Cotidie

I rather miss Cafe Luc, the Belgian Brasserie at the top of the High street. I turned up one day for an impromptu lunch and they were moving out. The manager told me they’d been bought by an Italian. Bruno Barbieri, a Michelin starred Masterchef wanted to “join the wealth of restaurant talent in London”.

Several months later (surprising, given the decor’s barely changed) the new restaurant Cotidie has opened. It’s a serious restaurant, with complex dishes and rigid staff - an all Italian crew behaving like the French. I expected something more relaxed and engaging from the menu and exuberant chefs shouting risotto recipes at each other.

Instead the tables have thinned out, and in a half full restaurant, a church like ambience seems too precious for the High Street. My partner’s suggestion of a jazz piano in the corner was possibly more than required but I think the atmosphere and format may have to be tweaked to work in Marylebone.

Food was elaborately precise, at times overly complex, but well worth a try.

Cotidie - 50 Marylebone High Street, W1U 5HN T: 020 7258 9878