Set in the heart of Marylebone, head to the XR restaurant for an evening of fine wine, delicious food and a location to match. This casual eatery is ideal for a date night, evening with friends or as a treat to yourself…

What: XR Restaurant Marylebone offering Modern European dishes in the heart of London
Where: 13-14 Thayer St, Marylebone, London, W1U 3JR
Note: XR Restaurant are part of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme offering 50% off food and soft drinks up to £10 per person throughout August

The air is humid as I weave my way through Marylebone on my way to review XR – a double-billed fine dining and casual Modern European restaurant in the city centre. It’s one of the hottest days of the year so far and it’s with relief I spot the restaurant come into view. The building is made from a classic London townhouse brick decorated with a lilac floral display and has large bi-fold doors which are thrown open allowing the tables to pepper the pavement in a seamless extension of the main restaurant. My partner and I are eating in XR restaurant, the more casual eatery which is situated downstairs. XIER is the more formal of the two and sits on the first floor offering a specially curated 10-course tasting menu. XR offers prestige A-La carte dining. Both are under the watchful eye of Chef Carlo Scotto who passionately curates each dish using the best seasonal ingredients and flavours.

We sit and peruse the menu over a much-appreciated ice-cold glass of tap water. The menu manages to encapsulate the fine balance of offering a simple yet exciting roster of dishes, without being too overcomplicated. What they do offer, they do well – extremely so. I opt for a burrata with tomatoes to start and grilled chicken for main. My partner chooses the lamb sliders and also the chicken for main, tempted by the Mediterranean influence on such a warm day. The sommelier recommends us a Portuguese wine, carefully selected to go well with the warm weather and my burrata starter. It is crisp and cold and we sip it as we watch fellow Londoners stroll down the street, basking in the warm evening sunlight. XR restaurant London is a little haven in the midst of the city madness and on a day like this is particularly appreciated. Our starters arrive after not too long a wait and we are quick to tuck in. My burrata is deliciously creamy, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with basil. The tomatoes are fresh, crisp and flavoursome. My partner is equally impressed with the lamb sliders. There are three of them which come presented on a wooden board and are completed with a crisp brioche bun, Gruyere Cheese, Onion and Tomato jam, Pickles and Kewpie mayo.

As we wait for our mains I head inside for a look around the main XR restaurant. It is clean, refined and simple with a monochrome colour palette. Booth style seating along one side of the restaurant lends a pop of colour with chairs in a soft green pattern, and the display of bottles behind the bar offer a jewel-coloured rainbow in decoration. While it lends itself to open, summer dining I can already tell it will fare just as well for a cosy escape when winter comes.

Our chicken mains arrive swiftly in a waft of delicious harissa spice, sat on a bed of spinach and Padron peppers. I inhale deeply and am whisked far from the streets of London and placed down instead on a cobbled street in more exotic climes. The chicken is succulent and teeming with flavour, the harissa lending a delicately spicy edge that serves to imbue flavour rather than overwhelm the palette. The accompanying truffle and parmesan fries are again a real feast for the senses. Crispy on the outside and delicately fluffy on the in, there was no shortage of truffle or parmesan and they were the perfect accompaniment.

Dessert wise I opt for a strawberry cheesecake and my partner for the profiterole. The cheesecake is divine. Light and fluffy with a delicious crumbly base and piled high with fat strawberries it does not disappoint. The profiterole is served as one large singular profiterole which our server pours warm, melted chocolate over the top. We split it open and it’s filled with a creamy vanilla ice cream – a welcome touch on such a hot day.

We end the evening sipping on the last of the wine and taking in the last bit of sun before it sets. We are thoroughly full and thoroughly impressed. What better way to spend an evening than sipping on a crisp white wine under the sun and feasting on a myriad of delicious dishes in the most beautiful setting? We were impressed with XR restaurant from the moment we arrived until the moment we left. Don’t forget to head down there in August while they are doing the Eat Out to Help Out and receive 50% off your food and soft drinks up to the value of £10 per person.

XR Restaurant London
13-14 Thayer St
Marylebone
London
W1U 3JR