A Wonderful Surprise At London's Hunter 486

Going into a London restaurant that touts traditional British fare, one wouldn't expect anything exotic on the menu. We didn't. That's why when we walked into Hunter 486, the restaurant/brasserie/bar situated inside the boutique Arch Hotel named after the nearby impressive 1827 Marble Arch under which only members of the royal family and the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, are allowed to pass through, the cuisine was a wonderful surprise.

We were offered "soused Cornish mackerel, Parmesan crusted poached egg with a tomato and olive dressing, pressed Norfolk Black chicken terrine and linguini with a wild garlic pesto," even though it was Sunday and time for the restaurant's traditional Sunday roast. Going with tradition, and being in London for only a short time, we ordered the standard roast beef, roast potatoes, and a Yorkshire pudding that came in the form of a puffy taco shell but tasted as traditional as English Yorkshire pudding had a right to be in London town.

It was a beautiful meal from start to finish, inside a lovely hotel living up to the elegance of the triumphal Carrera marble arch at the juncture of Oxford Street, Park Lane and Edgware Road.

Hunter 486 is located in

Thearchlondon.com

50 Great Cumberland Place, Marylebone, London W1H 7FD UK

Telephone 020 7724 4700