So so from new bar

Lesley Ash and Lee Chapman's Shaftesbury Avenue eaterie Teatro defied critical expectations: with consistently impressive food and (owners notwithstanding) a frequently above-C list celeb clientele, the members' bar miraculously circumvented the trappings of naff.

But the saturation of 'exclusive' eateries hit them hard and, buoyed by the popularity of their Moroccan-lite Clapham venture, the couple syndicated the SO.UK name - and the egalitarian admittance policy - to the foundering W1 site.

One false start later (my date and I were informed that the open-door policy had not yet been fully implemented, and that we'd have to return on another day), we crossed the threshold of what is best described as simply Teatro minus the formal seating arrangements.

Perched on one of the communal banquettes - part of Martin Brudnizki's 'exotic modern environment' - we sampled the concise cocktail menu: the vodka and honey-laced SO.apple and Carol Channing (champagne, Chambord and 'sunken raspberry') were the best out of a hit-and-miss bunch.

On the basis of our already botched bar snack order, we eschewed the 'Asian fusion' food on offer (having failed to spot the Asian connection to entries such as the Caesar salad or goats' cheese and spinach croustillant), and decided against taking advantage of the 3am licence. Teatro, all is forgiven.

SO.UK.SO.HO
93-107 Shaftesbury Avenue, W1D 5DY