If it’s good enough for Michelin, it’s probably good enough for you. Foliage proves that it’s more than worthy of its hard won Michelin star and provides quality with a flourish.

The Venue
Knightsbridge is the suitably upmarket setting of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, the home of Foliage. Handily located a stone’s throw from Knightsbridge tube station (although it’s taxis and drivers all the way here!), it’s easily located thanks to the large marble frontage and flags flying in the wind.

Through the large front doors, swanky hotel reception and the ever popular Mandarin Bar, Foliage is a rather small, intimate affair with more heart than you might expect from such a high-end restaurant. Rather than crisp white linen, attractive yellow tablecloths adourn the tables with a subtle leaf pattern. The front of the restaurant looks out across Hyde Park and the dining terrace (open summer 2008), and the large windows let in plenty of light and, even in the evening, allows for a feeling of space. The tables are cleverly spread apart, allowing for maximum airiness whilst fitting in plenty of people to give a warm atmosphere. Nice touches include large green glass panels with leaf designs similar to the tablecloths, keeping the Foliage park feel very much in mind. Especially charming are the freshly picked, remarkably uniform leaves from Hyde Park, placed beneath glass plates to greet you when you first sit down, adding an earthy feel to the proceedings. All in all, it’s one of the more comfortably relaxed formal dining settings you’re likely to find.

The Atmosphere
This is formal dining in a five star hotel, so dress appropriately. Ladies wearing dresses and smart trousers with pretty tops sit beside gentleman predominantly in suits (no doubt expensive!). However, the overall tone is one of laid back chatter and relaxed moods. Keeping up a tight balancing act, Foliage deftly manages to be romantic, friendly and businesslike all in one fell swoop. Nicely done.

What really makes Foliage work, however, are the staff. Highly efficient, extremely knowledgeable and confident in their menu expertise, and very approachable they try to make sure that every guest through the door is kept smiling and satisfied. Any queries are quickly answered and, all in all, they ensure the experience of dining here is nothing short of impeccable.

The Food
This is what it’s all about. Foliage is a taste sensation that takes you on a gastronomic journey. An interesting and unique spin on the menu is the clever way it’s devised to allow you, the customer, to lead your experience. Divided up into sections (starters, intermediates, mains and desserts – with an additional cheese option), there is a small but perfectly formed choice of five dishes under each heading. £60 will get you four courses (with a £10 supplement for additions); however, remarkably you’re not restricted – in any way. Fancy a light meal of four starters? Go ahead? Maybe meat isn’t your thing and you want two fish courses instead? Not a problem. If you don’t fancy dessert you can have four savoury courses or if you just can’t choose between cheese and sweets then have both. Stick to four but choose ANY four in any combination you want. A wonderful idea.

The food, unsurprisingly for a restaurant of this calibre, is of the highest quality. Assaulting the senses before you take your first bite, dishes first delight the eyes, then the nose with sights and aromas to astound. For starters, the sweetbreads are highly recommended with glazed leeks, morels and salted peanuts. Delicate and light, the sweetbread is rich, kept in check with the delightful play of texture from the peanut and flavours courtesy of the morels and leeks. However, the real winner is the artichoke with confit potato, black truffle and quails egg. The egg bursts with the perfectly rich, runny yolk, mixing with the discernable crunch of the artichoke and combining with the soft potato to create a taste sensation with every bite.

For intermediates, the sea bass is pleasant, being fresh, light and flaking with each touch of the fork. The rich textures are joined with mushroom, lobster and broccoli, all very much playing second fiddle to the fish, which is cleverly kept in the spotlight. However, by far the piece de resistance is the monkfish with smoked aubergine, shrimp and lemon curd. Yes, lemon curd. Sound unusual? It is quite possibly one of the most interesting and clever uses of ingredients used in any restaurant across London. The meaty monkfish is fresh and the flavour is punctuated by the sweetly tangy lemon, working in tandem. The aubergine is light and adds a nice texture, but followed with a delicately sweet wine, each mouthful will be an immense delight. Definitely the highlight of the whole menu. Vegetarians are well catered for with gnocchi and pumpkin, which is almost sickly-sweet and is more filling than the average vegetarian dish.

The real winner with the menu is the desserts, which are intelligently put together and well thought out. The banana with amaretto, caramel and almond milk could easily have been an overly sweet mess, with banana being a difficult fruit to make subtle. However, they’ve done it with aplomb The Calvodos Souffle is just as delightful with green apple iced parfait and sea salt caramel. If you’re a fan of apple pie and cream then you’ll love this. The souffle is light and perfectly textured and the apple parfait is sweet without being cloying. Together they taste just like a high quality apple pie with a definitive twist.

The Drink
It’s recommended that you begin your Foliage experience with a nice glass of Moet – either white or rose – to get your meal off to the perfect start. You can order a bottle of wine, but this is fine dining at the highest level and you should really make use of the excellent sommelier who is as knowledgeable as he is friendly. You can choose – whether with the tasting menu or a la carte – to have him select a different glass of wine with each course as he takes into account the flavours of each dish and puts them with your own tastes to create a bespoke experience. Perfectly matched, every glass will hit the nail on the head in terms of getting the most out of the flavours of the food matched with that in the wine.

The Last Word
Foliage gets it right – very right. Ticking all the boxes, you can’t fail to be impressed with the food, wine and excellent service. Quite exquisite.