Mauro Colagreco at Raffles London

Review Highlights

Alexander arrives at Raffles London at The OWO — the Old War Office on Whitehall, where Churchill once walked the halls and Ian Fleming dreamed up James Bond. He starts with a glass of Pol Roger Cuvée Churchill in the very building where the man himself had an office, calling it a special moment. He's here for Mauro Colagreco's eponymous one-Michelin-star restaurant, and the chef himself is in the kitchen today. Skipping the à la carte and lunch menus, Alexander opts for a special five-course Tomato Menu (£175) — a tribute to British seasonal tomatoes. After a deeply personal experience at Colagreco's three-Michelin-star Mirazur, he's curious to see how the vision translates to London soil, and the early signs — the setting, the service, the champagne trolley — are top of the class.

• ·Canapé quartet — skewered duck prosciutto with plum tomatoes, lardo di Colonnata, and blueberry ketchup; tomato panna cotta topped with lobster salad and caramel; smoked mackerel with trout roe and tapioca; and a tomato essence jelly with basil, mint, lime zest, and green cardamom infusion. "This is a bloody good start. My favorite was the smoked mackerel." Followed by Mauro's grandmother's bread — the Mirazur signature — served with lemon and ginger infused olive oil.
• ·Tomatoes from the Isle of Wight — a green zebra tomato gazpacho with Dijon mustard ice cream, finished tableside by Head Chef Leonel Aguirre. The gazpacho is built on green tomatoes, celery, ginger, cucumber, coriander, and garlic, poured over a small apple and cucumber salad. Paired with a Maley cider from alpine orchards; the sommelier's match earns Alexander's "hats off."
• ·Yellow tomato from the Isle of Wight with Orkney scallop, tomato jelly, lardo, lime, and a sauce made with Oscietra caviar — a dish created by Chef Mauro especially for this occasion. "The umami of the tomato, the scallop, and that beautiful sauce together is just perfect." Alexander notes the service at this point is "flawless" — the same DNA he encountered at Mirazur.
• ·Grilled lobster served with a tomato fondue blended with lobster bisque, topped with slices of plum tomato. Paired with a side-by-side tasting of two English sparkling wines from Exton Park — one aged 60 metres above sea level, the other 60 metres below. "Bold, deep flavors. This is serious business. I have to admit, this is one of the best sparkling wines I've ever tasted."
• ·Marmande tomato with monkfish and two sauces — a saffron sauce and a tomato XO — surrounded by dehydrated tomatoes and finished with wild garlic seeds. "Monkfish is one of my favorites, and here they managed it perfectly. The sauces are simply amazing." Paired with a 2019 Roagna from Piedmont.
• ·Green figs and duck, served with a duck jus — the first main course. Followed by the final savoury: beef marinated with herbs, covered with nasturtium and oxalis, alongside pineapple tomatoes infused with green oil and tomato water, plus tomato kimchi. Paired with Château Pontet-Canet 2000, chosen via a playful blind card draw from three wine regions.
• ·Desserts — ginger and basil infused tomato with a salad of different tomatoes, served with pearls of burnt vanilla, tomato-basil, and ginger ("fantastic, simply fantastic — a nice, refreshing taste with light, sweet notes"); and a verbena cream with different tomato varieties, sake jelly, and opaline crystallized white sugar infused with Brandywine tomatoes ("clever and creative — you feel the original aroma of fresh, acidic tomatoes, yet the sake and sugar make it something totally different"). Paired with Château d'Yquem 1998.

Alexander places Mauro Colagreco at Raffles London as, in his opinion, the best one-Michelin-star restaurant in the world — and he doubts it will stay at one star for long. "The kitchen is strong. Confident flavors. Beautiful plating. These dishes are beyond one-star level." The service, led by FOH Director Didier Fertilati (formerly of The Fat Duck), is world-class even by three-star standards: "Every movement carries decades of experience." Despite initial skepticism about a British tomato-themed menu, Alexander is won over completely. "There are restaurants where it's hard to find a single flaw. Every tiny detail is in its place."

About

Mauro Colagreco at Raffles London is the eponymous one-Michelin-star restaurant from the Argentinian-Italian chef behind three-star Mirazur in Menton — the restaurant named World's Best in 2019 — housed on the ground floor of the historic Old War Office building (now Raffles at The OWO) on Whitehall. Opened in late 2023, it translates Colagreco's vegetable-forward, terroir-driven philosophy to British soil, with over 70 varieties of UK-grown fruit and vegetables at the core of seasonal tasting menus that change with the harvest. The dining room pairs pale woods, plush sofas, and subdued lighting with the building's timeless Whitehall grandeur, while the kitchen is led day-to-day by Head Chef Leonel Aguirre.