Any restaurant that has a fiery barbecue in the kitchen is always going to get my vote.

Sucre is an Argentinian-themed restaurant, just opposite what used to be Marlborough Street Magistrates Court (now a swanky hotel). I have been there on a Saturday evening, and it has been full to the rafters. In fact there is a nightclub downstairs (Alma) where you can relax afterwards to some surprisingly Boomer-friendly tunes. However, at 1pm on a Sunday, it was, apart from a couple of staff, completely, tumbleweed, empty.

This was actually to our advantage, as not all of the members of the party are quite as good at hearing as they used to be, but a bit of a shame from an atmosphere point of view. However, it may partly be that even the set lunch is not cheap (£45 for the Sunday lunch) and that there are seemingly better value options nearby.

So let me correct that: It may not be cheap, but it is still mainly excellent value for the quality of the food, and the true lusciousness of the surroundings.

Being lunchtime, we eschewed the “Free flowing” wine (Settling for a reasonable bottle of Argentinian White for about £35 between 4), but given the price of wine by the glass, it looks like reasonably good value if you are intending to sleep the rest of the day away.

I had the meat starter, and everyone else went for the vegetables. The raw looks good, but sadly no-one could be persuaded.

The Merguez was definitely the best of the Chorizo (with a rich lamby flavour), but I can recommend the Jerusalem artichoke as well, which even the haters at our table enjoyed (to their surprise and mild delight)

All of the mains looked good, but again there was a degree of playing it safe, with 3 takers for the corn-fed chicken (which had an excellent Salmoriglio sauce – which is Lemon and Herb in Nandos-speak). I unusually opted for the best thing on the menu, the Sea Bass, which was outstanding. Well-cooked (and nice and succulent), with a great chili kick. Absolutely delicious.

The whole thing with charging extra for vegetables with a set menu rather annoys me, but it seems to be a feature of most these days. At £45, you think you might have got something. And eight quid for liquidised mash is not good. My mother is convinced it was Smash (and much as I argued that no posh restaurant would do that, I think she was right)

On the subject of slightly ill-conceived dishes, we turn to the pudding. I am not a pudding fan (being more of a fan of a nice cheese board), but as there is no 2 course set menu option, I wasn’t going to allow food to go to waste, so I joined the others in a Dulce de Leche fondant.

Dulce de Leche is supposed to be sweet and creamy, but this was just cloying. Far too much of it, even allowing for my slight aversion to sweet things. No-one could finish it (and if you knew my companions, that would come as a great surprise…)

Overall, a very good meal. A few people drifted in and out, but we made up the bulk of the clientele. Service was good, and apart from a few mis-steps the food was excellent. It is also a truly beautiful restaurant, and so worth a trip just for that.

Conclusion

Overall Rating: 4/5

• Food: 4.5/5
• Value: 4/5
• Service: 4/5
• Atmosphere: 4/5

Sucre: https://sucrerestaurant.com/