Tom Aikens’ new Muse restaurant is a culinary conundrum

Chef Aikens’ Belgravia venue offers a new dining experience where the menus list anecdotes instead of dishes, providing clues to the culinary creations that will be conjured in his kitchen.

Tom Aikens’ new flagship restaurant Muse opens in the heart of London’s Belgravia on January 11, serving multi-course menus – of three (£50), six (£95) and 10 courses (£145) – that promise to entertain and challenge diners before they’ve ordered. Rather than listing dishes and ingredients in the typical manner, the menus – drawing on the celebrated chef’s childhood and career experiences – offer anecdotes containing clues to the cuisine that will be conjured in his kitchen, much like a crossword puzzle.

The interior, designed by Rebecca Korner, features rich woods and marbles in jewel tones

The three-course set lunch menu, for example, begins with a first course entitled Just Down the Road, with the description: “Many hours have been travelled and many more have been spent finding the very best producers to supply us with our ingredients. We celebrate Old Hall Farm as one of them because it is very close to my Norfolk roots.” Guests are left to guess what dish this tale might suggest. The main course is equally intriguing, named Always Playing with Fire – a hint, one might assume, at the spicy nature of the dish, while the Wait & See dessert proffers a “seasonal sweet delight.”

The intimate dining room, seating just 25 guests, has a laid-back luxe aesthetic

A discreet bar in the comfortable seating area

The six-course tasting menu has the addition of We All Have Our ‘Beech Tree’ Moment – a name recalling Aikens’ fearlessness as a child and offering a clue to the ingredients used in a dish of langoustine, pork fat and apple. “We had the tallest and most beautiful copper-beech tree in our garden that I simply had to climb again and again. As chefs, we must always challenge the norm,” he reflects. And there are plenty more gourmet surprises on the 10-dish menu, including The Love Affair Continues, a reference to Aikens’ time working alongside French chefs Pierre Koffmann and the late Joël Robuchon. “From early on, I’ve been captivated by the guessing game – of receiving a surprise that leaves one speechless,” Aikens says of his inventive conundrums.

Dishes are based on high-quality seasonal ingredients

The restaurant resides in a converted mews house in a chic corner of Belgravia

The good news for those who prefer not to leave their choices to chance is that, once guests are seated, more information about what they’ll actually be eating will be provided. And the interior of the restaurant is much as one would expect from a fine-dining venue. Situated in a converted mews house, the Rebecca Korner-designed scheme sets the scene for laid-back luxury over two floors with a palette of rich woods and marbles in jewel tones.