Hush, Soho: great food, but don't expect great service

Having been open since the nineties it’s safe to say that Hush is a bit of an institution. After steadfastly holding its place amongst the fickle fluttering of trend led eateries and market-stall-turned-pop-ups that have populated central London over recent years, Hush recently closed up its doors for a facelift and emerged, much like Joan Collins, some time later looking utterly fresh and at least ten years younger.

Thanks to Russell Sage – the designer behind suave hangouts such as The Hospital Club and The Zetter Townhouse – Hush has now hit the sweet spot between conservative and glamourous. Green suede chairs and dark mahogany give it the look of a gentleman’s billiard room whilst spotted mirrors and clean marble hint at the more millennial zeitgeist. Of course, the famous court yard remains a focal point for many but it’s the décor inside that really captures the relaxed yet elegant vibe that Sage has worked so hard to convey.

Aside from the furniture, the menu has been given a makeover too. A kind of upmarket brasserie affair, it offered enough excellent choice to cause even the most singular diner a dilemma for a few moments. With heaps of smalls plates and an extensive offering of mains, there was a lot to choose from, even for a vegetarian, which is a rare and gratefully received phenomenon.

Champagne cocktails were quickly consumed as the small plates arrived. Burrata fat with cream and honey fought with lightly crisped courgette flowers for our attention; both of which we happily guzzled whilst waiting for our mains. After finishing every last crumb, our waitress cleared the plates away only to replace them with dessert menus, having clearly forgotten that we had yet to eat our dinner. This, in itself, wouldn’t have been cause for a moan, had the arrival of our mains not caused further confusion.

Now, we’ve all seen those Instagram videos of spaghetti strands being sloshed glutinously around a melting wheel of cheese, so upon seeing cacio e pepe on the menu, it was a no brainer to choose it as my main course. The blurb sounded promising. The phrase, ‘made at the table’ engendered great excitement and conjured up images of a giant cheese slab being grandly wheeled out and turned into a makeshift saucepan. Whilst this did actually happen, for some reason the waiter unfortunately decided to serve it up around the corner, about ten metres away from the table where we couldn’t see what was going on unless we craned our necks into the starter of our next door neighbours.

This, of course, was hugely disappointing. The decadent filthiness of this ceremony is part of the fun of ordering this dish– much like dipping one’s finger into the middle of a chocolate gateau – so to be denied the pleasure of enjoying it left the end result feeling something of a let down.

Indeed, it was hard to escape this feeling all night as, throughout, service was slow and clumsy instead of slick and attentive, which is not what you expect from a restaurant charging £14 for asparagus. Drinks were forgotten and, having initially given them to us prematurely, we had to fight to get our hands on the dessert menus when we were actually ready for them.

Joyous and vibrant, it makes a great post-work watering hole and a good spot for a business lunch, but if you’re looking for somewhere to celebrate a special occasion, wait until they’ve ironed out the creases. Although the food was delicious and the wine flowed freely, the lack of decent service left the hefty prices seeming a little bit cheeky.

Hush Restaurant, Soho: The Lowdown

Final flavour: Great food but slightly patchy service

At what cost? Small plates start at £8, pasta dishes from £16, but expect to pay upwards of £30 for grilled meat or fish.

Visit if you like: Searcys St Pancras, Foxlow

Find it: 8 Lancashire Court, W1S 1EY; hush.co.uk.