Why we actually rather like the ceiling at Ametsa with Arzak Instruction

It was something of an unsavoury mouthful to begin with. “Ametsa with Arzak Instruction at the The Halkin by COMO” doesn’t trip off the tongue like “Bar Boulud”, “Coya” or “Dabbous”. And to say that London’s restaurants critics weren’t whelmed when it opened is to put it mildly. They knocked it to the ground and kicked it squarely in the teeth. Then, halfway back to the Tube at Hyde Park Corner, they dashed back full of adrenalin from the assault and gave it a last triumphant dig in the ribs. And yet… we think that Ametsa with Arzak Instruction is a seriously good restaurant.

The Arzak family include, in Juan Mari and Elena, two of the greatest chefs in the world. Every writer and editor from Civilian who has had the pleasure of visiting the Arzak mothership in San Sebastián has come away in raptures. It’s not so much lunch or supper, as an opera for the senses, complete with SFX. The dining room at The Halkin was never meant to replicate that style. It was a totally different project. (Hence the “instruction” partial disclaimer.) We didn’t visit in the first six months, when visitors complained of overwrought tasting menu ennui, so we can’t comment on its early days. But we do know that the management instigated significant changes, and recalibrated the menu at Ametsa with Arzak Instruction for a London clientele. The result is pleasing indeed.

Then there’s that ceiling. Everyone has made the dildo joke already. But we love it

There are, for sure, still oddments of Basque degustation – some of which work, some of which don’t. And we have been nonplussed by some of the wine pairing suggestions. (One particularly sweet white on our last visit would be best paired with a kitchen sink sans plug.) But we think that Ametsa (we’re going with that, for short) is best approached as a three course à la carte destination. While they are known for their theatrics, the Basque Michelin brigade have also devoted their entire careers to creating, through rigorous scientific experimentation, what you might term as the ultimate meat and two veg – and there’s a lot of that in evidence in the “instruction” here. Poultry, beef and fish are cooked with extraordinary skill, with just enough of a twist to make them exciting, without becoming kooky bonkers. Ox cheek with vanilla, grouse with grapefruit and figs, and seabass with garlic emulsion and fried vegetables are all solid, delicious dishes, as much as they are inventive.

Then there’s that ceiling. Everyone has made the dildo joke already. But we love it. Sure, the rest of the room is a bit chilly. But the undulating test tubes full of spices that run across the ceiling as a sculptural canopy is a work of art. You should go in just to see it. London-based Ab Rogers Design visited the Arzak restaurant in San Sebastián, took inspiration from it, and then did something skewed and witty and very much their own. The test tubes contain ten different kinds of coloured contents – a collection of spices, including cumin, turmeric, mustard, ginger and paprika. We haven’t seen anything quite so off the wall since Oliver Peyton stopped working with Marc Newson. It’s a curious experience to eat in a restaurant that smells so strongly of, ultimately, curry, when there’s nothing even remotely like it on the menu. Like much of the Arzaks’ work, it’s ingenious, but it’s also laugh out loud, intentionally funny. C

Ametsa with Arzak Instruction, The Halkin by COMO, Halkin Street, London SW1X 7DJ
020-7333 1234; comohotels.com