Isabel Mayfair

Happy Blue Monday (lol) lets try and make today a good one! For somebody who absolutely loves restaurants I’m about to make a very bold statement- Isabel is my favourite restaurant in London. Firstly, the location is convenient (Albemarle Street) and surrounded by the best bars in London to pop in for a drink before or after dinner (if you even want to leave Isabel that is) think the Ritz, Sketch, Arts club all within five minutes walk ♥ From the outside one is slightly unsure what to expect, there is very much a private members club feel about the place: no signage, no name on the door (which of course is always closed) and a very smartly dressed doorman standing outside the bright yellow awnings and golden door (literally) see for yourself…

Aside from the fact navy blue and yellow are one of my favourite colour combinations of all time, the gold detailing is what really does it for me. It doesn’t look like a London restaurant at all and that is something to love in itself. Enough about the outside…let’s go in. Once you enter you are met by a very smart front desk and lots of woody/golden tones and of course, more gold. To the right is the main dining room with a very grand dining counter in the middle of the room. Top tip: although you cannot book for just drinks, if there is just going to be two of you, sit at the bar counter where you can have a lighter meal which you can make up for in Margaritas. You can also sit side by side at the bar counter which is ideal for chatting and people watching. It is also great if you want to have a couple of drinks before or after dinner and try some of the ‘para picar’ dishes, my favourites are the crudités with horseradish sauce, the padron peppers and the quails eggs with spiced salt. There are also some great canapés, the raw tuna with  jalepeños and lime,  and the quail egg with avocado, basil and chilli are my must orders. Also to note, the canapés are served on ‘arepas’ (don’t worry I didn’t know what they are either) however I have since discovered that they are basically corn cakes that are cooked on a grill, they are most popular in both Venezuela and Colombia and they are made with a special type of cornmeal called masarepa. Basically the South American version of a tortilla!

Now let’s move on to the real food! Warning…the menu is huge, there are so many dishes to choose from and they are designed for sharing which can make it a little tricky if you are not going in a large group as you will want to try everything! As well as the location being almost perfect, the dining room being beautiful and the menu being extensive (now they are just showing off) much of the menu is also LACTOSE, SUGAR AND GLUTEN FREE! So no excuses there is literally something for everyone, yes, even your Vegan best friend who would usually drag you to some super healthy kale-y café in East London somewhere.

Here are some of my favourite dishes to get you started. If you go and only order one thing then it absolutely has to be the short-rib ravioli with black truffle sauce (not vegan or healthy oops) but it is incredible and very rich so although you may think the portion size is small, there is more than enough. If you don’t eat meat or want a lighter pasta dish then I highly recommend the pumpkin ravioli with goat’s cheese, walnuts and sage (see both below).

Moving on from the carbs…there are so many healthy dishes to choose from too. The sweetcorn salad with spring onion, chilli, parsley and pomegranate is amazing as is the raw tuna with avocado, wasabi and lime.

If you are going for lunch or have a pizza craving (it happens, just go with it) there are also arepa pizzette’s (remember…the Mexican tortilla alternative I just taught you about!) Although many have pork on them you can ask for them without or you can stick to the vegetarian options such as the goats cheese with red onion and watercress.

Although I have been at least five times I have never managed to get to dessert…awful I know. However I have only heard great things so perhaps I will sample the dessert menu and do a separate post (for research purposes only, obviously). To conclude, it really is a must-try restaurant and it is open all day so if you even just pop in for a coffee if your in the area you will not be disappointed. The service is truly impeccable and the food is perfect if you are looking to be a little healthier in the new year but don’t want to compromise on going out for dinner. I couldn’t recommend it more so definitely go and have a spicy margarita for me.

What Lauren L♥ve’s