at ££££ and represents a step up in formality and technical precision. For a Mayfair dining room with comparable heritage weight, The Ritz Restaurant is the obvious counterpart. Cornus, Dorian, and Ormer Mayfair are all worth considering for different profiles of Mayfair Modern British dining.

Further afield in the UK, the Modern British canon includes The Fat Duck in Bray, L'Enclume in Cartmel, Moor Hall in Aughton, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, and Hand and Flowers in Marlow. For regional discoveries, see also hide and fox in Saltwood, 33 The Homend in Ledbury, and Artichoke in Amersham.

For broader London planning, use our guides: London restaurants, London hotels, London bars, London wineries, and London experiences.