There's something about Orrery

London’s antiquity echoes from its myrtle-coloured rooftops. You can almost hear the city sweat as it struggles to reinvent itself each time it is hit by the wave of modernity. In fact, it is rare when something in our laissez faire world steps out and marvels us. Orrery, the French restaurant on Marylebone High Street, stands to defy these notions.

Marylebone - the area, the road or the high street - has never quite had the ostentatious pull of other rival neighbourhoods such as Mayfair, Soho or Oxford Street. Marylebone Road normally dreams up images of tourist queues by the army-load waiting to enter the eponymous Madame Tussauds, while its high street has always been pipped to the proverbial shopper’s race line by the ever grander Oxford Street. The restaurant has no vulgar ‘here I am’ appeal on its door which sits atop the rather lux Conran Shop. Its charm, like a pearl, is inside.

There is something quite French – put aside national rivalry – about the way one is ushered to a seat. Coats are whisked off, a cocktail made with the finest champagne is immediately in your hand and the short walk to your table is filled with unnecessary but kind repartee by the staff that work on entertaining each guest. The manners do not stop there. At the table you are flanked by a sommelier who houses all alcoholic knowledge in the world – no exaggeration – and the head chef or waiter who personally attend to your dining choices. The hospitality harks back to a golden age, where manners ruled the roost and sentences rarely lacked a Madam or a Gentleman.

Diners have the choice of two menus:- an extravagant Gourmand, where the dishes are served as simple tasters, each with their own accompanying glass of wine, and the Dinner Menu, an abundance of superbly cooked French classics. From the latter, recommendations are the Braised Pig’s Trotter and Magret of duck and Foie Gras; diversely tasting dishes that both come together in excellent delicacy and taste. The Autumn Truffle Risotto is splendid in its simplicity, while the John Dory fillets with cod tortellini surpass any previous genial pairing.

Whatever you order from the abundance of French delights, your time at Orrery is peppered with amuse-bouches which come as gifts from the head chef Igor Tymchyshyn. For £50 a head, including an entrée and a dessert with the main dish, these gifts are welcome.

The Gourmand Menu takes on a very different sort of meal. Favoured by groups of businessmen, it is a list of food which allows one to avoid the difficult task of deciding between plates. Choices come in the shape of Sea Bass in a courgette flower, Langoustine tortellini and Mandarin Jelly. The sommelier, resplendent in his savoir, recommends and talks through each sip of wine that accompanies the tasters. Without the wine and sommelier’s help, the menu sets you back a reasonable £59. Otherwise it’s a £97 hit.

Arriving earlier on the evening may just score you a table on the terrace, where through the glass-ceiling and high position, the spire of the St Marylebone parish is visible, as is the view down into the high street.

There are those who find the French accent difficult to mouth. There are those who find the infiltration of French cuisine into London’s eateries a reason not to pay visits to restaurants with authentic kitchens. Yet, Orrery might just change such perspectives; let its tongue-twisting name be no barrier to your stopovers here.

At the end of my stay, with a satiated tongue and tummy, I discovered that an ‘orrery’ is a sort of astronomical clock or, more accurately, a cosmological instrument. What a fitting name for a restaurant whose decadence belongs to another galaxy.

Orrery
55 Marylebone High Street, W1 3AE