Last week we headed to Bruton Place, the quintessential British street, historically an area of stables and staff accommodation for the Grand Houses of Bruton Street (Queen Elisabeth II’s birthplace). One can certainly envision horse-drawn carts traversing the cobbled lanes.

Originally Bruton Place was very much a side street that has slowly become a destination for wining and dining. We keep finding ourselves returning to discover all that is on offer here, and it is a lot. There is boisterous fun to be had at the 60O year old Guinea Grill the longest standing establishment on the street, The Rex delicatessen sits in converted stable and Umu for Michelin Japanese Dining at UMU but your destination for breakfast, lunch and dinner may become SILVA the neighbourhood’s newest addition.

Our early evening stroll to dine here led us down this cobblestoned street to two glowing rectangular windows framed by striped awning and some outdoor seating (noted for the warmer weather). One window showing the activity of a small but busy kitchen and the other revealing the most spectacularly beautiful interiors befitting of Mayfair. Coming in from the cold I was very warmly welcomed and complimented on my burgundy skirt and moss green jumper, buttering me up from the get-go and it was gladly received. I was given a tour of what I can only say is a very well thought through interior. A collaboration between the Founder, Daria Grebenyuk and Atelier Wren. 

SILVA has successfully created a refined but relaxed ambience. The woodland-inspired theme is aimed to complement the seasonal focus of the menu. The banquette seating which gently curves its way down the entirety of the space, where mixed woods and marble are offset by moss and pine green accents and muted tones with two booth tables at the end of the room. The restaurant is joined on the first floor by an intimate snug bar and an impressive private dining room, ‘The Garden Room’, complete with a restored herringbone parquet floor and all white decorative foliage and flower castings adorn the walls.

Chef, Slawomir Sawicki (Eric Chavot, Galvin at La Chapelle, Arts Club) has created menus with the brief from Founder, Daria to curate menus which bring together different influences and techniques but which at their core let the best of the seasons produce shine.

SILVA’s wine list is a balanced combination of wines from new, young and emerging modern-thinking winemakers and some more established names, featuring a decent selection of low-intervention wines and 30+ options by the glass. from classic and innovative wine regions across Italy, France, West Sussex, Greece, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Austria, USA and Australia.

As I sat waiting for my dining partner, I took the time to peruse their breakfast and lunch menus. SILVA is ambitiously an all-day dining affair and after spotting their banana & chocolate bread, miso butter and the gratinated crab, gruyere cheese 3 egg omelette on the menu I decided I fully intended to try breakfast here one day or at the very least for a coffee stop and one of their homemade pastries to start the day right.

Lunch and dinner menu offerings are similar with lunch adding a variety of salads with an option to add chicken or hot smoked salmon. Dinner adds a hearty 500g Chateaubriand to the menu. In true Mayfair style there are options to “add truffle” to a couple of the menu items. But I’m sure if you asked, they would shave it on to anything.

We began our evening with a Parma Violet and a Bonsai Margarita served in elegant tall-stemmed coupe glasses. Both perfectly executed. The sourdough (made in house) came out irresistibly warm accompanied by their churned butter flavoured with black garlic. The selection of sashimi was a sampling of their three dishes from the “raw” section of the menu. It came with two small sauce pots of yuzu & ginger dressing and ponzu and were guided on how best to pair it to the sashimi. We both commented on the sheer freshness and clever addition of the puffed rice on the salmon adding a welcome texture to the dish.

For our starters we were both tempted by the Steak tartare, potato waffle, cured egg yolk so I fell on the sword and ordered the crispy fried egg, girolles, parmesan sauce. Being the foodies that we are we were dipping into each other’s dishes. The seasoning of the tartare was perfect and while I would always add extra spice it felt unnecessary to do so on this occasion. The tartare was simply plated with the added sprinkling of the grated egg yolk for colour. While the potato waffle base is a novel idea it lacked the crispy accompaniment one craves. The crispy fried egg atop a generous puddle of the parmesan sauce was the epitome of elegant comfort food.

With the arrival of the colder winter evenings the Creedy Carver duck, coco beans & orange jus is a heart-warming dish. We also had the Steamed halibut, leek fondue with seaweed beurre blanc sauce. The idea of adding seaweed is clever but could have been turned up a notch or two. For vegetarians there is a main of Roast cauliflower, butter beans, caponata.

In the interest of providing a thorough review we couldn’t miss dessert. Personally, having made Burnt Basque cheesecake for years and sampling many, I have arrogantly nominated myself as a reliable authority on the matter and this was one of the best I’ve had. Unbelievably creamy, and I don’t care how full you may feel, I challenge anyone to not polish it off.

The restaurant was earnestly seeking feedback and as it was the restaurant’s first week, I am sure they will continue to tweak in the coming weeks. I am positive they will go from strength to strength.

Hopefully, having just opened it shouldn’t be too difficult to book during the busy festive season and for larger groups struggling to find a good restaurant with space in December SILVA would be an excellent option.

For our art savvy readers, you will be happy to know it is close to galleries such as Gagosian and a 10-minute walk from the Royal Academy of Arts and the Cork Street Galleries. It is still early days for SILVA but it could swiftly become a neighbourhood go to as more people have the pleasure of discovering the ever charming Bruton Place. 

Location: 26-28 Bruton Place, London, W1J 6NG. Website: silvarestaurant.co.uk. Instagram: @silva.restaurant

Review by Natascha Milsom