Kai Mayfair

Kai has occupied its townhouse on South Audley Street since 1993, and remains one of Mayfair's most established addresses for ambitious Chinese cooking. The room is glitzy and theatrical: a wall of bold fashion-portrait art, a tropical fish tank, mirrored surfaces that open up a narrow space, and dining set across a ground floor and the floor below. Owner Bernard Yeoh's kitchen, led by chef Alex Chow, works in what the restaurant calls Liberated Nanyang cooking, drawing on southern China and the wider Nanyang region.

The kitchen earned a MICHELIN star that Kai held for fifteen years, and the cellar is serious enough to seat a private table among the bottles. For an event, the whole restaurant can be taken exclusively, while a private dining room and an intimate wine room host smaller celebrations and business dinners. It suits a seated occasion rather than a late party, and private enquiries are handled directly by the restaurant.