What's the draw
With his second restaurant, founder Martin Williams brings together all the wines on the restaurant's list, and more, across the two storeys of gleaming white shelves, enomatic machines and tables (there's a separate snacking menu) that make up M Wine Store. As with M's Threadneedle Street restaurant, you'll also find a bar, members' club, raw food bar influenced largely by Japan, and M Grill, which specialises in steak, downstairs.
What to drink
A gleaming bar is there to greet you as you descend the stairs, and classic cocktails are served with due care and attention. It's the wine we came for, though – we enjoyed a fresh, unoaked 2014 Spitting Spider chardonnay from Australia, and a 2008 President's Blend (85% malbec, with some cabernet sauvignon and syrah thrown in for good measure) from Argentine producer Escorihuela Gascon 1884 was inky, fruit-forward and beautiful with our steak.
What to eat
The food here is beautiful – house-cured venison, posh fried chicken, and trout in buttermilk go down well, and the pig cheek is an excellent main for those straying away from beef. Speaking of which, as well as the tried-and-tested steaks from the six countries it sources from, there are a couple of 'rest-of-the-world' treats on the menu, including a rare opportunity to taste vaunted Galician 'old beef' – meat from older cows, dry-aged to the point of picking up the characteristic tangy and umami-laden flavour that makes it such a talking point.
Dinner and drinks for two, about £120. 3 Zig Zag Building, 70 Victoria Street, SW1E 6SQ; mrestaurants.co.uk.
