Open Mon–Sun 6.30am–11pm
When one mentions fine dining in west London, a certain type of restaurant springs to mind. That restaurant is high-end, dimly-lit and a little bit expensive. It’s got a significant wine list and some damned good cocktails. It has great staff. It’s covered in fancy art. There are private dining options, and maybe a couple of more privacy-friendly bars. The food is exemplary.
Sadly, and quite obviously, not every restaurant in the area is like this. Reassuringly, however, Hunter 486 fits the archetype to perfection.
Snuggled beside the lobby of the Arch Hotel, just off—you guessed it—Marble Arch, Hunter 486’s modus operandi is sheer luxury, for hotel guests and locals alike. It’s made up of the main restaurant—including a private dining room, of course—a bar and two auxiliary bars, the Martini Lounge and Salon de Champagne. In terms of vibe, think classic fine dining but in the sort of place that would do afternoon tea during the daytime too. (It does, by the way.)
Food-wise, my soused mackerel (£7.50) to start was nigh-on perfect: salty but not overbearing and wonderfully complemented with pickled vegetables and a suitably subtle horseradish cream. My guest’s poached salmon tartare with pickled cucumber and crème fraiche (£9), although a relatively unadventurous dish, was well-executed and entirely fresh.
Next, my tomato risotto (£16.50), although ever so slightly on the sticky side, benefited hugely from its accompanying basil oil, and the addition of a parmesan crisp—whilst not exactly crucial—was a nice touch. It was as hefty a portion as anything I’ve ever had in a fine dining restaurant, too, to the point of being unfinishable; never a bad thing.
My guest’s rack of lamb (£20) was less sizeable, but well-cooked and as tender as you could want—and the addition of crushed potatoes and baby vegetables in the price meant that no sides were necessary. Because let’s face it, neither these dishes nor any of the others on Hunter 486’s menu can really be called inexpensive. What they can be called, however, is excellent.
The staff were professional and cordial; that slight over-attentiveness and dedication to each guest that you more often see in restaurants that have the word ‘Michelin’ somewhere on their website—and I’ve got to give special commendation to the poor soul who served us so excellently despite being at the beginning of her first trial shift.
The place is wonderfully decorated (check out the Georgian stylings of the Martini Lounge or Sara Fenelli’s illustrations in the Salon de Champagne) and feels just small enough to be intimate without being cramped. Really, there was very little to fault at all. That nothing in the experience truly surprised me, perhaps, was a shame. But, frankly, when the comfort zone is this damned good, who’d ever want to leave it?
