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Aubergine

Ben Willis has dispensed with the damask napery and fine-dining formalities for a more accessible dining experience. The smart, intimate restaurant with its high ceilings, subtle pendant lighting and striped banquettes hovers between upmarket brasserie and fine dining, relying on good produce well presented. There’s finesse in a delicate disc of blue swimmer crab with heirloom tomatoes and a cleansing gazpacho shot. Outstanding mains include juicy prime aged côte de boeuf for two with Dauphinoise potatoes or Dijon-crusted pork loin paired with rich pork croquettes and sweet braised fennel. The wine list offers a good selection, although the by-the-glass range could be more interesting. Chocolate fondant with praline parfait may be an obvious dessert, but it’s a predictably excellent version. Reliably accomplished cooking and good value make the new-style Aubergine a standout.