MOST London place names are far older than the buildings that occupy their spaces. Tottenham Court Road, for instance, is named after a manor house that was confiscated during the 17th-century English civil war. Along with its estate, it later became the property of Henry Fitzroy, an illegitimate son of Charles II.
Hence the Fitzroy Tavern, just off Tottenham Court Rd, the pub in Charlotte St that became the haunt of bohemian artists in the 1930s. One or more of them tagged the surrounding streets Fitzrovia and the name stuck for the area where The Mandrake took root three years ago.
Named after a plant with some louche associations, The Mandrake is a five-star hotel that is as hip and singular as the artists who once hung out in its neighbourhood. If it existed when William Gibson was conducting research for his novels, he would surely have used it for one of his London chapters featuring Hubertus Bigend.
Living up to its reputation for originality and innovation, four of The Mandrake’s bedrooms have been deftly converted into private dining rooms, en suite, and christened ‘cabanas’. They surround a terraced area generously festooned with jasmine and passion fruit plants that hang down from the floors above. This green drapery is enhanced by giant tree ferns – possibly dicksonia antartica – growing up from below. Sitting on the terrace for a pre-dinner cocktail is to feel like you’re inside a hybrid environment, part greenhouse (an actual one on the floor above can be glimpsed) and part Amazonian jungle at dusk. If the appropriate sound effects were available, the transformation would be complete.
Mandrake Private Dining Cabanas
The Mandrake’s food menu is pleasingly eclectic. For appetisers, the sourdough bread, made with spelt and wholemeal, is incredibly soft and springy; the empanadas stuffed with octopus and artichoke may be Instagram-unfriendly but taste deliciously subtle; and the oysters are perfect with a dry white wine. The idea of a chilli that is a staple of Mexican cooking being used for an oyster vinaigrette may sound a little alarming but the poblano peppers are really very mild and harmonize nicely with ice-cold oysters.
Steamed Empandas
There are lots of sharing dishes, ideal for a meal with friends in one of the cabanas. Being with just one companion, I shared the lobster tail that was a special of the day and not on the menu. It proved a tasty choice, accompanied by a potato mash with girolle mushrooms, white sauce and parmesan. The sauce works marvels with the taste of lobster (and not to be confused with a similar dish that is one of the sharing plates but which uses a romanesco sauce) and together they will hopefully become part of the regular menu.
Mandrake Private Dining Cabanas
Desserts are suitably sinful and my companion judged the chocolate mousse one of the best ever tasted, awarding it 11/10 when it was found to be vegan. And, with the present craze for gin and tonic, a special award should go to one of the house cocktails, the Goji, with elderflower and a goji berry cordial.
Unless you’re prone to being superstitious, some of the magical properties attributed to the mandrake plant can hardly be linked to the appeal of a meal in one of the cabanas but it is tempting to make some kind of connection because a food experience there is the highlight of time spent in Fitzrovia.
Scallop Cevishe
Mandrake Private Dining Cabanas
by Sean Sheehan