Three Darlings

The dearly beloved trio in question are Jason Atherton's children, in whose honour his self-styled English bistro in Chelsea is named. Look sharply beneath pedestrianised Pavilion Road, if you will. The restaurant is effectively under the boardwalk, its entrance cunningly concealed. Inside is as chic as can be, split over two levels, with a pastel-coloured ‘room with a kitchen view’ and bar seating that opens onto an outdoor terrace furnished with plenty of foliage. This is one of a trio of new openings Atherton launched in 2024, and like its stablemate Sael, it's an all-day affair open for Benedict breakfasts and weekend brunches, as the place eases into its diurnal rhythm. The principal menu opens with appetising nibbles such as harissa flatbread filled with Kalamata olives and red pepper. Englishness as a culinary concept has for a long while meant eclectic rather than anything rooted too solidly in the home nation, as the range of offerings here suggests. Crapaudine beets are having a moment just now, their rooty sweetness accommodating burrata and nasturtiums, while a wood-fired scallop is given the Rockefeller treatment and dressed in fermented miso. The star starter at our visit was a single long tentacle of Spanish octopus with sobrasada and butter bean aïoli. From the mains, it's hard to beat the delectable brace of shorthorn beef ribs in liberally applied char siu dressing, Szechuan pepper and red chilli, but then look a skate wing schnitzel with katsu curry and lime in the eye and dare to refuse it. To finish, the bun and butter pudding with rum and raisin is an inventive take you might try at home, or there's baked Alaska with yoghurt and blood-orange. As at Sael, wines on the main list are arranged in multiples of £50, while selections by the glass (from £8.50) are also available by the pint (from £26).